Nisha Katona MBE (born 23 October 1971) is a British restaurateur and TV personality. The daughter of two doctors, she is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and the Mowgli Trust charity, a food writer and television presenter. She was a child protection barrister for 20 years.

Early life

Katona grew up in

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in the West Lancashire district of England. It sits on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known l ...

. She attended

Scarisbrick Hall School Scarisbrick Hall School is a mixed private school, located in Scarisbrick Hall, Lancashire, England, that educates children from nursery to age 18. History Scarisbrick Hall is a 150-room mansion built between 1830 and 1860 by the architect Aug ...

. She went on to study Law at

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

, where she met her future husband,

Zoltán Katona Zoltán () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. "Zoli" is the short version of Zoltán. "Zoli" is commonly used. Zoltána is the feminine version. The name i ...

. She qualified as a barrister at the Inns of Court School of Law in 1996, and is a member of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. Katona worked full-time as a barrister in Chavasse Court Chambers in Liverpool. In 2008, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport appointed her as a trustee of National Museums Liverpool where she sat on the full board, along with audit and marketing. In 2009, the Cabinet Office appointed her Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments.

Career

Katona worked full-time as a child protection barrister for 20 years on the

Northern Circuit The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

. In 2008, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport appointed her a trustee of

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool in Merseyside, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The mu ...

and in 2009 she was appointed Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments by the Cabinet Office. She then switched to teaching about Indian cuisine. She founded Mowgli Street Food restaurants in the UK, and also founded and chairs the Mowgli Trust, which donates over £500,000 to local and world charities every year. Katona is the author of six cookbooks: ''Pimp My Rice'', ''The Spice Tree'', ''The Mowgli Street Food: Authentic Indian Street Food'', ''The 30-Minute Mowgli,'' ''Meat Free Mowgli'' and ''Bold.'' She regularly appears on television and radio, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Food Network and Radio 4's programme '' The Kitchen Cabinet''. On 1 January 2022, Katona was appointed

chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University The Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University is the titular head of the university who is appointed on the approval of the board of governors. The duties of the chancellor include the conferring of degrees at graduation ceremonies and bei ...

. She is the first alumna of the university to become chancellor and replaces

Sir Brian Leveson Sir Brian Henry Leveson ( ; born 22 June 1949) is an English retired senior judge who is the current Investigatory Powers Commissioner, having previously served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice. Leves ...

who became ''emeritus'' chancellor. In July 2021, Katona was selected to join the newly formed Hospitality Council, a team of leading industry experts assembled to deliver the government’s Hospitality Strategy. The strategy aims to help hospitality firms to re-open, recover and become more resilient following the COVID pandemic. In 2019, Katona received an MBE (New Year Honours 2019) for services to the food industry.

Television

Katona films regularly for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, ITV and

The Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both speci ...

. Appearances have been on ''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'', ''

Sunday Brunch ''Sunday Brunch'' is a British television programme presented by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It is broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings and features cookery and interviews with celebrity guests. Format The programme began on 25 Ma ...

'', ''Secret Chef'', ''

My Kitchen Rules ''My Kitchen Rules'' (often abbreviated as ''MKR'') is an Australian competitive cooking game show broadcast on the Seven Network since 2010. The show is currently hosted and judged by chefs Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge, with Feildel being ...

'', ''My Spice Kitchen'' and her own Indian food travelogue for the BBC, ''Recipes that made me''. She regularly appears as a guest chef on ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * ''CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succes ...

'', guest panelist on '' The Kitchen Cabinet'' on BBC Radio 4, and on both ''BBC News'' and ''Sky News'' as a guest expert on matters relating to business and hospitality. On 14 February 2021, a 10-part culinary travel series presented by Katona called ''A Taste of Italy'' was premiered on

and

More 4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content The i ...

. On 16 March 2021, she was a guest judge in the semi-final of ''Interior Design Masters'', in which the designers made over a pair of restaurants in

Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Upper Calder Valley, west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden W ...

. On 13 July 2021, Katona was one of the professional chefs on ITV's ''

Cooking with the Stars Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling foo ...

''. In the six-part series, she trained her celebrity partner,

Harry Judd Harry Mark Christopher Judd (born 23 December 1985) is an English musician who is the drummer for the rock band McFly. Early life and education Judd was born in Chelmsford, Essex in southern England, the youngest of three children. He is the so ...

, in preparing dishes which were then judged. In the final episode, Judd was named the winner. On 10 August 2021, Katona appeared as a guest chef on BBC 1's ''

Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with MasterChef (British TV series), the British version in July 1990. The show aims to discover the culinary talent of chefs of varying sk ...

'', challenging four celebrities to cook an Indian recipe from her menu. From 2021 - 2024, Katona was be one of the members of the new judging panel of ''

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, where ...

'', joining the former champion

Tom Kerridge Thomas Kerridge (born 27 July 1973) is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, ...

and the comedian and food podcaster

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Gamble (born 10 March 1986) is an English comedian and television presenter. He is best known for co-presenting the ''Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, Off Menu'' podcast with James Acaster as well as his appearances ...

. In September 2024, ''Nisha Katona’s Home Kitchen'' was commissioned by ITV. The upcoming ten-part cookery series will be presented by Katona.

Books

* ''Mowgli Street Food: Stories and recipes from the Mowgli Street Food restaurants'' * ''The Spice Tree: Indian Cooking Made Beautifully Simple'' * ''Pimp My Rice: Delicious recipes from across the globe'' * ''The 30-Minute Mowgli: Fast Easy Indian from the Mowgli Home'' * ''Meat Free Mowgli: Simple & Delicious Plant Based Indian Meals'' * ''BOLD: Big Flavour Twists to Classic Dishes''

Awards and honours

* Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024 – Listed as a best Best Big Company to work for * Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 – TOP 10 Best Big Companies * Best Companies’ 2023 – TOP 25 Best Large Companies * Casual Dining Awards 2023 – Restaurant Brand of the Year (1-19 sites) * British HR Awards 2023 – Hospitality and Leisure Company of the Year * North West Finance Awards 2023 – Finance Team of the Year (5 or less) * MIB – Restaurant of the Year and Business of the Year 2023 * British Curry Awards 2022 - Best Restaurant North West * Best Companies Awards 2022 - The UK’s Top 100 Best Large Companies to work for - Rank #16. * Best Companies Awards 2021 - The UK’s Top 100 Best Large Companies to work for - Rank #28. *Casual Dining Awards 2020 - The Trailblazer of the Year Award. *Honorary Doctor of Business Administration - Edge Hill University (2019). *Honorary Fellow - Liverpool John Moores University (2019). *MBE - (New Year Honours 2019) Honoured for services to the food industry. * The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders, 2019. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Best Emerging Brand Award. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Best Management Team Award. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Rank #45. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2018 - Rank #17. * Retailers’ Retailer Winner 2018 - Emerging Concept. * Wireless Social's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, 2018. * Business of the Year, City of Liverpool Business Awards - 2018 * Best Medium Sized Business, North West Business Masters Awards - 2018 * Maserati Top 100, People's choice

References

External links

*
Mowgli's

Mowgli Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Nisha 1971 births Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Businesspeople from Lancashire Chefs of Indian cuisine English barristers English cookbook writers English people of Indian descent English restaurateurs English television chefs English women chefs Living people Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Liverpool John Moores University People from Ormskirk People from Skelmersdale Television personalities from Lancashire Writers from Lancashire