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Uttarakhand chef becomes minor celebrity after Modi meets him in Israel
A chance meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Israel has turned chef Dharmendra Panwar into an overnight sensation in his home state of Uttarakhand.
A chef from Uttarakhand became a minor celebrity overnight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him during his three day visit to Israel and complemented him for a scrumptious meal on Wednesday.
Dharmendra Panwar who hails from a nondescript village Kundi in Tehri Garhwal district couldn’t believe it when Modi wished to meet him. Dharmendra who works with an Indian firm called Lite Bite Foods in Israel, shook hands with the PM and then posted a photograph on Facebook.
“Sounds good and satisfying when a prime minister of the largest democracy of the world while in a foreign land shakes hand with his countryman and enquiries about his village and state and then appreciates its people” a Facebook user Sunil Negi wrote on the social networking site.
Dharmendra who has been working in Israel for last five years, is the eldest among three brothers. The other two are also work in restaurants - one in Israel while another is in Dehradun.
His family in Uttarakhand is excited that the PM met him.
Gopal, the brother who works in a Dehradun restaurant spoke to Dharmendra said the PM asked about the chef’s home. On learning that Dharmendra is from Uttarakhand, Modi hailed the people of the hill state, Gopal quoted his brother as saying.
