Gourmet specialist Karen Anand is a woman of many attributes. She is a Food Consultant, Food Writer and an Entrepreneur, all rolled into one.

Karen was born in Bombay but grew up in London and was educated in England and Paris. During her A B.A.(Hons) in International Relations and French from Sussex University, Karen spent one year at Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris and three months in Russia.

She anchored the popular Food programme, The Good Food Guide, for Star Plus in 1998, which was repeated in 1999. She anchored the Food & Wine segment of the weekend show Trend Mill on CNBC in 2003. She is currently shooting a show for Star One, "Karen Anand's Cook Na Kaho", based on her forthcoming book, Simple Cooking for Smart Men.

Her tryst with gourmet food is a story by itself. She trained briefly in Alain Sanderens' three star Michelin restaurant, 'Lucas Carton' in Paris. From then on there was no looking back. In 1991 she ran a restaurant at The Piano Bar specialising in Salads known as 'The Salad Bar', the first of it's kind in Bombay. She started the city's first European style cheese shop and delicatessen, 'The Grand Cheese Bazaar', and her own brand label, Karen Anand, producing whole fruit Preserves and Marmalades, Salad Dressings and specialty Sauces, which are today supplied to major luxury Hotels and retail outlets. Karen makes it a policy to only employ women at her production unit in Pune. Most of these women have been with her since she started her business and she has supported them through their marriages and as young mothers. For ten years, she also ran one of Bombay's most successful catering companies specialising in International cuisine, which had an enviable corporate and private clientele throughout the country.

She co-authored the best seller, Penguins "Food Lovers Guide to India and Nepal", a selective restaurant guide and wrote the introduction to the Periplus book, `The Food of India', followed by `Lean Cuisine Curries', published by Harper Collins in 1998 and a CD ROM, `Creative Cooking for the City Couple' for Times Multimedia in 2001. She launched Karen Anand's International Cooking in 2003 which has been a bestseller. `Simple Cooking for Smart Men', the first in a series of books for young people, will be launched in June 2005.

As a Food Consultant, her clients include Old World Hospitality (India Habitat Centre), Domino's Pizza, Delhi; Khyber Restaurant, Bombay; Radisson, Jet Airways, Hindustan Lever, Marico, Venky's, The Hyatt, The Park and ITC
hotels, Britannia Industries, Veneta Cucine and Philips (Domestic appliances). Her latest project is setting up and supplying a range of ready to eat gourmet food solutions to a Gourmet Food Store which is part of the successful Indian Department Store chain, Shopper's Stop. This is a project very close to her heart. She has been promoting healthy eating habits in India for years and is particularly involved in finding workable food options for working women in cities. In India, cooking and domestic chores are still very much the responsibility of the woman.

In 2003 Karen started her Gourmet Academy, a cookery school where she demonstrates a variety of International Cuisines and brings in well known chefs and wine makers to share their experiences.

Karen was born on May 23rd 1960 and has travelled extensively since. She maintains her sanity by living in the relative calm of Pune, outside Mumbai, with her two dogs, two sons, Param and Sasha and husband, Yadu Sankalia, who now supports her full time in her entrepreneurial activities.

In 2006 Karen won the the French Food & Spirit Award (Trophée 2006 pour la Culture) for promoting French food and wine for the last two decades in India. It is part of an endeavour entitled "L'Esprit Alimentaire", promoted by the French Food & Drink Industries. The award was handed over at a ceremony on the 24th October at the Palace of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Quai d'Orsay in Paris.