Her culinary explorations landed her a coveted spot on MasterChef competing in front of Gordon Ramsey, and her first cookbook, MILK & CARDAMOM.
Growing up as a first-generation Indian-American in New Jersey, blogger, chef and author Hetal Vasavada found her mornings filled with Parle-G biscuits and chai while dreaming of the frosted cupcakes that her friends enjoyed. It wasn’t until Vasavada was an adult living in San Francisco that she realized how much she missed the Indian sweets of her childhood. She then began a coast-to-coast, video chat, recipe-development marathon with her mother, and through this process, not only became an accomplished cook, but also discovered a new career—as a chef and food blogger creating dishes that represented her “Not quite 100% American and not fully Indian” self.
These culinary explorations landed her a coveted spot on MasterChef competing in front of Gordon Ramsey, and her first cookbook, MILK & CARDAMOM: Spectacular Cakes, Custards and More, Inspired by the Flavors of, a stunning collection of Indian-accented sweets that range from the traditional to the most delicious cultural mash-ups. Her recipes have been featured in Huffington Post, TASTE and The Times of India.
Credit line: Reprinted with permission from Milk & Cardamom by Hetal Vasavada, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Hetal Vasavada.
