Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

India’s first ‘ MasterChef India ‘ winner. December 2010 .

Pankaj Bhadouria, a 38-year old teacher from Lucknow was the first winner of the realty TV show ‘MasterChef India’ Season 1 – on December 25th, 2010 – a contest that was for amateur cooks from across India .

Pankaj Bhadouria has been teaching since the past 16 years. Besides being an aspiring amateur cook her hobbies include painting. She is a mom, housewife, teacher and now a nationally acclaimed winning chef. She is married to a Thakur from Lucknow, Charu Samarth and is blessed with 2 children. Pankaj was born and brought up in Delhi which is a typical foodies paradise, by her parents a Punjabi father and a Bengali mother who gave her a depth of the multi-cultural tastes of India.

Her current accompolishments: (1) Pankaj has shared some of her experiences in the form of her 1st book on cookery titled ‘ MasterChef Cook Book ‘  (2) She has hosted her own cookery show ‘ Chef Pankaj ka Zayka ‘ on Star Plus during September-October 2011 (3)She has her own mobile app which is applicable on Black Berry, I Phones, Google play etc. (4) Pankaj was invited to grace and participate in ‘ The Vali Food Festival’ annuals held in New York, USA for both the years April 2011 and April 2012 (5) She was invited to address the South Asian Community in Britain, by the prestigious Cambridge University in July 2011 (6)Pankaj has been regularly featured in newspapers and magazines both nationally and internationally (7) She conducts regular workshops and cookery demonstrations (8) Pankaj is invited regulary to judge at competitions and events.

In August 2012, she launched her dream project – ‘The Pankaj Bhadouria Culinary Academy ‘ in Hazratgang, Lucknow.

Pankaj Bhadouria’s growth from a small time school teacher to become India’s first MasterChef and a celebrity is a real time story of self-belief.(www.pankajbhadouria.com)

India’s first ‘ Miss World ‘ . 1966 . First Asian to win the ‘ Miss World ‘ title. 1966

Reita Faria was the first Indian to be crowned ‘Miss World’ in 1966. She was also the first Asian to win the ‘Miss World’ title in 1966.

The red sari with golden zari work bagged the ‘Best Evening Gown’ prize.

The brown eyed beauty Reita Faria made the whole world sit up and look at India. By winning the crown, she showed the way for later competitors giving them confidence that they too could take the world by storm. She could be the first international beauty queen to qualify as a doctor during her reign.

Reita Faria was a student at the Grant Medical College and Sir J.J.Group of Hospitals.  Born 1945 she hailed from Mumbai with ancestral ties to Tivim, Goa. After winning the crown, she turned down offers of modelling and films, fame and fortune, instead chose to focus on her medical studies.

She won the Miss Mumbai crown and subsequently won the Eve’s Weekly ‘Miss India’ contest. Dr.Reita Faria was a judge at ‘Femina Miss India’ 1996. She adjudicated the ‘Miss World’ competions 3 times and attended the 25th and 50th anniversary of the contest.

Dr.Reita Faria married endocrinologist Dr.David Powell and lives in Dublin, Ireland. She has 2 Daughters,both in the medical profession and 5 grandchildren.