Pankaj Bhadouria
India’s first MasterChef winner, Pankaj Bhadouria shares Indian recipes and practical kitchen tips, writes cookbooks and teaches the next generation of cooks in Lucknow.
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Latest
Pankaj’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
ZEE5
Penguin Random House IndiaOverview
- Based in
- Lucknow, India
- Work
- Chef, recipe creator, television host, cookbook author and culinary educator
- Before cooking professionally
- School teacher for 16 years
- Breakout
- Winner of the first MasterChef India in 2010
- Teaching cooks
- Founded Pankaj Bhadouria Culinary Academy in 2012
Mini bio
How it started.
Before her cooking reached television audiences, Pankaj spent 16 years as a school teacher. She left that job to enter the first MasterChef India and won in 2010, turning a love of cooking into a new career.
From contestant to teacher.
Her first cookery show, Chef Pankaj Ka Zayka, began on Star Plus in September 2011. That November brought the MasterChef India Cookbook. In 2012, she established her culinary academy in Lucknow, bringing teaching back into her working life through food.
Recipes with roots.
Her books and videos explore both everyday Indian cooking and regional flavours. The Secret’s in the Spice Mix collects fifty blends from India and beyond. On her own site, she traces that interest to her Punjabi paternal grandmother’s garam masala, her Bengali maternal grandmother’s panch phoron and the flavours she encountered in Lucknow.
Keeping fans company in the kitchen.
Her YouTube work ranges from stuffed breads and dal to air fryer breakfasts and festive menus. In 2025 she also hosted Tyohar Khana Aur Kahaniyaan, connecting celebrations with the food and stories behind them.
Creditschronological, newest first
Television
- 2025Tyohar Khana Aur KahaniyaanHost
- 2016Just Like ThatHost sharing kitchen tips and tricks
- 2014Kifayati KitchenHost
- 2011Chef Pankaj Ka ZaykaHost
- 2010MasterChef India, season 1Winner
Books
- 2017The Secret’s in the Spice MixAuthor
- 2011MasterChef India CookbookAuthor
Awards
Quotes
Food to me is more than a means of sustenance; it is my identity.Pankaj Bhadouria, The Indian Express
In an April 2026 interview, she reflected on what food had brought to her life and career.
Trivia
- Her first MasterChef cookbook was dedicated to small-town homemakers who wanted to experiment with recipes using ingredients available locally.
- Her childhood spice memories include garam masala from her Punjabi grandmother and panch phoron from her Bengali grandmother.
- She told The Indian Express that she enjoys bedtime reading, painting and meditation.
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