Growing up in a Jamaican household, food isn’t just food, it’s identity. It’s how love is expressed, how respect is earned, and how traditions are passed on. So, trying to introduce a new dish, something like pho, a light, aromatic Vietnamese noodle soup, to parents who are loyal to oxtail, rice and peas, and curry goat? That’s no easy feat.
Ayesha Curry knows this well. She posted a skit to her Instagram story that left her laughing, and not just because it was funny. The video showed a young woman nervously trying to explain what pho is to her skeptical Jamaican parents, who side-eyed the idea of broth, noodles, and herbs with cultural suspicion.
Ayesha captioned the story, “This is so accurate and made me laugh on this beautiful Sunday.” It was more than a laugh, a knowing nod to her own experience navigating her Jamaican-Chinese roots with a deep love for global cuisine. Ayesha, now a culinary star in her own right, has built a career embracing a wide range of flavors, soy sauce, lemongrass, ginger, even Vietnamese barbecue. But it wasn’t always easy convincing her own parents that branching out didn’t mean turning her back on tradition.
Ayesha grew up under the roof of John and Carol Alexander, loving but strict parents. Their household was one of structure, church, school, and not much else. “If I couldn’t ride the bus home, it wasn’t happening,” Ayesha once told Business Insider. Despite that, her creativity was nurtured.
Her dad was a musician and talent manager, and her mom ran a hair salon from their basement before opening her own. That entrepreneurial spirit is what Ayesha credits for her own drive.
She eventually moved to Los Angeles at 17 to pursue acting, with her parents’ blessing, a surprising turn, given their earlier strictness. “I think they just believed in me,” she told Skimm’d From The Couch. Years later, after marrying NBA superstar Stephen Curry and having their first child, Ayesha pivoted toward food. That meant introducing her family to a whole new chapter, and a whole new flavor palette.
In her own words, “Where’s the middle ground, where we’re strict, but we’re also allowing our kids to experience life?” It’s a question she continues to wrestle with as a mom of four and a chef bringing diverse recipes to family dinner.
Stephen Curry takes a back seat
Meanwhile, on a completely different court, the aisles of Whole Foods in Napa, Stephen Curry was doing something a little less talked about during the NBA offseason: grocery shopping. In a behind-the-scenes clip from a promotional shoot for his bourbon brand Gentleman’s Cut, Steph wandered into the butcher section, taking a moment to admire the dry-aged selection.
“I had never…I haven’t seen that before. Dried 20 or was aged what 26 days in the gentleman’s cut. So, that was uh… that was new.”
The trip wasn’t just about product placement; it was a nod to the division of culinary labor in the Curry household. “My wife uh can throw down obviously in the kitchen um anywhere with whatever ingredient. I’m not going to mess it up. I’m going to let her let her ride.”
He meant it. The meat, marinated in Gentleman’s Cut bourbon, was headed straight to Ayesha, the undisputed MVP of the Curry kitchen.
Whether it’s experimenting with Vietnamese recipes, crafting meal kits with Home Chef, or throwing down at International Smoke, Ayesha’s kitchen has always been about more than recipes. It’s about relationships, the tug of tradition, the challenge of change, and the love layered in every bite. Off the court, the playmaker, is just the prep guy, playing support to the woman who fuels the family.
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