Tarla Dalal, noted as India’s first Celebrity Chef  passed away today. She was a Chef, TV Host and Author of Several Cookbooks, apart from being a Cooking Teacher.
Tarla Dalal during one of her TV Shows
She was one of the top 5 best-selling cookery authors in the world. She has written a total of 170 titles, several of which have been translated in various languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and even Dutch and Russian! The total sales of her cookery books exceed 4 million copies.
She was born in 1936 at Pune, Maharashtra. She moved to  Bombay after her marriage with Naveen Dalal in 1960.
In 1966, she started cookery classes from her residence in Mumbai. Her classes became a phenomenal success with a long waiting list of students wanting to join them. At one time, it was said, ‘If you want to get your daughter married, send her to Mrs. Dalal’s classes’.
Her cookery show “Cook it Up with Tarla Dalal” was aired weekly on Sony Entertainment Television for 3 years. The show broadcast all over South East Asia, India, the Gulf, UK and even the US.
Her first cookbook The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking was published in 1974, and since then she has written over 100 books and in all sold more than 3 million books. She also runs the largest Indian food web site, and publishes a bi-monthly magazine,Cooking & More. Her cooking show is broadcast all over Southeast Asia, India, the Gulf, the United Kingdom and United States of America.
In 2005, she was awarded with the title Women of the Year by Indian Merchants’ Chamber. The Chamber noted that an Indian Woman with a family who has, through her entrepreneurial skill and tremendous efforts, moved beyond woman’s traditional role of cooking and brought it to millions of people across the globe through her very well written and highly appreciated books on cookery, Cooking & more food magazine and website tarladalal.com.
On January 26, 2007 she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution in the field of cooking, by president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She became the first Indian to be awarded in this category.
Her husband passed away in 2005, while she suffered a Fatal Heart Attack on the morning of November 6, 2013. She passed away at her apartment on Napean Sea Road in South Mumbai and is survived by 3 Children.