My Story

 A little about me - I grew up in India, surrounded by a family of incredible cooks who specialized in traditional Indian cuisine. Though I didn’t truly embrace cooking until adulthood, I spent much of my childhood helping in the kitchen alongside my mom, grandmothers, and aunts. From them, I inherited a deep sense for cooking from scratch (I know, I know, it’s not practical in today’s world – but at least we can eliminate highly processed foods), a passion for healthy eating, and a revelation that the kitchen is truly the heart of the home. My grandma had an earthen stove that was fueled by firewood, and I was it’s ‘manager’ 😊

Sure, my mother often experimented with dishes like custards, Indian-style pasta, and French toast but it wasn’t until college that I realized how vast and diverse the culinary world truly is. Each cuisine, from Mexican to Japanese, Italian to Korean, has something unique and delicious to offer—and the best part is, they’re all customizable to suit your taste.
When I settled down and had my own family, here in the good old US of A, I turned to cooking as a way to combat homesickness and avoid the monotony of eating out. Those early years were filled with phone calls to my mother and mother-in-law, learning the traditional recipes I had grown up with. As I mastered those, my curiosity led me to explore dishes from around the globe. Each new recipe came with its own challenges—unfamiliar spices/herbs, hard-to-find ingredients, and sometimes intimidating techniques or walk-ins to a specialty store —but the rewards were always worth it. The whole extensive online shopping along with walking into a specialty/ethnic store was as intimidating as trying to navigate without a GPS while driving a stick, to say the least! 😊
Plus, the ingredients ended up languishing in the fridge/pantry somewhere between the twilight zone and a time machine!
After more than two decades in the banking world, I decided to follow my passion for cooking full-time. My goal is to help others break free from the routine of cooking the same few dishes and embrace the adventure that global cuisine offers. Whether it’s navigating ingredient shopping or simply finding the joy in cooking something new for loved ones, I truly believe that the kitchen is a place where creativity and connection come to life. And there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the surprise and delight on someone’s face when they try something you’ve made with love.

This is where Global Table kits comes in to help with your culinary explorations. Recipe, along with a little history of the dish, specialty shelf-stable ingredients and the guesswork all wrapped into a neat little box at your fingertips! Ingredients and packed here locally in SoCal. I have strived to design a culinary kit for global cuisines – Thai, Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, Persian, Ethiopian, Caribbean, etc. – for the home cooks that love to not only to cook, but experience and share the dishes.
This kit will enable both beginners as well as seasoned cooks to experience the whole process of cooking from “scratch” at home and serve to family/friends. This is for the folks who want to eat more healthy, want to reduce their carbon foot print, go more meatless, break out of a food rut, meal plan or who just want to treat with a unique cuisine.
 My cooking kits will also give you the joy and satisfaction that comes from home cooking, while keeping it simple, zero to little waste and eliminate the need to visit multiple stores.
               Here’s to more adventures in the kitchen from mine to yours - Bye, Ciao, Namaste, Auf  Wiedersehen, Au revoir, Lakon, Adios, Totsiens, Khudahafaz, Hoscakal and more to come! 😊
 
With much love,
Shri