Smita Chandra is the author of three renowned Indian cookbooks, freelance food writer for several newspapers and magazines, recipe developer and tester as well as a well-known cooking instructor.

From a young age, Smita found herself intrigued by the creativity and complexity of Indian cuisine. Hours spent cooking with her mother in the kitchen helped Smita learn the traditional, time-honoured recipes and cooking techniques that have been handed down for generations in her family. Today, Smita adapts these traditional culinary skills to modern western kitchens and busy lifestyles.

Smita has been a prominent guest on many TV and radio shows including Christine Cushing’s Cook with me, Anna Olson’s Kitchen Equipped, The Mom Show, Dr. Marla Shapiro’s Balance, and the CBC radio’s ‘Fresh Air’.

She has written several articles for the Toronto Star and Desi Life magazine, where she is a regular food columnist. Smita has also been written up in a blog in the Mississauga News and has made a cooking video for Desi Life magazine.

Her fresh approach towards traditional Indian cooking has led to the success of her many cooking classes that are regularly hosted by the LCBO, Calphalon Culinary Centre, Dish Cooking Studio, Loblaws and many more.

Developing South Asian recipes is one of Smita’s strengths, and she enjoys presenting products to consumers in ways that challenge and excite their imagination and gets them cooking! Her wealth of experience, culinary expertise and deep understanding of regional Indian cuisines have combined to produce recipes that create traditional, flavourful and aromatic dishes while still managing to simplify the cooking process tremendously. She has developed recipes for Unilever’s Knorr brand and the Ontario Potato Board.

Smita has a degree in communications and has written over a hundred by-lined articles. She has been teaching cooking in the Toronto area for the past ten years and has worked as a coordinator for a Loblaws cooking school for five years. She currently lives in the Toronto area with her husband and two sons.