Alpana Habib: Turning childhood mischief into a culinary legacy
What began as a playful kitchen adventure in her youth has led Alpana Habib to cookbooks, TV fame, and a global mission to share Bangladeshi flavours
After lunch, once her parents drifted off, she would slip into the kitchen like a small, determined secret agent. And once the ghee, flour, eggs and sugar — usually kept carefully aside — hit the hot oil, her mother would almost certainly sense that a little mischief was underway.
That is the story of how Alpana Habib found her way into cooking. What began as a child's stolen playtime slowly shaped itself into her life's calling. From those curious kitchen experiments came television shows, a cookbook, an international award, and journeys across the world, carrying Bangladeshi and Bengali flavours with her.
"I never feel tired of cooking. Even if someone asked me in the middle of the night to cook for twenty people, I would do it with absolute delight."
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On 6 December, Alpana attended a book talk hosted by Bookworm Bangladesh in Gulshan's Justice Shahabuddin Park to promote her cookbook Alpanar Ranna. There, she had an engaging session discussing her experiences, how she wrote her cookbook, and her passion for cooking. At the end of the event, she surprised the audience with a live cooking session, preparing a Turkish salad with local ingredients and serving it fresh.
People long known to her — especially from nearby communities — as well as fans of her cooking attended the event and bought her books from Bookworm Bangladesh. She delighted them with her signature on each copy.
Alpanar Ranna
She had, however, published her first bilingual cookbook Alpanar Ranna back in 2018, featuring 250 recipes — ranging from Bengali-style meat and fish, bharta, biryani, vegetables, lentils, pickles, snacks, desserts, East Asian dishes, Western cuisines, and her own fusion recipes.
"I tried to include all the recipes that I have learned throughout my life. Even the photos of the recipes in the book look mouth-watering," she said while displaying her book.
A year later, the book received an award at the 24th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2019 in Macao. "I didn't even know they had selected my book until my husband told me," she smiled. "I asked the organisers, 'Why me?' They said it was because my book was very diverse."
Her cookbook has since become a staple among Bangladeshi expatriates, particularly older generations who find it easier to follow printed recipes than online videos.
Publishing her own cookbooks also marks a 'full circle' moment for Alpana, as she herself honed her cooking skills by poring over the cookbooks of master chefs while growing up.
"In our day, there was no YouTube," she recalls. "When Siddiqua Apa's cookbook came out — I was in Class Six — it showed me that with the right timing and measurements, anyone could recreate a dish. That was the magic formula."
She began by cooking for her own family, and soon her recipes travelled — from friends, to her siblings' friends, to colleagues at the primary school where she taught, and eventually to her wider circle of relatives and in-laws.
"My colleagues would raid my tiffin box," Alpana laughs. "They'd say, 'Teach us!' I'd tease them that lessons cost money. They agreed — then their relatives joined, and it just grew."
Soon, groups of students were coming to her home in Gulshan for classes. "I charged a fee, gave them a written recipe, taught them, and sent them off with the dishes they made."
As her reputation spread, she launched a home-based catering service. "It did well, even though it was exhausting. Thankfully, I had help with the prep work — while I handled the main cooking."
From the family kitchen, Alpana eventually stepped into the world of television cookery shows in 2007. Later, in 2014, she began running her own shows independently on YouTube. Today, she publishes cooking content regularly on YouTube and appears on television programmes during special occasions such as Eid and Puja.
"I truly became known to people once I started doing cooking shows on TV," she said.
When asked how it all began, she laughed again. "While teaching friends and acquaintances, my sister kept saying I speak very well, that my words are as sweet as my cooking. She insisted I should do a TV show. That's how it began."
One by one, her shows aired on BTV, Desh TV, ATN Bangla, Deepto TV and several other channels. She also became popular in Kolkata through major culinary programmes such as Sudipar Rannaghar and Hangla Hneshel.
Beyond Kolkata, Alpana travelled widely for her culinary engagements — across Asia, the United States and Canada.
"I taught cooking at the ambassador's residence in Qatar, trained ambassadors' spouses in Thailand, and even taught corporate professionals in America and Canada," she said.
Additionally, she travelled across nine states in the US, including New York, teaching the basics of Bangladeshi and Indian cooking to Bangladeshi expatriates and their international acquaintances.
A life devoted to the joy of cooking
"I never feel tired of cooking. Even if someone asked me in the middle of the night to cook for twenty people, I would do it with absolute delight."
How is that possible? Alpana explains that it is because she has always regarded cooking as one of the most meaningful pursuits of her life — and she continues to learn every single day.
"I learn from everyone," she said. "From a street vendor who cooks rice for rickshaw-pullers, from a domestic worker, and from a restaurant chef. I learn wherever I can."
Her children, watching her over the years, learned the same way. Alpana hopes that today's young generation, too, will view cooking as a joyful craft that makes daily life easier rather than burdensome.
Yet Alpana admits she carries one regret: many Bangladeshi culinary enthusiasts prefer to keep their recipes hidden. She, however, stands firmly on the opposite side.
"All my life, with sincerity and dedication, I've shared my cooking with everyone," she said.
"I want others to learn properly, to make their lives easier, and to inspire the next generation to take an interest in cooking."
As for what comes next, Alpana says she hopes to expand her YouTube channel and is already planning another cookbook — one that will bring an even more distinctive range of recipes to her audiences.
