Regularly seen in Food Diaries, the show that she hosts on Masala TV, Karachi based Zarnak Sidhwa was recently rated as the most popular chef in Pakistan. Popularity is determined on the basis of the Google search volume that shows up against each chef.
This exercise was undertaken by the UK based food and drink tour operator, Explore Worldwide. Having shortlisted 1,700 prominent chefs and restaurateurs from each country, they analyzed the quantum of Google searches against each name. The chef with the highest number of searches was deemed the most popular in his/her country or state of birth. Based on this criterion, British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was the most Googled chef in the world — and in the UK — with 12 million searches on the platform from November 2022 to October 2023.
These culinary leaders "have not only mastered their craft but have also captured the hearts and imaginations of food lovers worldwide,” noted the Explore Worldwide website. "Contemporary dining is moving away from fancy-for-the-sake-of-being-fancy, and there is a huge shift towards encouraging and championing sustainable ingredients, preserving local recipes and cooking methods, and being creative with regional produce while still retaining an authentic homage to the local area,” added the website.
Working full-time on Masala TV, South Asia’s only 24-hour live cooking channel, Sidhwa believes her "hard work and dedication, passion and patience, self-learning and inquisitiveness, honesty and sincerity” have earned her "a decent following of over 4.7 lakh followers” on the Facebook page of Food Diaries. Doing this live cookery show for the last 13 years, in her perky style she conjures up delicious food and easy-to-make desserts while answering calls from viewers. Additionally, she has her personal Facebook page as also the zarnaksidhwaofficial Instagram page, she conveyed to Parsiana in the midst of her "very busy schedule for Ramzan shows.” Her career at Masala TV had started with her popular show Chocoholics where all her creations had chocolate as the staple ingredient. The popularity of this show had resulted in a second season.
Top and above: Zarnak Sidhwa on her TV show
There are three other awards that Sidhwa has won in the last three years: the title of Queen of Dessert at the Global Food & Chef Awards, 2021; the Best Female Influencer Chef Award at the Annual Culinary Awards 2021 and the Best TV personality of the year at the Annual Culinary Awards the following year.
Passionate about cooking from the time she was a student at the Mama Parsi Girls High School, after her graduation from St Joseph’s College and obtaining culinary training in Karachi and overseas, Sidhwa pursued a career in the food industry. Starting with a catering business from home she was able to develop a niche market for herself. The chef has been well-known for her assorted handmade chocolates, innovative Christmas cakes and weddings cakes. She is also interested in revising and refreshing original Parsi recipes to preserve them for the next generation. In a compilation on food available in the subcontinent she has written a chapter on Parsi cuisine and has contributed to yet another book on Pakistani cuisine.