Pankaj Bhadouria, a 38-year old teacher from Lucknow was the first winner of the realty TV show ‘MasterChef India’ Season 1 – on December 25th, 2010 – a contest that was for amateur cooks from across India .
Pankaj Bhadouria has been teaching since the past 16 years. Besides being an aspiring amateur cook her hobbies include painting. She is a mom, housewife, teacher and now a nationally acclaimed winning chef. She is married to a Thakur from Lucknow, Charu Samarth and is blessed with 2 children. Pankaj was born and brought up in Delhi which is a typical foodies paradise, by her parents a Punjabi father and a Bengali mother who gave her a depth of the multi-cultural tastes of India.
Her current accompolishments: (1) Pankaj has shared some of her experiences in the form of her 1st book on cookery titled ‘ MasterChef Cook Book ‘ (2) She has hosted her own cookery show ‘ Chef Pankaj ka Zayka ‘ on Star Plus during September-October 2011 (3)She has her own mobile app which is applicable on Black Berry, I Phones, Google play etc. (4) Pankaj was invited to grace and participate in ‘ The Vali Food Festival’ annuals held in New York, USA for both the years April 2011 and April 2012 (5) She was invited to address the South Asian Community in Britain, by the prestigious Cambridge University in July 2011 (6)Pankaj has been regularly featured in newspapers and magazines both nationally and internationally (7) She conducts regular workshops and cookery demonstrations (8) Pankaj is invited regulary to judge at competitions and events.
In August 2012, she launched her dream project – ‘The Pankaj Bhadouria Culinary Academy ‘ in Hazratgang, Lucknow.
Pankaj Bhadouria’s growth from a small time school teacher to become India’s first MasterChef and a celebrity is a real time story of self-belief.
(www.pankajbhadouria.com)