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It gave her something to do when her she moved to the U.S. with her husband, Daryush Saadati, from Sweden 26 years ago. She didn't have a car and she didn't have anything to do when Saadati went to work, and so Rezaei passed the time by perfecting her recipes.
Cooking gave Rezaei friends: She met so many people through the catering business she opened seven years ago, when the family's furniture store closed.
But most of all, cooking has given Rezaei purpose.
"Because of all of this, I know who I am," said Rezaei, more commonly known as Chef Shahin, of Palisades Park and formerly Fort Lee.
"I come from a family of doctors, engineers and teachers. We're all educated. I left from Iran, and Turkey, and Sweden to come here."
Rezaei has a degree in engineering that she earned while living in Sweden. Unfortunately, it doesn't fully transfer to the U.S.
"But I never lost myself, Rezei said. "I said, whatever happened to us happened, and my dream was starting a catering business, and to make it big."
Earlier this month, Shahin, her husband, and their two daughters, Anahid and Tara, opened Zaffron Bloom in Hasbrouck Heights.
Not only is it bringing the family together, but the restaurant is giving Chef Shahin an opportunity to showcase her skills.
Anahid said her mom was rarely not cooking growing up.
"Everything around our day was surrounded by food," the 25-year-old said. "She prepared everything from scratch — homemade."
Persian soups, stews, and rice dishes. Each ingredient had its own preparation process. And if Rezaei was hosting a dinner party, her kids would be the ones setting the table, and helping to cut, dice, and chop up to a week ahead of time.
"We were always eating," Anahid said. "We always knew her food to be true Persian food. We never wanted to go out to eat."
And so, when the family's furniture store closed seven years ago and her husband went to work in sales, Rezaei turned to what she's always known.
"I said, 'I have to do something this time to help the family,'" she said. "I have this passion making food."
Rezaei taught herself how to market herself on social media. She shared her homemade rice dishes, meats, dips, and large spreads, explaining the meaning behind Iranian cooking.
Chef Shahin has amassed hundreds of customers and even more Instagram followers. By 2020, she felt she had the hang of things.
But in February 2020, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. And then, COVID hit.
It was a lonely time for Rezaei, who had to go to all of her doctors appointments alone, and couldn't cook for her customers amid the shut down.
"She wasn't herself," Anahid recalled of her mother. "It was really scary because at first, she didn't want to tell us. But eventually she did because she didn't want to go through it alone.
"She was strong through all of it. She's strong in general."
By the end of 2021, Rezaei was cooking again. And soon after, her cancer was in remission.
"This is just the way life is," Rezaei told Daily Voice from inside her family's restaurant. "You have to fight. There is no easy way."
In early 2023, Rezaei decided that it was time stop renting out commercial kitchens and finally, open a restaurant of her own.
As her daughter put it, Rezaei was looking for something to give the family income and a future.
Zaffron Bloom certainly give them both, and has brought them closer, with everyone helping out on the front and back ends.
"[Opening Zaffron Bloom] was to save us and do something that is good for our family," Rezaei said. "Nothing put me down. Nothing made me sit at home. I'm not depressed.
"Because of my social life, because of the way I reach people — that's helped me grow the business. I'm so proud of myself."
Zaffron Bloom, 194 Boulevard, Hasbrouck Heights.
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