Garima Arora is an Indian chef who became the first Indian woman to win a Michelin star, a benchmark of a chef’s achievement, in 2018. She is the owner of the restaurant ‘Gaa,’ which serves Indian-Thai cuisine in Bangkok, Thailand.
Wiki/Biography
Garima Arora was born on Wednesday, 9 November 1988 (age 34 years; as of 2022) in Mumbai. She was brought up in Mumbai, India. Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. She pursued a Bachelor of Mass Media in Journalism at the Jai Hind College, University of Mumbai, and then moved to France to pursue a grand diploma in cuisine and patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, a cooking school in Paris.
A childhood picture of Garima Arora
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Weight (approx.): 60kg
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Light Brown
Family
She belongs to a Punjabi Arora family.
Parents & Siblings
Her father’s name is Anil Arora. Her parents ran an event management company. During an interview, while talking about her father, she said,
My dad has been most influential in my career as a chef. He was the first to teach me how to cook, instilling a love for cooking since I was a child. He also supported my decision to become a chef and helped me understand business. With him, I was able to be strong and face the difficulties over the last two years as I had to think clearly and make decisions that affected not just my life, but the 40 other lives of my team. Yes, my father is the most influential in my life as a person and a chef.”
Chef Garima Arora with her father, Anil Arora
Her mother’s name is Neetu Arora.
Garima Arora with her mother, Neetu Arora
Garima has a brother named Nauroze Arora.
Garima Arora with her father and brother, Nauroze Arora
Husband & Children
Garima’s husband, Rahul Verma, is a pilot for Jet Airways in Mumbai.
A picture of Garima Arora’s husband
Career
Journalism
After graduating from Journalism, Garima worked as a Journalist for 6 months; however, within a span of one year, she decided that she didn’t want to pursue it for the long term. In an interview, while talking about her major career shift, she said,
I have always had in the back of my mind that someday I would like to have a restaurant of my own but after 6 months working as a journalist, I began to realize that I probably should get on with it since, to be quite honest, cooking is a young person’s game.”
Culinary Arts
In 2010, Garima left the country and moved to France. After completing her diploma at Le Cordon Bleu, she moved to Dubai to intern at legendary chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, where she learnt how to deal with the pressures of the kitchen and teamwork. In 2013, she went to work under the guidance of René Redzepi at Noma, Copenhagen, one of the world’s finest restaurants.
He changed the way I am as a person and not just as a cook. Working with him you understand that being a cook is an intellectual pursuit.”
In 2015, she shifted to Bangkok, Thailand, to work with the well-known Indian chef Gaggan Anand at his restaurant ‘Gaggan.’ There, she worked as a sous chef, meaning that she was responsible for making sure all cuisine is of top quality. In 2017, Chef Garima Arora established her own restaurant, Gaa, in Bangkok. The restaurant serves Indian and Thai cuisine, which according to Garima showcases the best of Thai ingredients with an Indian twist to the food.
The restaurant Gaa in Bangkok, Thailand
In 2019, she founded a nonprofit initiative Food Forward India, which according to Garima brings together the most relevant and passionate individuals from the Indian food community to re-examine, re-evaluate, and reintroduce Indian cuisine to the world.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- On 14 November 2018, Arora’s restaurant earned one Michelin star, a badge of honour for chefs and their restaurants, making Arora the first-ever female Indian chef to receive recognition.
Garima Arora receiving the Michelin star in 2019
- In February 2019, Arora earned the title of Asia’s Best Female Chef for the year and her restaurant was listed among the world’s 50 best restaurants.
- Garima was named the Young Chef Award winner by the 2022 MICHELIN Guide Thailand.
Favourites
- Street food: Sev batata puri
Facts/Trivia
- She is a dog mom and calls her dog Alooji.
Garima Arora with her dog
- Arora considers her father her biggest supporter and the worst critic.
- In March 2019, restaurant Gaa was listed as number 16 among Asia’s 50 best restaurants.
- Garima and Gaggan planned to open a restaurant in Mumbai, India; however, things didn’t turn out the way they had hoped. During an interview, while talking about this, Garima said,
I honestly don’t know what happened there. The deal kind of fell through. I was so much in love with Bangkok that I didn’t want to leave the city, so I was kind of happy.”
- In an interview, Garima said had she not become a chef, she would have become a pilot.
- Garima consumes alcohol. In an interview, she revealed that one would always find wine in her fridge.
- In 2023, Garima appeared as one of the judges in the Indian Hindi-language competitive cooking reality show ‘MasterChef India 7’ on Star Plus. The other judges of this show are chef Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar.
MasterChef India 2023 poster
- Garima Arora appeared on several Indian TV shows including The Kapil Sharma Show, Kaun Banega Crorepati- Season 14, and Indian Idol- Season 13.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
