Category: Inspiring Desi of the Day (Page 5 of 21)

Nik Sharma: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 6, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Nik Sharma is the author, photographer, and recipe developer behind Nik Sharma Cooks/A Brown Table and The Flavor Files newsletter and the recipient of an IACP Trailblazer Award. He has appeared on Chef’s Secrets: The Science of Cooking (PBS), The Road to Cooking, and the upcoming series Confluence (PBS). Nik’s work has garnered multiple awards from Saveur, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, and the American Food Journalism Awards. His first book, Season, was a James Beard and IACP awards finalist. His second cookbook, The Flavor Equation, was a James Beard Award, IACP Award, and British Guild of Food Writers Award finalist and winner of the silver medal at The German Academy of Gastronomy. Nik’s latest cookbook, Veg-table, debuted in October 2023.

Nosheen Babar: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 5, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Nosheen, a self-taught home cook hailing from Pakistan, resides in a small town along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her passion for cooking was cultivated early on as she acquired the fundamental skills of Pakistani cuisine from her mother and grandmother. Despite the geographical distance from her homeland, Nosheen frequently yearned for authentic dishes like Nihari, Seekh Kebab, and Biryani. With a scarcity of South Asian restaurants in her vicinity, she dedicated the past two decades to meticulously recreating these childhood recipes, striving to capture the exact flavors she fondly remembers. A few years back, she established her blog, untoldrecipesbynosheen.com, to generously share her extensive collection of recipes with the wider audience.

Monish Gujral: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 4, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Monish Gujral is an Indian Columnist, Restaurateur, Chef, Author, Food Blogger, and Talk Show Host. He is the chairman of Moti Mahal. He is the country’s foremost food writer and has been a columnist with leading newspapers like HT City, & The Hindu. He is the first Indian chef to be invited to the legendary institute the cordon bleu in Paris to demonstrate Indian culinary arts. He has hosted many cookery shows on television for NDTV and Doordarshan. He also hosted a T.V serial called “Health Mange More” on FOOD FOOD channel.

Sumayya Usmani: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 3, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Sumayya Usmani is a Pakistani-born author, memoirist, food writer and writing mentor based in Scotland. She practiced law for 12 years before developing a career as a food writer, with a blog called My Tamarind Kitchen. Her first published book, Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes & Memories From Pakistan was listed by The Independent in its “11 best new cookbooks 2016”, described as “spellbinding” and “an unprecedentedly authentic snapshot into the culinary culture of this often overlooked country”. Her next book Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspiration From the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea was published in 2017. Her third book is a food memoir called Andaza for which she won the Scottish Book Trust‘s Next Chapter Award 2021.

Izzah Cheema: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 2, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Izzah Cheema is the founder of Tea for Turmeric, a food blog/website that features South Asian recipes. Izzah brings you authentic modern Pakistani dishes that you can create joyfully at home. She founded her cookery blog, Tea for Turmeric, in 2016. The main culinary repertoire consists of Biryani, Chicken Karahi, Zucchini Curry, Chicken Korma and Kashmiri Chai.Tea for Turmeric was lucky to be a finalist for the Saveur Blog Awards in the Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners category.

Chef Rick Matharu: Inspiring Desi of the Day

March 1, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

With a passion for the arts and a knack for culinary excellence, Rick Matharu has emerged as a trailblazer in both entertainment and the culinary world. After winning Season 2 of the Food Network’s “Recipe to Riches,” his signature ‘Butter Chicken Lasagna’ became a nationwide sensation, available as a President’s Choice product across Canada. His goal was to showcase the rich flavors of his Punjabi-Canadian heritage, turning him into a culinary ambassador for Canada’s diverse culture. Rick has made numerous media appearances, including guest hosting on Citytv’s ‘What’s Cooking’ and features in publications such as The Globe and Mail and The Huffington Post. His focus remains on promoting South-Asian cuisine.

Chef Davinder Kumar: Inspiring Desi of the Day

February 29, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Chef Davinder Kumar dedicated 12 years to the Oberoi Group, becoming Executive Chef at The Oberoi InterContinental (now Oberoi New Delhi) at just 29. He then joined Le Méridien, New Delhi, as Executive Chef in 1985, where he currently serves as Vice President (F&B Production) and Executive Chef. He’s authored popular cookery books like ‘Kebab, Chutney & Bread’ and ‘Just Kebabs: Celebration of 365 Kebabs & one for a Leap Year’. He’s received numerous awards, including the Golden Hat Chef Award and Best Chef of India award. Chef DK’s culinary creations have earned him a place in the Limca Book of Records and won medals at international festivals. He’s been a leader in the Indian Culinary Forum for 18 years, showcasing his enduring passion for the profession.

Chef Faisal Hassan Khan: Inspiring Desi of the Day

February 28, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Chef Faisal Hassan Khan is a Sindhi culinary expert in Pakistan’s food industry. He attained his Graduate Diploma in International Culinary Arts from the College of Tourism & Hotel Management between 2015 and 2017. Concurrently, he worked part-time as an Assistant Pastry Chef at JAY-B The Bake Shop. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with renowned bakery establishments such as Ambrosia, Wired Inn, Luqman’s Sweet & Salt, Haji Ali Kitchen, among others. In September 2017, he took the entrepreneurial leap, establishing his self-funded bakery and kitchen named Culinaire.

Romana Husain: Inspiring Desi of the Day

February 27, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Romana Husain is a culinary prodigy. She started out as a home baker and made custom cakes for birthdays, weddings and other fancy events. Later, she decided to go to culinary school. Her focus initially was pastry arts and then Husain went for industry training at the Four Seasons Hotel, Johannesburg in 2012.

She has worked with three Michelin star chef Dirk Gieselmann and upon moving to the Middle East was approached by Masala TV for her own show called Bake at Home that ran for three seasons. The chef now runs and manages her own business called The Bake Studio Pantry and an e-commerce store by the same name.

Chef Shai Qazi: Inspiring Desi of the Day

February 26, 2024 / Zeeshan Zaidi / 0 Comments

Chef Shai Qazi, a globally renowned culinary expert from Pakistan, has mastered a diverse array of cuisines including French, Italian, Asian, Mediterranean, and Indian. Her rise to fame began with her show “Simply Shai” on Masala TV, quickly garnering widespread popularity and becoming highly accessible to viewers. Born and raised in Quetta, a small city in Baluchistan, Qazi initially pursued studies and obtained a master’s degree in Botany. However, fueled by her passion for culinary experimentation, she ultimately chose cooking as her career path. Throughout her journey, she has extensively traveled the world, immersing herself in various food traditions and acquiring diverse culinary skills, all of which she integrates into her cooking shows and practices.