Aarti Sequeira

Aarti Lucica Sequeira (born 19 August 1978) is an Indian-American cook and television personality, best known as the winner of the sixth season of Food Network's reality television show, The Next Food Network Star. In 2010, after her victory, her show Aarti Party premiered on the network. Following Aarti Party, she went on to host Taste in Translation on Cooking Channel, in which she seeks out the most popular dishes from around the world. She had previously worked as a CNN news producer and in 2008 started the online cooking variety show Aarti Paarti.

Early life and education Aarti Sequeira was born in Bombay, India, on 19 August 1978. She has two sisters, When she was still an infant, her family moved to Dubai due to better job opportunities for her father. She participated in music-related activities at school, including choir and playing piano. She called her grandmother an "incredible, incredible cook". Sequeira's mother started keeping a recipe journal after her own mother died, which inspired Sequeira to start her own recipe journal starting at age 10. and she was nicknamed "Showcase" because she enjoyed dancing and performing for people. with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, One year later, she transferred to CNN's bureau in New York City, Sequeira began working on the production of Sand and Sorrow, a documentary about the Darfur crisis. as well as a food blog called AartiPaarti.com, She felt comfortable working in front of the camera because she felt cooking segments were less pressure than some of the journalistic stories upon which she previously worked. The Houston Chronicle described her as an "early fan favorite". though they repeatedly commented upon her admitted lack of self-confidence. Sequeira participated in 18 challenges over 10 weeks during her time on the show, During the season finale on August 15, Sequeira was tasked with shooting a pilot of her possible television series. Sequeira's pilot was Aarti Party, She was also featured in Food Network Magazine and appeared at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival that October.

In September 2012, Sequeira was a headliner at the Savor the Central Coast, a culinary festival in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since 2021, Sequeira has appeared as a judge on the holiday-themed cooking reality shows Holiday Wars, and Halloween Wars.

Sequeira published a cookbook called Aarti Paarti: An American Kitchen with an Indian Soul, In 2015, Sequeira began writing a recurring food column for the Associated Press, 'World's Fare,' making her the first Asian woman and first immigrant, non-citizen to become a nationally syndicated AP columnist. Sequeira was working on a new cookbook as of August 2022. Sequeira also released a book My Family Recipe Journal: With Prayers and Scriptures, inspired by her recipe journals previously made by herself and her mother. She intended for the book to allow others to document their own culinary traditions and flavors. Sequeira has been a guest on several talk shows, including The Today Show, The Talk, The Dr. Oz Show, The Nate Berkus Show, and Home & Family. The two met when they were both attending Northwestern University, where McNamara majored in theater studies. They lived in Mid City, Los Angeles as of 2013, and the family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2020.

Sequeira and her husband have two daughters, Eliyah and Moses Marigold. She suffered from post-partum depression after giving birth to Eliyah, and the experience led her to become an advocate for women suffering from post-natal mood disorders. She has been involved with the organization Postpartum Support International.

Sequeira is a Christian and is devoutly religious. In addition to cooking, Sequeira likes improvisational theatre and has taken classes for it, which she said helped give her the courage to post her original cooking videos online. She also enjoys music, Middle Eastern dance, and visiting art galleries. She is active on the social media network Instagram.

Filmography Television Year Series Role Notes 2010 The Next Food Network Star Herself Contestant: Season 6 (Winner) 2010–2011 Aarti Party Herself/host 2013 Taste in Translation Herself/host 2014–present Guy's Grocery Games Herself/Recurring Judge 2020 Selena + Aarti Sequeira: Friendsgiving Herself 2021–present Halloween Wars Herself/Judge