Chefs

A talented British chef and food writer, Manju was surrounded by Indian culture whilst growing up in North West London.

Manju spent many of her early years in India, exploring and experiencing the varied and vast cuisines of India.  She developed her own style of  Brit-Indi food combining the many influences she encountered.

In 1999 Manju Malhi won a competition to appear on BBC 2’s ‘Food and Drink’ programme, cooking alongside Antony Worral Thompson and leading to a second appearance.

From 2001, Manju’s ‘Simply Indian’ series was shown on the Taste Network, followed by her award-winning debut book ‘Brit Spice’.  Several titles followed, ‘India with Passion’, ‘Easy Indian Cookbook’, ‘Classic Indian Recipes’, ‘Everyday Healthy Indian’ and now ‘The Seasoned Foodie’ coming out in the latter part of 2021.

In 2010 Manju worked with the India-based channel NDTV on a 40-part show – ‘Cooking isn’t Rocket Science’.  She loves teaching, promoting the easy attitude of home cooking, hosting and demonstrating in cookery theatres.

Manju is also very passionate about her charity work as a volunteer for Open Age, which champions for an active life for older people and works with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), empowering communities in the poorest regions of the world.

In 2019 Manju revised her ‘Easy Indian Cookbook’ and is teaching healthy cooking sessions in the London Boroughs of Hounslow, for Heston West Big Local and Westminster, the latter near Grenfell Tower.

Manju is also associated with The Jean-Christophe Novelli Academy where she is on the list of resident chefs and demonstrates many of her dishes using a selection of spices.

In 2020 Manju Malhi was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) by Her Majesty the Queen recognising her services for the community, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Monisha Bharadwaj is a chef, an award-winning author of 17 books and is based in London. Awarded ‘Cookery Writer of the Year’ in 2003, Monisha is a food historian, a food writer and has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award UK 2020 for ‘Indian in 7’.

Her other books include ‘The Indian Kitchen’ about 100 ingredients of the Indian kitchen, ‘India’s Vegetarian Cooking’ and ‘The Indian Cookery Course’, an encyclopaedia about the how-to of Indian cooking that have sold almost a million copies in 8 languages. Monisha’s next book, ‘Indian Cooking for Dummies’ (part of the ‘For Dummies’ series, Wiley Books, USA) will be published in the Autumn of 2021.

Monisha has appeared in BBC’s ‘Food and Drink’ show and ‘Inside the Factory, she has cooked on TV for Great Food Live on UK Food, Fat Families’ on Sky One and ITV1’s ‘The World’s Best Diet’. She is regularly heard on Radio 4’s ‘Food Programme’, their programme about ‘turmeric’ won the Fortnum and Mason Award in 2018.

She was invited to give talks at SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies) about the ‘History of India through its Food’ and the British Council invited Monisha to give a talk on ‘How the British fell in love with curry’ In 2019.

In 2004 Monisha started a successful Indian cookery school in London, ‘Cooking With Monisha’, www.cookingwithmonisha.com

As a freelancer, Monisha has created and taught her simple but delicious Indian courses at several renowned cookery schools – Divertimenti London (2004-2019); Bertinet Kitchen, Bath (2005-2019); Ashburton School, Devon (2013-2018); Bristol School of Food and Wine (2015); Seasoned, South Derbyshire (2017-2019) and at Borough Market, London.

Monisha has been a guest chef at several events including at the Michelin starred restaurant Benares in Mayfair.