Pooja Dhingra | |
|---|---|
 Chef Pooja Dhingra at the Le15 Central Kitchen | |
| Born | 1986 (age 36–37) Mumbai, India |
| Education | Bombay Scottish School, Mahim César Ritz College Le Cordon Bleu |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | French |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
| Website | le15 |
Pooja Dhingra (born 1986) is an Indian pastry chef and businesswoman. She opened India's first macaron store and is the owner of bakery chain Le15 Patisserie that specialises in macarons and a host of French desserts. [1]
Dhingra was born into a family interested in gastronomy. Both her father and her brother Vaarun Dhingra are restaurant owners. She attended the famous-Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai. When still young, Dhingra learnt the art of baking from her aunt. [2] She initially enrolled at a law school in Mumbai before quitting in 2004, switching careers to attend a hospitality and management course at the César Ritz school in Le Bouveret, Switzerland. [2] Three years later, she began training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. [1] [3] There she came across her first macaron at one of Pierre Hermé's patisseries. [4] After completing her course, Dhingra returned to Mumbai and opened her first store in March 2010 with the single goal of creating Parisian styled culinary experiences in India. [5] In 2016, Dhingra expanded her enterprise, opening a new location called Le15 Café in South Mumbai. While signature desserts named after French women will be featured, the cafe's menu includes simple, savoury food main course dishes. [6]
When she opened her Mumbai business in 2010, she had a staff of only two. By October 2014, she had as many as 42. Her ambition is to open establishments throughout India. [2]
She has been featured in national dailies and is a regular in fashion and lifestyle glossies not just for her abilities in the kitchen, but also as a dynamic businesswoman and inspiration to women - she was selected by Forbes India for their ‘30 Under 30’ achievers list for 2014 and the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list.
She has published two books, a best seller (in India) on baking. [1] and The Wholesome Kitchen
She joined Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Ranveer Brar as a judge of MasterChef India – Hindi 8 airing on Sony Entertainment Television. [7]
A croquembouche or croque-en-bouche is a French dessert consisting of choux pastry puffs piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel. In Italy and France, it is often served at weddings, baptisms and first communions.
A pastry chef or pâtissier, is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, and some cafés.
A macaron or French macaroon is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring.
Pâtisserie E. Ladurée, commonly known as Ladurée, is a French manufacturer and retailer of high-end pastries and candy, which was established in 1862. It is one of the world's best-known sellers of the double-decker macaron, 15,000 of which are sold every day. The company is a société par actions simplifiée and has its head office in Paris, France.
Pierre Hermé is a French pastry chef and chocolatier. He began his career at the age of 14 as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre. Hermé was awarded the title of World's Best Pastry Chef in 2016 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. He was also ranked the fourth most influential French person in the world by Vanity Fair. Hermé created his own brand in 1998 with Charles Znaty.
Anu Aga is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and social worker who led Thermax, an energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson from 1996 to 2004. She was among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 richest Indians by net worth according to Forbes magazine. She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing of ASSOCHAM.
MasterChefIndia – Hindi is an Indian Hindi-language competitive cooking reality television series based on MasterChef Australia and is part of MasterChef India. The series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of 'MasterChef'. The current line-up of judges consists of Vikas Khanna, Pooja Dhingra, and Ranveer Brar.
A petit four is a small bite-sized confectionery or savory appetizer. The name is French, petit four, meaning "small oven".
Pooja Hegde is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. She began her career as a model and was crowned as the second runner-up at the 2010 I Am She–Miss Universe India pageant. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film Mugamoodi (2012) and had her first Telugu release in Oka Laila Kosam (2014). Hegde has established herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu cinema.
Rachel Khoo is a British cook, author, and broadcaster who has hosted and co-hosted television cooking shows on the BBC, Food Network, and Netflix.
Adriano Zumbo is an Australian pâtissier and television presenter. He opened his first patisserie in 2007 before rising to prominence as a frequent guest on MasterChef Australia. Zumbo is the titular host of the Australian baking competition program Zumbo's Just Desserts and a judge on the Netflix web series Sugar Rush. As a popular figure he has garnered many nicknames in the media, including "Sweet Assassin", "Patissier of Pain," "the Dark Lord of the Pastry Kitchen" and "Lord Voldecake." He has also been called "Australia's answer to Willy Wonka."
Ranveer Singh Brar is an Indian celebrity chef, Masterchef India judge, author, restaurateur and actor. He is well known as the host of popular Television food shows and as a judge in MasterChef India, alongside fellow chefs Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna ,Vineet Bhatia, Garima Arora and Pooja Dhingra
An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success is a 2015 family comedy-drama direct-to-video film starring Olivia Rodrigo in the title role, Virginia Madsen, Eloise Webb, Caitlin Carmichael, Notlim Taylor, Lili Bordán, Fabrice Michel, Roxane Bret, Krisztina Peremartoni and András Bálint in supporting roles, along with an appearance from restaurateur Joe Bastianich as himself. As with the previous films, Grace was directed by Vince Marcello, with screenplay by Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin.
Pierrick Boyer is a French pastry chef.
Jacqueline Mercorelli, commonly known by her stage name Mercotte, is a French food critic, blogger, TV presenter and gastronome. She was born in 1942 in Aix-les-Bains. She has become famous through her participation as a judge in the television baking competition Le Meilleur pâtissier, a French adaptation of The Great British Bake Off, broadcast on M6.
Kirsten Tibballs is an Australian pastry chef and chocolatier. Tibballs has represented Australia at world championships and as a judge for global competitions. In 2002 Tibballs founded Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Brunswick, Melbourne. Tibballs is the author of two cookbooks, a regular contributor to pastry publications and has featured on several television shows including MasterChef Australia. As one of the most followed female pastry chefs on Instagram, Tibballs is regularly referred to as the ‘Queen of Chocolate’ due to her contribution to the chocolate industry.
Rachel Goenka is an Indian restaurateur, chef, author and the founder and CEO of Mumbai based The Chocolate Spoon Company. She runs a chain of restaurants such as The Sassy Spoon, a European restaurant, House of Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant, Baraza Bars and Bites, a beach shack themed pub, Wicked China, an Asian resto-bar, and Sassy Teaspoon, a chain of patisseries and bakeries.
Justin Narayan is an Australian youth pastor and television cook of Fijian-Indian heritage. He was declared as the winner of MasterChef Australia 2021.
MissMalini.com is an online platform that was established in 2008 and is based in Mumbai, India. It publishes lifestyle and entertainment content, including Bollywood news, gossip, fashion trends, and lifestyle entertainment news. MissMalini is now a part of Good Media Co, the media division of the Good Glamm Group, following its acquisition in December 2021. The platform is frequently referenced by publications such as Fortune India, The Quint, ScoopWhoop, The Times of India, Pinkvilla, and others.
Season 8 of the Indian Hindi language competitive reality TV series MasterChef India – Hindi premiered on SonyLIV on 16 October 2023. Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar returned as the judges for the show while Garima Arora was replaced by Pooja Dhingra. Mohammed Ashiq from Mangalore won the season and Nambie Marak finished as runner up.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
