From working in a corporate job to becoming a professional cook, and training chefs in the intricacies of Pathare Prabhu community cuisine, Kalpana Talpade feels that love for food is the binding thread between cultures and communities.

Kalpana Talpade is the founder of Kalpana’s Kitchen in Mumbai.

Kalpana is from the Pathare Prabhu community of Maharashtra which she says is a small community and one of the initial settlers of the region.

Kalpana says that she worked for twenty-three years in a corporate job. She started as a typist and reached the post of computer programmer. After that, she took a VRS and started enjoying her life.

Kalpana says that her daughter used to live abroad and desired to learn Pathare Prabu cuisine and that is how Kalpana started making videos and her YouTube journey started in 2011. Her love for cooking also got her an entry in MasterChef India, Season 3.

Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalpana says that as most of her work was online, it did not affect her much. She kept making her cooking videos and also started writing a book which she later self-published. Kalpana says that she had a pop-up kitchen in her home which she had to close down.

Talking about her role models, Kalpana shares that her mother is the one for her. Her mother was also good at things like cooking, stitching, and creative art.

Talking about her struggles, Kalpana shares that she had a smooth journey overall. The only struggle she had to face was traveling every day to get to her job.

Sharing her success mantra, Kalpana says that it is hard work and not giving heed to the negativity around us.

In her free time, she likes to paint and explore her artistic side. She also loves gardening and has a small kitchen garden as well.