From Orphanage to Head Chef: Lilyma Khan's Remarkable Rise at Dear Donna Restaurant

Lilyma Khan is the head chef at Dear Donna restaurant in Delhi's Qutab Institutional Area. She's 29 years old and has been working there since it opened in February 2019. Dear Donna is famous for its romantic dinners and family brunches, and this month, it's celebrating its fifth anniversary. To celebrate, Khan has crafted a special dessert called the Strawberry Bombe Alaska, which customers can order throughout the month.

She explains that the celebration will have a special cocktail menu and guests can enjoy champagne showers at Sunday brunches. Despite facing challenges like COVID-19 and competition from nearby restaurants like Haldiram’s and Taste of Slice, Dear Donna is still doing well, thanks in part to its talented head chef. Khan, the head chef, has reached the peak of her career despite facing many difficulties.

In a recent chat with TMS, she openly talked about her experiences, discussing the highs, lows, and the hope that kept her moving forward.

Khan comes from a modest family in Delhi’s Taimur Nagar. Her parents worked hard to support their family of six, including her three siblings. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when her father passed away in 2001, followed by her mother just six months later due to tuberculosis. Then, her older sister, struggling with marital problems, took her own life. These losses deeply affected Khan’s older brother, who turned to substance abuse, using drugs and alcohol. He even sold their house to a neighbour for Rs 10,000 in a moment of impulse.

Later, her older brother ended up in jail on theft charges. "When my older brother was imprisoned, my aunt took my younger sibling away, leaving me behind," Khan shares. At just seven years old, she was left to fend for herself in the slums of Taimur Nagar. "Initially, a woman in the slums took me in. There were other children under her care too. She would wake us up at 4 am and send us out to collect waste from the streets of Friends Colony. In return for our work, we received a meal," she remembers. However, Khan had to flee from the advances of the woman's husband and sons, finding refuge under the Okhla Flyover.

“As I recall those days, I feel numb and overwhelmed. With fellow street children, I used to go looking for food. Right in front of the flyover was a bunch of Dhabhas and a McDonald’s outlet. So, we used to forage through their dustbins, looking for chicken and mutton bones and eat half-eaten burgers on some lucky days,” Khan says, as per The New Indian Express report.

"At that point, you couldn't really choose between good and bad food. You just wanted something to fill your stomach," Khan reflects on her early struggles.

Her life took a positive turn when Pramod from the Chetna NGO, which advocates for the rights of street children, came into her life. With Pramod's assistance, Khan was admitted to an orphanage called Udayan Care in Chittaranjan Park, where she received her first formal education. Just as things were looking up, a call from her aunt changed everything.

Thinking she would finally find family support, Khan left the orphanage for her aunt's home, only to face further abuse and exploitation. At 13, her aunt got her a job in a shoe factory for a meagre Rs 2,000 a month. "Whenever they delayed my pay, they would beat me," Khan recalls. She felt too ashamed to seek help from the NGO after running away. She endured two years with her aunt until her older brother, still battling addiction, rescued her. However, she knew she couldn't rely on him.

Khan reached out to activist Harsh Mander, whom she met while filming a short documentary under the Okhla flyover. With Mander's help, she found refuge at Kilkari Rainbow Home, an orphanage for girls in Kashmiri Gate. "For the first time in years, I felt like I had a home," she remembers. It was there that Khan discovered her passion for cooking.

In 2015, Anand Kapoor noticed Khan's cooking skills and connected her with a friend who owned Tres & Bar, a fine dining restaurant in Jorbagh. This marked Khan's entry into the culinary world.

Initially responsible for staff meals, Khan's starting salary was Rs 7,000. Eager to learn more, she sought guidance from the head chef, mastering basics like mashed potatoes, burgers, and salads.

After stints at Bohca restaurant and Lee Canteen, Khan joined Dear Donna in 2019 as a Chef de Partie, eventually rising to Sous Chef and then Head Chef. Specialising in European, Italian, and Asian cuisine, her signature dishes include risotto, ravioli, salmon gravlax, roulade, and beef wellington. Khan's journey underscores the transformative power of passion, resilience, and belief in oneself.