The Culinary Queen Sarab Kapoor

Sarab Kapoor

What started as a passion for cooking has transformed into a globally celebrated career.

From being a housewife who was content with concocting interesting recipes in her kitchen, Sarab Kapoor rose to stardom, with her incredibly delicious and well-written cookbooks, successful TV series, consultancy services, and online cooking classes, along with her lifelong love for food and cooking. Here is an insight into the beautiful journey Sarab has experienced as a result of staying true to her passion.

Humble Origins

Sarab's love affair with food began in her mother's kitchen in Mumbai. As a child, her senses were engaged with swirling clouds of aromatic Indian spices, the hissing of hot oil on the saucepan, the grinding and pounding of the mortar and pestle, and the rhythmic kneading of dough. She was hooked on cooking for as long as she could remember. As life would have it, she settled in Singapore, after briefly living in Jakarta. This would prove beneficial to her learning arc. Sarab quickly mastered the fundamentals of Indonesian, Thai, Chinese, Malay, Italian, and Middle Eastern cuisine as well. Her tinkering and experimenting like a scientist in a lab resulted in her creative style of cooking vegetarian cuisine. Unlike most tourists who enjoy collecting curios from different places they visit, Sarab collected recipes. She preferred eating homemade cuisines to dining outside. This gave her an authentic exposure to local cuisine, wherever she went! And these would be her souvenirs from all over the world.

On the Road

In Sarab's own words, ‘one thing led to another.' Her hobby of collecting interesting recipes and experimenting in the kitchen resulted in cookery classes in Singapore's leading cooking studios and schools including TotT and Expat Kitchen. She authored her first book called Om Cooking, which was an amalgamation of over 300 recipes for vegetarian cooking. This became the launchpad for many surprises in her life.

She started her cooking consultancy service and collaborated with the likes of Yo' Panino in Indonesia, Sonnamera, and Cold storage in Singapore. She contributed content to ‘Wine & Dine', Singapore's finest food and beverage publication, along with its sister publication, ‘Today's Parents', where she offered fun and healthy food options for children. She also wrote regularly for Savour and Wellness4Life, Cold Storage in-house magazines, India Se, and Bollywood Inside.

The inevitable foray into the world of reality television found her soon enough. She became the host of ‘Cook Love Eat withSarab', its spin-off ‘Cook Love Eat Bites', and even authored a book by the same name. This was only the beginning. Her relationship with the camera evolved, and now she's a world-renowned celebrity chef, hosting ‘Sarab Says, Make It Snappy', a television series airing on Zee TV throughout the Asia Pacific region.

The First of Many

Sarab probably holds some sort of a record for the many ‘firsts' under her belt. She was the first Indian-origin cook to get her weekly TV show in Singapore. She was also the first Chef to be appointed as a culinary consultant by prestigious Wine and Dine magazine in Singapore.

Keeping the Faith Alive

An ardent reader of the Bhagavad Gita, Sarab believes in divine guidance. Her spiritual outlook towards life is what helped her through her journey. Her career unfolded before her without any pre-meditation. She believes it was a natural and organic process. While her hobby led her to commercial success, it is first and foremost a passion and labor of love.

To the younger generation of culinary enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, Sarab says it's best to do whatever you want, but with a pinch of passion. After all, "When food is cooked with love, served with love, eaten with love, it not only nourishes the body but also the soul".

The Journey Continues.

Sarab is the epitome of culinary excellence and personal growth. Having started in the humble environs of her mother's kitchen, she now has served and collaborated with dignitaries, delegates, and ministers from all over the world. What was a personal passion becoming an empire that she nurtured with love and expertise? And she has faith that this journey will continue fruitfully and lead her forward. This is just the beginning.