“As a kid, I used to bother my mother with all my queries. Later on, I happily realized my growing attraction to this profession of being a chef, breaking free from the apprehensions of pursuing a career in a male-dominated industry”

The journey of the young female chef- Anahita N. Dhondhy is a story that will inspire you immensely. Anahita’s lineage can be traced to the Parsis that settled in Delhi. Since she was a young girl, her curiosity for food and her culture devoured her time. She remembers her mother cooking Parsi food and baking cakes every day. Anahita was a true food lover as a child and the leap from there to dreaming of being a chef was an obvious choice for her. Let’s take a stroll through her culinary journey.

Chef Anahita N. Dhondhy took her first steps to fulfil her dream to become a chef by getting shortlisted for IHM-Aurangabad’s Culinary Arts program. There she trained at various prestigious Taj properties and passed with flying colours. Afterwards, she trained at the BBC at JW Marriott and then acquired a grand diploma from LeCordon Bleu, London. Here she became an expert at french cuisine & baking.

She returned to India and joined SodaBottleOpenerWala as an Executive Chef at the tender age of 23. She made the restaurant her platform to popularise Parsi food. SodaBottleOpenerWala soon became her second home where she cooked from the heart and used the spices supplied by her mother. Using her grandmother’s old recipes, Anahita has managed to make the dining experience at SodaBottleOpenerWala is an unforgettable one!

The young chef made TV appearances on the cooking show ‘Femme Foods’ that aired on Living Foodz. She also was featured on Masterchef India. Trumping this, Anahita created her own space from the ground up in the male-dominated culinary industry of India. She was awarded The Young Chef Awards, Times Food Award along the Indian of the Year title for her excellence in the industry. As one of the youngest female chefs, she was also featured in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2020 List for popularising Parsi food around the globe!

Anahita Dhondhy revealed that her mother Nilufer Dhondhy and her grandmother are her true inspiration. Hence she was involved in Tasting India’s chef-led campaign- Eat Like Your Grandma campaign. Recently, Anahita has parted from SodaBottleOpenerWala to explore food and beverage and reintroduce ‘forgotten foods’ into India’s diet. She aims to become a youth icon for all the young female chef aspirants in India.