Garima Arora

Born and raised in Mumbai, Garima Arora was greatly influenced by her father's adventurous culinary experiments. After a transformative trip to Singapore, she abandoned her journalism career to pursue cooking, with her father's support. She started her culinary journey in Paris, training at Le Cordon Bleu and later working in Dubai and at Noma in Copenhagen. Intended as a brief stop, Bangkok captivated her, leading her to open Restaurant Gaa in 2017. Gaa earned its first Michelin star in 2018 and a second in 2023, making Garima the first and only Indian female chef to hold such an accolade. In 2019, she was named Asia’s Best Female Chef and debuted on MasterChef India in 2023 as its first female judge.