Our Bureau
New York
James Beard Foundation conferred Madhur Jaffrey with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, making her the first Indian and South Asian to win the prestigious award. Madhur Jaffrey, the Padma Bhushan winner is a celebrated food writer, television chef, actor and cookbook author.
“Jaffrey first captured attention as an actress in the film Shakespeare Wallah, winning the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival in 1965. Her first cookbook, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, was published in 1973, and was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2006. She has since released more than 30 award-winning cookbooks, cementing her status as the ‘Godmother of Indian Cooking’.
Jaffrey, who will turn 90 just a few months after she collects her latest award in June at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony, is an unstoppable force who has been endorsing Indian food and culture since a long time now.
Jaffrey’s impact on how the Western world views Indian cuisine is undeniable. She is widely credited with bringing mass attention to Indian cuisine, both in the US and the UK. She has authored 30 cookbooks and hosted several television programs, most notably Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery, which premiered in the UK in 1982.
