Andy Baraghani, Chef and Award-winning Author, New York

On daily rituals

Coffee - obviously. But not in the chaotic, ‘I-need-this-to-function’ way. I mean the ritual of making it, quietly, first thing in the morning before the noise of the day starts, he explains. Another cherished ritual is cooking rice. I also cook rice a few times a week, and that feels ancestral, whether I’m conscious of it or not. Washing the grains, watching the water turn cloudy — it’s meditative.


On where rituals matter most

When I’m feeling disoriented, either because I’ve been traveling or just pulled in too many directions, that’s when I lean into ritual hard. My apartment becomes the anchor. I’ll clean it top to bottom, light something that smells like home - something vetiver-based, These moments of care transform the familiar into a sanctuary.


On place

New York rewards contradiction, and I’m full of them. I want silence but live in the middle of everything. I need space but also want to be surrounded by people who get it — whatever it is. There’s freedom here in the way people define themselves, and I’ve always been drawn to that. But it’s also tough. It doesn’t coddle you. You have to know who you are, or at least be working on it constantly. And in a weird way, that’s comforting. I don’t want ease. I want honesty. And this city has that in spades.



Photography by Zora Sicher
Art Direction by Buero Paris