Rakesh Raghunathan is an Indian chef, food historian and TV host. He is known for his unique storytelling style in his videos. In 2023, he appeared as a judge in season 2 of the Tamil cookery TV show ‘MasterChef India – Tamil Season 2’ which premiered on the OTT platform SonyLIV.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Rakesh Raghunathan was born in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. He studied B.Com from Loyola College, Chennai. He obtained his master’s degree in Financial Management from Pondicherry University, Puducherry. In 2008, he received an MBA from the University of Hartford, USA.
Rakesh Raghunathan’s childhood image
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye colour: Hazel brown
Family
parents and siblings
His mother’s name is Rama Raghunathan. He has a sister.
Rakesh Raghunathan with his parents
wife and children
He married Preeti Mohan on 6 February 2012. He is a lawyer and food and travel vlogger. Together, they have a son.
A picture from Rakesh Raghunathan’s wedding
signature/autograph
livelihood
Corporate Jobs and Food Enterprises
Rakesh Raghunathan started his career at Indian multinational Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2003 as a Senior Contract Admin. He worked there for more than two years and left the job in 2005. In 2008, he worked as a business intern for three months at Standard Chartered Bank in India. In 2010, he started a food and beverage kiosk chain named ‘Petawrap’ that sells vegetarian and non-vegetarian wraps.
Rakesh Raghunathan with his Petawrap Kisko
Food Blogging/Vlogging
In 2009, he created his YouTube channel ‘Rakesh Raghunathan’, where he uploads cookery videos. In 2019, he along with his mother started a cookery web series named ‘Ammavum Naanum’, in which his mother cooks while he does the commentary. He not only shares the recipes in the web series but also narrates the culinary history and old stories related to the dishes. The web series premiered on his YouTube channel ‘Rakesh Raghunathan’. As of 2023, he has over 112 K subscribers on his channel.
Rakesh Raghunathan with his mother in a scene from the cookery web series ‘Ammavum Naanum’
In 2012, Rakesh Raghunathan, along with his wife, started a blog website named ‘Puliyogare Travels’, where he writes about cuisines from different regions (primarily South Indian regions). He also conducts cookery workshops in India and abroad. She conducted her first cookery workshop at her home, which was attended by more than 50 people.
Television
Rakesh Raghunathan has worked as a concept director and host for the Tamil tourism TV show ‘Suthralam Suvaikalam’ (2015), which airs on News7Tamil.
Rakesh Raghunathan (right) in a scene from the TV show ‘Suthralam Suvaikalam’
He appeared as the head chef in the Hindi cookery TV show ‘Curries of India’ (2018) alongside Kunal Kapoor, which aired on the channel Living Foodz (now Zee Zest). He launched a documentary TV show ‘South Diaries’ in 2019 in which he explores the culture, customs and cuisine of the South Indian region. The show was aired on Living Foodz (now Zee Zest).
Rakesh Raghunathan in a scene from the TV show ‘South Diaries’
He appeared as a host on the English-language travel and food TV show ‘Highway Dreams’ in 2022. The show was aired on the channel Zee Zest. In the same year, he appeared as a celebrity guest for two cookery shows ‘100% South Indian’ (Hindi) on Zee Zest and ‘Super Samayal’ (Tamil) on Sun TV.
Rakesh Raghunathan in a scene from the TV show ‘Super Samayal’
In 2023, he was one of the jury members of Zee Zest Unlimited Awards. He appeared as a judge in season 2 of the cookery TV show ‘MasterChef India – Tamil’ (2023), which aired on the OTT platform SonyLIV.
Rakesh Raghunathan (right) in MasterChef India – Tamil
public speaking
Apart from cooking, Rakesh Raghunathan is also known for his storytelling and public speaking skills. He has participated in various public speaking events where he mainly discusses culinary history and food-related topics in mythology and ancient Tamil literature. In 2017, she participated in ‘Food and Culture in the City’, an event organized by IIHS (Indian Institute for Human Settlements). In 2018, he participated in TEDx Chennai, where he gave a talk titled ‘Food Stories: The Story of a Community, Adversity and a Humble Peanut’. The same year, he participated in ‘The Hindu Lit Fest’, where he spoke on the topic ‘Taste of Sangam: Culinary Journeys into the Past’.
Rakesh Raghunathan (right) during ‘The Hindu Lit Fest 2018’
award
In 2018, he received the Tamil Nadu Tourism Award for his tourism TV show ‘Sutralam Suvaikalam’.
Rakesh Raghunathan’s Tamil Nadu Tourism Award
Facts/General Knowledge
- Apart from being a chef, Rakesh Raghunathan is a trained classical singer. He often shares his cover songs and music videos on his social media handles.
- He often promotes Ashirwad Atta on his Instagram handle.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn