Movers & Shakers: Ali Hassan on Cooking, Comedy and Why Home Is Family

When people think about moving, they usually remember the boxes, the relocation stress, or the address they left behind. For comedian, broadcaster and actor Ali Hassan, it's the stories that stick.

From a cockroach-infested apartment in Hamilton to life in Chicago, Toronto and back to Montreal, Hassan's journey has been shaped as much by the people he met as the places he lived. Along the way, a passion for cooking unexpectedly led him to comedy, and years of moving taught him that home has very little to do with the building you're in.

We caught up with Ali to talk about first apartments, terrible roommates, heartbreak, family heirlooms and why he'd trust himself to pack a moving truck over just about anyone.

TSM: What's the first place you ever lived on your own?

Ali Hassan: I moved to Hamilton for my MBA and my first apartment taught me two things: cockroaches are basically indestructible, and you should never leave a family heirloom hanging over a balcony.

The apartment had to be fumigated three different times because the cockroaches wouldn't die. I'd pour a bowl of cereal and cockroaches would fall out of the box.

Then one day I hung a beautiful rug my parents had brought with them on their journey from Pakistan to Canada over the balcony to air out. Somebody stole it overnight.

"So theft and cockroaches are what I remember most about my first place."

TSM: What did your first apartment look like?

Ali: Pretty bare. I had a mattress on the floor, a lamp sitting on the floor because I didn't even own a bedside table, and no television.

At the time he was embarrassed by how little he owned.

Looking back, he laughs that maybe he had it right all along.

"I spent my evenings listening to CBC and NPR instead of staring at a screen. Now I think maybe I should go back to that."

TSM: Who was the worst roommate you ever had?

Ali: "Can I pick three?"

After Hamilton, Hassan moved into a house with four roommates.

One cooked an entire week's worth of bacon every Sunday morning.

Another blasted jungle music at impossible volume.

A third insisted on leaving his bedroom door cracked open while getting... intimate with his partner.

"It felt like he wanted an audience."

Thankfully, one normal roommate became a lifelong friend.

TSM: Is there something you've moved with you everywhere?

Ali: Cooking gear.

Long before television and comedy, Hassan was the friend who could walk into any kitchen and somehow turn random ingredients into dinner.

Friends began buying him cast iron pans, cutting boards and cookware that he's carried through move after move.

His prized possession?

"A Le Creuset Dutch oven. I dreamed about owning one for years before I could finally afford it."

He's also still using Henckels knives his father bought decades ago.

TSM: How did cooking become such a big part of your life?

When Hassan's father developed heart problems, the family's cooking changed dramatically.

Missing the flavours he grew up with, Ali started teaching himself to cook.

That passion became so obvious that even while studying information technology, every class project somehow revolved around restaurants.

One classmate finally pulled him aside.

"She looked at me and said, 'You don't belong in IT. You belong in food.'"

Hassan eventually started stand-up comedy simply to become more comfortable speaking in front of audiences, hoping one day to host a cooking show.

Instead, he fell in love with comedy.

TSM: Have you ever moved because of a relationship?

Yes.

He chose Hamilton over Montreal partly because it was closer to Toronto, where his girlfriend was based as a flight attendant.

The relationship ultimately ended painfully, but Hassan doesn't regret the decision.

"It was the worst breakup of my life, but everything that happened after made me who I am."

TSM: Is there anything you left behind that you wish you still had?

Without hesitation, he returns to the stolen rug.

It wasn't just a rug.

It had travelled with his parents through multiple countries before eventually becoming part of their home in Canada.

"It would probably be in my house today if I hadn't left it hanging outside."

TSM: Have you ever had a moving disaster?

Surprisingly, no.

Mostly because Hassan insists on doing the packing himself.

"I know what fits and what doesn't."

Years working retail gave him an uncanny ability to judge dimensions, often saving family members from trying to squeeze furniture into vehicles that clearly weren't big enough.

"It's basically Tetris."

TSM: Which place has felt most like home?

Although his family has lived in several very different homes—including one beside noisy neighbours and another where police were called over domestic violence next door—Hassan says every one of them felt like home.

"My wife always reminds me that even those difficult places were part of our story."

For him, the house itself isn't what matters.

"It's wherever we're together."

TSM: If you had ten minutes to pack one box representing your life, what's going in it?

His laptop.

His favourite cooking pot.

A handful of treasured knives.

And family keepsakes—photo albums and the artwork his children made growing up.

"The flood ruined a lot of that stuff once. You realize pretty quickly those memories matter more than almost anything else."

TSM: Is there a city you'd never go back to?

Not at all.

Hassan believes every city has something worth discovering.

Whether it was blues clubs in Chicago, live music in Toronto or obscure film festivals in Montreal, he inherited his father's curiosity.

"My dad always looked for what made a place special. I think I got that from him."

TSM: What does home mean to you today?

Hassan says the pandemic changed everything.

Like many comedians, he spent years joking about family life.

But during lockdown, he found himself wanting to spend every possible minute with his wife and four children.

"I realized this is it. This is my family."

If everything else disappeared tomorrow—his career, the travel, the performances—he says he'd still be happy.

"As long as I have my family and my community, that's home."

To keep up with Ali Hassan's upcoming tour dates, live shows, and latest projects, visit www.standupali.com or follow him on Instagram for news, appearances, and announcements.