Rachel Goenka is an Indian restaurateur, chef, author and the founder and CEO of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

based The Chocolate Spoon Company. She runs a chain of restaurants such as The Sassy Spoon, a

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

restaurant, ''House of Mandarin'', a Chinese restaurant, ''Baraza Bars and Bites'', a beach shack themed pub, ''Wicked China'', an Asian resto-bar, and ''Sassy Teaspoon'', a chain of patisseries and bakeries.

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

's Times Hospitality Icons chose her as the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018, and she was named one of The CEO Magazine's 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Watch For in 2018. She has featured on the cover of magazines such as Feelings, Dogs N More, and Mother & Baby. She was awarded the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2020 for her book, ''Adventures with Mithai''.

Early life and education

Rachel Goenka graduated with degrees in Journalism and English from The Pennsylvania State University and then studied at The

Ballymaloe Cookery School The Ballymaloe Cookery School () is a privately run cookery school in Shanagarry, County Cork, Ireland, that was opened in 1983. It is run by Darina Allen, a celebrity chef, cookery book author and pioneer of the slow food movement in Ireland. Th ...

in Ireland, where Goenka was trained under celebrity chef

Rachel Allen Rachel Allen (née O'Neill) is an Irish celebrity chef, known for her work on television and as a writer. She has often appeared on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Career as chef and writer Allen went to the Ballymaloe Cookery School at th ...

. After completing her graduation, she attended

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...

in London to specialize in patisserie.

Career

She set up her first restaurant, The Sassy Spoon in

's Nariman Point in 2013, which was later chosen by French chef Alain Ducasse to be part of the Gout De France movement in 2014. Her second outlet of The Sassy Spoon was opened in

Bandra Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...

in 2015. In 2016, Goenka launched the Sassy Teaspoon, a chain of patisseries and bakeries across

and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. The Sassy Spoon, Mumbai won 'Best Independent Restaurant in India-Critics' Choice' within the first year of its operations. In 2017, she launched The House of Mandarin, an authentic Chinese diner. Some of her other brands include Baraza Bars and Bites, a beach shack themed pub, and Wicked China, an Asian resto-bar. She owns seven restaurants across

and

, and 10 patisseries and two central kitchens.

Published works

In 2019, she authored a book, ''Rachel Goenka's Adventures with Mithai'', which was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. The book was launched on 14 October 2019, in

. In December 2019, she won The Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2020, in the category of pastry and desserts for her book, ''Adventures with Mithai''.

Personal life

In February 2014, Goenka married her long-time boyfriend and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

based banker, Karan Khetarpal, with whom she has a son named Kabir. In April 2021, on her birthday, Rachel and Karan welcomed their daughter, Amalia. She is the daughter of Viveck Goenka, the chairman & MD of

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

Accolades

References

External links

Rachel Goenka has South America on her 2020 bucketlist
at ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...

''
"New tech players’ discounts is not sustainable model"
at ''FNB News''
Dna exclusive: Why Sassy Spoon rocks the culinary boat
at ''

DNA India ''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of news ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Goenka, Rachel Living people Indian chefs Indian restaurateurs Indian cookbook writers Women food writers Chefs of Indian cuisine People from Mumbai Women writers from Maharashtra Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni 1988 births