I’m Payal Rajankar, Founder of Dear Food. I was born & raised in Chennai. I studied at Lady Andal School. After that, I moved to Hyderabad to study Culinary Arts. My first job was with The Oberoi Group of Hotels. I then did my Masters Diploma at The Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development. During this time, I trained in multiple hotels around the country & eventually worked as the Junior Sous Chef at The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur. In 2018, after eight years, I came back to Chennai & founded The Gourmet Gig. We curated multi-course sit-down meals, as well as Pop-ups & public ticketed events. I have put a hold on this for now, as I launch my new venture. I love being a chef because it allows me to be around food & experience the joy of feeding people. More about me: I still have songs on my playlist from when I was 14 years old. I love the rain with a side of hot chocolate. And I’m currently working towards a life filled with lots of travel & new experiences!