Teen Chefs Tanya Arora and Aahana Mittal Launch Migrant Worker Cookbook
freesuntimes.com · post 60095 · 2026-07-27
SINGAPORE, July 27 — The steam rising from a pot of Darjeeling-style momos carries more than just the aroma of ginger and dumpling dough. For the 55 migrant and domestic workers who gathered over nine months to share their kitchens with two teenage students from the Singapore American School, that steam carries memory, distance, and a place they call home.
The result is *At The Same Table*, a cookbook launched yesterday by the student organization A Hand for Migrant Workers. Its co-founders, Tanya Arora, 16, and Aahana Mittal, 17, spent the better part of a year conducting interviews, photographing meals, tasting dishes, and recording the stories behind each recipe. The workers featured in the book were recommended by two welfare groups: HOME and ItsRainingRaincoats.
The project began as a simple idea: use food as a bridge.
A Table That Tells Stories
In the kitchens of domestic workers and migrant laborers across Singapore, Tanya and Aahana watched as Sri Lankan fish cutlets were shaped by hand, cassava cake emerged from a family recipe passed through generations, and kadai paneer simmered in a heavy-bottomed pot. The cookbook’s pages now hold not only these recipes but also the careful, often emotional, narratives of the women and men who prepared them.
“Sensitivity was crucial,” Tanya emphasized, speaking about the process of discussing workers’ personal experiences. The team approached each interview with the understanding that for many of these workers, cooking is an act of reconnection — a way to taste home while living far from it.
The cookbook, *At The Same Table*, includes dishes as varied as kimbap, a Korean rice roll, and Darjeeling-style momos, a Himalayan steamed dumpling. The range reflects the diverse backgrounds of Singapore’s migrant workforce, a population that often remains invisible behind the walls of homes and construction sites.
A Nine-Month Commitment
Tanya and Aahana led a team of students who committed to the project for nine months. They conducted 55 interviews, each one a window into a life often reduced to a labor contract. The students photographed the workers cooking, tasted their dishes, and, most importantly, listened.
The welfare groups HOME and ItsRainingRaincoats served as the conduit, connecting the student organization with workers willing to share their time and their recipes. The result is a document that is equal parts cookbook and oral history.
Young People, Complex Issues
The project exemplifies how young people can engage with complex social issues through creative and collaborative efforts. For Tanya and Aahana, the cookbook is not merely a collection of recipes — it is a platform. It allows migrant and domestic workers to tell their own stories, in their own words, through the language of food.
The launch on July 26 marks the culmination of months of work. But for the co-founders, the real measure of success will be in how the book shifts perspectives. They hope that by sitting “at the same table” with the workers who prepared these meals, readers will begin to see beyond the stereotype and into the person.
Looking Ahead
As the cookbook begins to circulate, the next question is how to sustain the effort. A Hand for Migrant Workers now has a template — a model that could be replicated in other cities with large migrant populations. The students have begun discussing future projects, though no specific plans have been announced.
For now, the focus remains on the stories already told. In Singapore, a city of gleaming towers and transient labor, a cookbook is an unlikely bridge. But for the 55 workers who trusted two teenagers with their recipes and their memories, it is a seat at the table they have long deserved.
Sources
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