Special Jury

Rocky Mohan

Author, Entrepreneur, Angel Investor

Rocky is a food connoisseur who prides himself on the revival of heritage Indian cuisine. He is known not just for his bestselling cookbook but also his family’s legacy, Old Monk rum. He is also the founder of luxury dining app, Gourmet Passport, and platform for home chefs, Chef Pin.... read more

Kunal Kapur

Celebrity Chef, TV Presenter

Kunal was born and raised in New Delhi. He pursued his education in hotel management and went on to work with leading hotel brands, opening multiple successful restaurants and hosting many popular food shows. These include MasterChef India, as well as Zee Zest’s FoodVeda.... read more

Shipra Khanna

Celebrity Chef, TV Presenter

Shipra is a celebrity chef with TV shows across the globe. An author of eight cookbooks, she has been honoured with the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award at the British Parliament. Shipra was also appointed as the health and wellbeing ambassador, and cultural ambassador for India by the Ministry of Culture.... read more

Jaaved Jaaferi

Actor, Comedian, Dancer

Acclaimed movie actor, voice artist, dancer, comedian, Jaaved has acted in around 100 films in principal roles and pioneered talent-based television programming in Asia with the competitive dance reality show, Boogie Woogie. The show ran for 17 years and paved the way for many such dance shows today.... read more

Keshav Prakash

Entrepreneur, Beverage expert

Keshav is the founder and director of The Vault, a Mumbai-based spirits importer. He is a BNIC-certified cognac educator and the founder of The Oak League, a Mumbai-based fellowship of world whisky aficionados. Keshav was inducted as a life member of Keepers of The Quaich in 2018 and as a member of The Gin Guild in 2018.... read more

Ranveer Brar

Celebrity Chef, MasterChef India judge

Apart from being a celebrity chef, Ranveer is also a TV show host, author, MasterChef India judge and food film producer. Ranveer was inspired by local kebab vendors as a child in Lucknow, which led to him starting his career at five-star kitchens and later as the head of banquets at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Minister’s residence.... read more

Rakesh Raghunathan

Chef, Food Historian

A storyteller in his own right, Rakesh is best known for taking people on a journey through his culinary and travel explorations. His interests lie in food history and practices and its interaction with socio-cultural norms. He is also a Zee Zest host for two successful shows—Highway Dreams and 100% South Indian.... read more

Indrajit Lahiri

Content Creator, Author

A storyteller, content creator, author, and first-generation entrepreneur, Indrajit has three published books on culinary experiences. Professionally, he’s an IT entrepreneur with his own IT project management firm. He started his journey of food blogging in 2014, which now has more than 300 blog posts, and is the co-founder of Foodka web series on YouTube.... read more

Shri Bala

Food Historian, Chef

Chartered-accountant-turned-chef, Shri has been cooking ever since she was a child. She has turned her passion into a profession and conducts food promotions at various five-star properties across the country. Today, she is one of the most significant voices and chroniclers of South Indian culinary history.... read more

Vinesh Johny

Pastry Chef, Educator

One of India’s finest pastry chefs, Vinesh pioneered pastry education in India as the co-founder of Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pasty Arts, and Lavonne Café. Raised in Bengaluru, he holds a degree in hotel management and has been associated with The Oberoi Group of Hotels and The Starwood Group of Hotels & Resorts.... read more

Anahita Dhondy

Chef, Restaurateur

Anahita fell in love with cooking at the age of 10, and since then has ensured she never strayed from her passion. After getting her Cordon Bleu Grand Diplome in London, she launched the first SodaBottleOpenerWala with veteran restaurateur, AD Singh, in 2013. Since then, she’s strived to popularise Parsi food. Anahita has won several awards and acknowledgements and is a prominent name in sustainable food and culinary scene.... read more

Special Jury

Srikant Malladi

Head of Programming, Zee Zest

One of the founding team members of Zee Zest, Srikant has more than 20 years diverse media experience including journalism, films, and television. At Zee Zest, he is in charge of spearheading all the linear content on food, travel, and lifestyle.... read more

Aneesh Bhasin

Entrepreneur, Podcaster

Co-founder of Svami, the non-alcoholic beverage brand, Aneesh is a beverage expert, an ardent culinary explorer and can give one some serious tips on where to eat in Mumbai, to begin with. His podcast, ‘A Niche Thing’ delves into various subcultural topics, from tech to art. He’s also an award-winning professional photographer.... read more

Maria Goretti

TV Presenter, Chef, Author, Actor

Maria is known for her anchoring and cooking skills. With a YouTube channel, a digital food show, an award-winning cookbook author, you can tell that from all the hats she has donned, the chef’s toque is her favourite.... read more

Anoothi Vishal

Author, Columnist

An acclaimed author and one of India’s foremost food columnists, Anoothi writes on food trends, the business of food and beverages, culinary history and food as a soft power for leading publications. She is also a well-known culinary historian and curator. Thanks to her family’s tradition, food has always been a preoccupation for Anoothi but her passion for writing always came first.... read more

Ashwin Rajagopalan

Content Creator, Writer, Speaker

From travel to tech, Ashwin has over 20 years of experience as a content specialist and journalist. His expertise lies in content strategy, marketing communications, brand management, cultural intelligence and stakeholder management. A specialist in communicating across cultures and boundaries, he is a self-starter with experience in a variety of scenarios, organisations and environments.... read more

Special Jury

Diwan Gautam Anand

Distinguished Hotelier

A celebrated hotelier, Gautam Anand has had a career with ITC hotels spanning over 30 years where he headed ITC Maurya and annuitant as EVP. Currently, he is the co-owner of ‘The Amrita Sher Gil Holme and Visitation Centre’, Western Himalayas and is also the Founding Trustee of Cuisine India Foundation.... read more

Ajay Chopra

Chefpreneur, F&B Consultant, TV Presenter

Ajay is a chef and food consultant. He’s the managing director of Zion Hospitality which is involved in content, culinary training and mentoring food brands. He is also a host of Zee Zest’s shows, India’s 50 Best Dishes, Papad Pickle Aur Pyala and Pattay Ki Baat.... read more