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Sarah Todd is an Australian model, chef, restaurateur, public speaker, and author. She gained popularity when she made an Indian dish like Aloo Gobhi in the 2014 MasterChef Australia, which was its sixth edition following which she opened two restaurants in India, wrote two books about cooking, and travelled extensively in various parts of India to learn about Indian dishes. She has participated in other editions of MasterChef Australia and has also been featured in TV shows. She has proclaimed herself as an Indophile.
Wiki/Biography
She was born on Sunday, 26 October 1986 (age 36 years; as of 2022) at Walkerston, Mackay, Queensland in Australia. Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. She learnt baking from her mother and started cooking at the age of 9. At the age of 18, a modelling agency signed her and she moved to Sydney to work on modelling assignments for brands like Gucci and Hugo Boss. She developed an interest in Indian food when she moved to live with her parents-in-law in London, UK. In 2013, she got enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu, a cooking school in London. After that, she worked at many reputed restaurants before entering Masterchef Australia 2014 Show. She says that after the birth of her son, she realised that cooking was her passion and decided to follow it seriously. Later, she became a restauranteur after opening restaurants in India. She has been living in India since 2014. She has also been a guest speaker at various reputed functions like the Economic Times Global Summit and the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Brunette
Eye Colour: Green
Figure Measurements (approx.): 33 24 35
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father’s name is Steve, and her mother’s name is Lorraine. When she was 2 years old, her father left her and went to Japan. She was raised single-handedly by her mother. Her mother was also known as the ‘Pavlova Queen.’ Her mother is a breast cancer survivor. She has 2 elder brothers, Stephen, who is a mining partner, and Matthew, who is a train driver.
Husband & Children
In 2011, she gave birth to her son, Phoenix, who lives with her. Phoenix’s father is Devinder Singh Garcha, Sarah’s fiance at the time of Phoenix’s birth. Phoenix is also interested in cooking, and along with his mother, he cooked Massaman Curry in an episode of the cooking show Homestead To Fork. He lives primarily with his mother Sarah; however, when she is not present due to her business ventures, he lives with his father.
Fiance’
In 2009, she met Devinder Singh Garcha of Indian origin through a common friend in Sydney. Later, she moved to the UK to live with him and his parents. Soon, they got engaged to each other and were planning to get married in 2015; however, they broke up.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2018, she reportedly dated Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali.
Religion
She follows Christianity.
Career
Modelling & Brand Endorsements
She started modelling at the age of 18 and moved to Sydney. She started working for
Chef and Restaurateur
While she was living with her in-laws in London, she enrolled herself at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in London. Later, she worked as a chef in many reputed restaurants. She specialized in French cuisine and learnt Indian cuisines (mainly Punjabi dishes) from her mother-in-law at her home. She gained many followers on social media from India after she made Aloo Gobi in MasterChef Australia in 2014. She finished 9th in the show. She gained around 50,000 followers on Instagram within a week after that particular episode aired. In 2015, she moved to India and opened her first restaurant Antares at Vagator beach in Goa, an Australian-themed restaurant for casual dining. She opened this restaurant in partnership with a Delhi-based businessman, Ashish Dev Kapur. She also made a TV series titled My Restaurant in India, which showed the process of building a restaurant. In 2016, the show was aired by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service in more than 150 countries.
In 2016, she made a TV series Serve It Like Sarah, which showcased her time spent in Goa, learning about Indian cuisines. It was made by FOX Life India. In 2017, she participated in the Indian restaurant entrepreneur show Grilled made by FOX Life India. She was the judge in the show alongside famous Indian restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani and music director Vishal Dadlani.
In 2018, she hosted the show Awesome Assam with Sarah Todd in which she showcased various cuisines of Assam, India along with its scenic landscape.
Join us on a soul-stirring journey through the rich landscapes of #Assam with our new show, Awesome Assam with Sarah Todd, premiering Saturday at 8 PM. @Sarah_Todd_ pic.twitter.com/Q1tz0qAILp
— FOXlife India (@FoxLifeIndia) March 23, 2018
In the same year, she also shot for the show The Good Cooks and tried cooking local cuisines of Fiji. The show was filmed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Australia to showcase Fijian cooking techniques.
In 2018, she opened her second restaurant The Wine Rack in Mumbai. Her business partner was again Ashish Kapur. She also made a TV series titled My Second restaurant in India, which was aired again by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service. She was invited to participate again in MasterChef 2020, which she declined due to her career commitments. In 2022, she was again invited to participate and finished at 2nd place. When asked about her career, she said,
“I’ve always been inquisitive and enjoy learning new stuff. When I was younger, I tried so many different things and kept searching for one thing I really loved doing. Luckily, modelling was something that just happened, but it wasn’t something that lit me up inside. So when I started cooking, when my son was born, I realised how passionate I was about it. I knew this was something I wanted to explore and make a career out of, so I gave myself one year to turn this into a career or go back to modelling as it was a steady career option, too. However, everything snowballed and I haven’t looked back since.”
In 2022, she participated in Culinary Masters at Gastrobeats 2022 in Singapore.
Public Speaker and Author
She has spoken at various events all over the world and has given various interviews regarding her journey. She appeared in ET Global Business Summit 2019, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest.
She has written 2 books, The Healthy Model Cookbook in 2016 and My Indian Kitchen in 2021.
Favourites
- Eatery: Aru, a south Asian restaurant in Melbourne
- Indian Chefs: Vicky Ratnani, Manish Mehrotra, Sanjana Patel, and Vinesh Johny
Facts/Trivia
- She suffers from Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) due to which doctors termed her pregnancy dangerous, and after she gave birth to her son, she called him a miracle kid.
- She has been suffering from migraine since childhood.
- In an interview, she said that had she not become a chef, she would be a car driver.
- She has worked with several reputed chefs like Marco Pierre White and Sanjeev Kapoor.
- She often shares her photos with various celebrities on social media.
- She celebrates Indian festivals with great enthusiasm.
- She broke her ankle during the Covid-19 lockdown.
- She was invited to the premier of the James Bond franchise movie ‘No Time To Die.’
- In 2017, she redesigned the dining menu of PVR cinemas.
- In 2019, her restaurant Antares was destroyed in a fire and was rebuilt. She was depressed for 6 months after this incident.
- Her restaurant The Wine Rack won Times Food and Nightlife awards for Best Global Casual Dining (South Mumbai) and Best Wine Bar (South Mumbai) in 2019.
- She has travelled to many Indian states like Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Nagaland, and Tamil Nadu.
- She prepared Bhelpuri in MasterChef Australia 2022 and termed it as one of the most unique and quickest dishes to prepare.