What does it take to go from a teenager avoiding his homework, to a Sous Chef at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City — all by the age of twenty-five?
For Imad Hasnain, the answer is passion, hard work and persistence, he believed that an unconventional career path was worth it.
Nobody plans to find their life’s calling while dodging their A-level revision, but that’s exactly what happened to Imad. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, and raised in Saudi Arabia he grew up with a different goal in mind. However, somewhere in between figuring out what he truly enjoys and avoiding studying turned into him landing in the kitchen. He was making pasta for family dinners, baking eclairs for friends, spending hours experimenting with flavours when he should have been studying. The truth was undeniable; this was more than a hobby.
Making the leap wasn’t easy. In Pakistani culture as in many South Asian communities — cooking isn’t typically seen as a career. That didn’t stop Imad, he let the doubt motivate him and committed to going to culinary school. He won the people over, not with words but with his results, with his foods.
That willingness to trust his instincts, even when it made others uncomfortable, is one of the most important things we can learn from his story.
Imad studied at the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s most respected culinary schools. The CIA pushed him hard and challenged him. Those long hours and high expectations made him into the chef he is today.
He applied to various restaurants after graduation but his heart led him towards The Modern. He saw the kitchen and automatically knew this was the place he wanted to work at. He didn’t back down and earned the job! He joined as a Chef de Partie — a junior position and spent the next three years working one of the hardest kitchens in New York. Every single shift was an opportunity to prove himself and he took every shift and dish as a new learning opportunity. That dedication paid off. One year ago, Imad was promoted to Sous Chef, a leadership role that puts him in front. At twenty-five, he is one of the people responsible for upholding the standard that is expected at The Modern.
What makes Imad’s story special is he has never lost touch with his roots. His favorite food? Nihari and Chai toast, he still makes a tradition of making Pakistani food for those around him and finding ways to elevate those flavors into French cuisine. Imad has chosen to carry his identity with him into every kitchen he enters.
Imad Hasnain’s journey is proof that the path least taken is sometimes the one that leads furthest.
If you have ever been told that your dream is too risky, or too far from the expected path — Imad Hasnain’s story is for you. The only question worth asking is the one he answered for himself years ago is: how badly do you want it?
