Aarti Sequeira
A Recipe for Empowerment: Authentic Connections with a Dash of Inspiration
Our theme this year is Empowerment. Our keynote speaker, Aarti Sequeira, is an exemplar of an empowered woman who has created an authentic space for herself in her chosen sphere of culinary media. Aarti’s story is one of empowerment that will resonate with women throughout the region who are using their gifts and following their passions in their professional and personal lives.
Keynote Bio:
A mainstay on Food Network after winning season six of Food Network Star, Aarti Sequeira is a television host, cookbook author, influencer, commentator, and judge. In addition to hosting her own cooking show, Aarti Party, she also serves as judge on hit shows like Holiday Wars,Halloween Wars, Candy Land (hosted by Kristen Chenoweth), Luda Can’t Cook (featuring Ludacris), Guy’s Grocery Games, Supermarket Stakeout and Christmas Cookie Challenge. She’s cooked in competition and emerged victorious on Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen &;“GGG.” She cooks alongside the country’s best chefs on Guy’s Ranch Kitchen.Off-network appearances include teaching Ms. Gomez how to cook on Selena + Chef (HBO Max) and voicing Chef Shobha in Disney Jr.’s Mira, Royal Detective. Aarti currently has kitchen and lifestyle products distributed by QVC and Dayspring.
A gifted writer, Aarti published her first cookbook, Aarti Paarti: An American Kitchen with an Indian Soul in 2014 (Grand Central). She has also penned a nationally syndicated column for the Associated Press entitled “World’s Fare” teaching readers how to use ingredients from the international aisle in simple, weeknight dishes.
Born in India, raised in Dubai, and educated in a British school, Aarti grew up amidst a varied tapestry of food cultures. After graduating from Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism, she began a career at CNN, covering everything from economic reports to the plight of firefighters after 9/11. She produced documentaries for television, including Sand and Sorrow (HBO), about the genocide in Darfur, narrated by George Clooney and directed by Peabody Award winner Paul Freedman. After the success of her YouTube cooking/variety show, she soon made her way to Food Network.