From class to kitchen

A “risky” decision to quit a teaching job of 16 years and don the chef’s apron, has fetched this woman Rs 1 crore.

A “risky” decision to quit a teaching job of 16 years and don the chef’s apron, has fetched this woman Rs 1 crore. 38-year-old Lucknow resident, Pankaj Bhadouria, can’t believe her luck after winning the TV show,

HT Image

MasterChef India

on Star Plus and says, “My life has changed completely.”

Along with the prize money has come an offer to write a cookbook and to host her own cookery show on TV.

“I took up cooking when I was very young. It is from my parents that I inherited this passion,” says Bhadouria, a mother of two. It was her kids who encouraged her to take part in the show, hosted by Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar. She adds, “I’d been teaching school children for 16 years. When it came to taking part in the show, my principal asked me to choose between my job and the show. I took the risk and quit my job. Now I have no regrets.”