Growing up in the D.C. area, Sahil Rahman and Rahul Vinod had the idea to open an Indian fast-casual restaurant. They cofounded a fast-casual concept, Rasa.

Festivals were linked to seasonal food and produce - harvest festival, spring festival. Food for me is deeply spiritual. It's linked to my identity, my ethnicity, who I am.

"I did not train to cook," Jaffrey said. "When I left home in India, I couldn't cook." She was in her 20s, living in London and focused on her acting aspirations at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.