Nita Mehta

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Nita Mehta is an Indian chef,^[1] author,^[2] restaurateur^[3] and media personality, known for her cookbooks, cooking classes^[4] and as a judge on cooking based television shows.^[5]

Mehta has authored more than 400 cookbooks^{[dubious – discuss]} of which 6 million copies have been sold worldwide. In 1999, she won the Best Asian Cookbook Award for her book Flavours of Indian Cooking at the World Cookbook Fair in Paris.^{[6][better source needed]} Her other notable books include Indian Cooking With Olive Oil,^[7] Vegetarian Chinese,^[8] Zero Oil Cooking,^[9] Diabetes Delicacies,^{[10][better source needed]} 101 Recipes for Children,^[11] and The Best of Chicken and Paneer.^[12]

Mehta runs a culinary academy known as Nita Mehta Culinary Academy in New Delhi, started in 2001.^{[13][better source needed]} Apart from the original campus set up by Mehta, the academy runs on a franchise model.^[14] Courses include those for fast food, traditional Indian meals, picnic packs, "low-calorie snacks", salads, desserts, chocolates, confectionery as well as "healthy heart" recipes.^[4][15]

In 2012, Mehta turned restaurateur with the launch of her restaurant Kelong at Sarabha Nagar in Ludhiana.^[3]

Several banks have chosen Nita Mehta's cooking classes among other events of interest to women to disseminate information related to personal finance, based on a Reserve Bank of India directive in 2004.^[16] Panasonic organised an event in Coimbatore in 2004 where Nita Mehta was invited to share recipes for microwave cooking to promote the same.^[17] In 2007, Kurkure, a brand of ready-to-eat snacks owned by PepsiCo ran a recipe contest which was judged by Nita Mehta.^[18] In 2010, Mehta and Hamdard Laboratories created mocktail and dessert recipes for Rooh Afza which were used in a new marketing campaign.^[19] Also in 2010, Step by Step a school in Panchsheel Colony, New Delhi consulted Mehta who provided a menu which was handed over to parents as a guide to food which should be packed for students going to the school.^[20] Nita Mehta has judged several cooking contests, such as Mallika-e-Kitchen 2011 which culminated at JW Marriott in Chandigarh.^[21] Later in 2011, Mehta appeared on the television cooking contest MasterChef India as a judge.^[5]

• Best Asian Cookbook Award for Flavours of Indian Cooking at the World Cookbook Fair in Paris (1999)^[6]

• Official website