BRIDGET WHITE-KUMAR – COOKBOOK
AUTHOR AND FOOD CONSULTANT –WINNER OF GOURMAND WORLD COOK AWARDS 2012 AND 2023
Bridget White-Kumar is
a Cookbook Author, Food Consultant and Culinary Historian. She has authored 8 Cookbooks
on Anglo-Indian Cuisine. Her area of expertise is in Colonial Anglo-Indian Food,
and she has gone through a lot of effort in reviving the old forgotten dishes
of the Colonial British Raj Era. She thinks of herself as a Culinary Historian
or keeper of recipes on the Historic and heritage Cuisine of the Colonial
British Raj in India.
Bridget was born and
brought up in Kolar Gold Fields, a small British owned mining town in the
erstwhile Mysore State, (now Karnataka), which was famous for its colonial
ambiance due to its large European and Anglo-Indian population. She comes from
a well-known Anglo-Indian family who lived and worked in the Kolar Gold Mines
for many generations. Her parents were Sydney and Doris White.
Bridget completed her
BA Degree in KGF and then B Ed. and MA Degrees in Bangalore. She worked as a
teacher for 2 years then joined Canara Bank in 1977, where she served for 24
years before taking early retirement a few years ago.
After taking early
retirement from Canara Bank, Bridget found time to pursue her hobbies of
cooking and writing. Her mother and grandmother had quite a lot of old
traditional handwritten Anglo-Indian recipes in old journals and bits and
pieces of paper. These recipes had just the basic ingredients written down with
no proper measurements or quantities. Bridget started experimenting with all
the old heritage and long forgotten recipes that had been in her family for
generations. After much trial and error, she recorded all her efforts in a
manuscript and developed her own style of writing the recipes.
She decided to get them
published so that others too could benefit from her efforts. Her first cookbook
was published in the year 2004. She started Blogging at the around the same
time, so she created awareness about Anglo-Indian cuisine, which was quite rare
at that time.
Bridget has since
brought out 8 Recipe Books on exclusive Anglo-Indian Cuisine. This Collection
of Recipes is compiled with the intention of reviving the old tastes of the
Colonial British Raj Era and thereby preserving the old Anglo-Indian Flavours
and tastes, besides recording for future generations, the unique heritage of
the pioneers of Anglo-Indian Cuisine.
Two of her Cookbooks have
won awards at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2012 and 2023. This
prestigious Award is ‘THE OSCARS’ for Cookbook Writers, selected from all over
the World.
Being an Independent
Freelance Consultant on Colonial Anglo-Indian Cuisine, Bridget has assisted
many Restaurants, Hotels and Clubs in Bangalore and elsewhere with her
knowledge of Colonial Anglo-Indian Food besides helping them to revamp and
reinvent their Menus by introducing new dishes which are a combination of both
Continental and Anglo-Indian. Many of them are now following the Recipes and
guidance given by her and the dishes are enjoyed by both Indian and Foreign
Guests.
She has conducted
Cooking Workshops and Training Sessions on Colonial Cuisine of the British Raj,
for the staff of big Hospitality houses. She also conducts Anglo-Indian Food
festivals and Pop Ups at various places across India and abroad.
In addition to the
above, She also undertakes:
*Cooking Demos at
Clubs, Women’s Groups, Corporate Offices, Schools, Colleges, etc.
*Organizing and judging
Cooking Competitions, Food Seminars, etc., at Schools, Hotel Management
Colleges, and other Institutions.
*Visiting faculty /
Motivational Speaker for students of Hotel Management Colleges, such as Christ
College Bangalore, Ramaiah College Bangalore, PCTE College of Hotel Management
Ludhiana, Punjab etc.
*Cooking Classes for
small groups on a variety of everyday Indian and Anglo-Indian Dishes, either
one-on-one or Group based depending on the preference of the Clients
Her pet project now is
conducting ‘At My Table curated Dining Experiences’ at her home where she hosts
a small number of guests to an exclusive home cooked Anglo-Indian Meal. Besides
demonstrating the dishes, she also explains about the history and evolution of
Anglo-Indian Cuisine and how each dish got its special moniker.
Bridget is always ready
to share and talk about Recipes and Food.
All her Cookbooks are available online through Amazon and other online stores.
Websites:
https://memoriesofkgf.blogspot.com
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