Noted food writer and celebrity chef, Tarla Dalal, dies

India's celebrity cook, Tarla Dalal, died on Wednesday following a cardiac arrest, family sources said. She passed away at her residence in south Mumbai.

Noted food writer and celebrity chef Tarla Dalal passed away here today after brief illness at the age of 77.Dalal arrived on the culinary landscape 40 years ago, several decades before television reached most parts of India. She wrote more than 100 cook books and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007.

Celebrity-cook-Tarla-Dalal-Photo-courtesy-Facebook-TarlaDalal

India's first masterchef, she made her way to people's hearts by hosting cookery shows.

Posted on Tarla Dalal's Facebook page is a message: "We would like to thank all of you for your support and affection through the years of Mrs Tarla Dalal's career. She is no more with us as she expired in the early hours of this morning. We thank her for all the happiness that her talent has given to us and our families..."

Reacting to the news of her demise, masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor of 'Khaana Khazana' fame told PTI, "Tarla Dalal was the first person to popularise the art of cooking. It is a terrible loss."

Dalal's books have together sold over 3 million copies and it was due to her that kitchens across the country were exposed to new aromas, new flavours.