Meet Leili

I’m Leili Malakooti, founder of Leili Kitchen Culinary School, cookbook author, recipe developer, and, most of all, someone who truly loves teaching people how to cook and bake with confidence.

I was born and raised in Iran, where food was always a big part of life. Some of my earliest memories are connected to the kitchen — the smell of Persian rice, slow-cooked stews, fresh breads and pastries, and the dishes that brought everyone together around the table.

But my own journey with food has changed a lot over the years.

After losing more than 100 pounds through a low-carb lifestyle, I found myself looking at recipes in a completely different way. I wanted to recreate the foods I loved using different ingredients, without losing the flavor, texture, and feeling that made those foods special in the first place.

That curiosity turned into years of testing, experimenting, and learning how ingredients actually work together. Eventually, it became my cookbook, I Can’t Believe It’s Keto!, a collection of 60 low-carb recipes inspired by foods that are traditionally high in carbohydrates. I’ve also created recipes for food brands and platforms, including KetoDiet.

Over time, though, I realized that what I loved most wasn’t simply creating recipes. I loved teaching them.

That’s why I created Leili Kitchen Culinary School.

When I teach, I don’t want my students to simply follow a list of instructions and end up with a beautiful dish. I want them to understand what is happening along the way.

• Why did we use this ingredient?
• Why this temperature?
• What happens if the dough feels different today?
• Why did a cream split, a cake sink, or a bread turn out differently than expected — and how can we fix it?

Because once you understand those things, you’re no longer dependent on a recipe. You start becoming a more confident cook and baker.

My classes today cover everything from Persian cuisine and traditional dishes to pastry, baking, breads, cakes, and foods from around the world. I love tradition, and I have enormous respect for the recipes and techniques that have been passed down through generations. But I also believe that honoring tradition doesn’t mean we have to stop learning, experimenting, or evolving.

At the end of every workshop, my hope is that my students leave with more than a recipe. I want them to leave understanding the technique behind it, knowing how to troubleshoot it, and feeling confident enough to make it again — and eventually make it their own.

My philosophy is simple: don’t just learn what to do. Understand why it works.