
IN - HOUSE CHEFS
CHEF ASSISTANTS

ZAHABIA MUKHTIAR
Zahabia Mukhtiar is the Sous Chef at La Folie. She heads and manages the pastry operations.
SANJANA PATEL
×At 22, Sanjana started as an apprentice at Pierre Hermé. After stints with talents such as Jean-Charles Rochoux, Patrick Roger and Olivier Bajard, she donned the role of the Chief of Chocolate Production under Chef Camille Lesecq at Hotel Le Meurice. She moved on to Hotel Plaza Athénée in the Dorchester Collection, under Chef Christophe Michalak and Chef Alain Ducasse.
Sanjana’s passion for her craft and expertise as a flavour artist resonates in every creation at La Folie. Over the years, she has received national and global accolades. She was crowned India’s Pastry Queen in 2015 and ranked as the 4th Best Pastry Chef globally at the World Pastry Queen Competition in 2016.
Now, she has embarked on a journey to create chocolate from its origin – the bean. She travelled to cacao farms across four continents to source the best beans for creating the finest blends of couverture chocolate. She shares her adventures at La Folie’s Factory Café and the small batch Bean to Bar Factory in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, which also houses The Classroom.
NIRVAAN THACKER
×ZAHABIA MUKHTIAR
×OMKAR DABHANE
×KRISHNA PUNJABI
×ANMOL THAKAR
×VISITING FACULTY



SEEFAH KETCHAIYO
With more than 15 years of experience working in five star hotels and her love of culinary art since she was young, Chef Seefah Ketchaiyo has become the new phenomenon among Asian food enthusiasts in Mumbai. She started her journey as a chef in multiple five star hotels in her native country of Thailand and in China. India now gives her inspiration with its wonderful culture which is reflected in every single detail of all dishes she creates. She learned about the art of home cooking from her own father who made her who she is today. With his inspiration and her gift in cooking, Chef Seefah took her passion to the test in the professional kitchens of five-star hotels. Realising what her customers want, Chef Seefah has created the new definition of Asian food and brings it to the next level. She left a five-star hotel in Mumbai to start her own business with a passion for food and an exceptional skill in cooking. She is now creating her own brand name 'Seefah' with the main intention to offer more of the authentic cooking experience with premium quality ingredients to all her customers.
SHRIYA SHETTY
Born & bred in Bombay, 25-year-old Shriya Shetty graduated from Narsee Monjee College. She followed her passion for all things food and joined Ellipsis, Colaba. Post her work stint at Ellipsis she got an opportunity to stage at Gaggan in Bangkok and then joined Mikellers and trained under chef Dan Bark. She then decided to dig deep into her roots and moved to her hometown – Mangalore , along with partner Varun Shetty, 3 years back where they realized that the city needed good dessert and great bread, so they set up an artisanal Bakery & Patisserie called Pupkins Kitchen in 2017. She also moonlights as a researcher in Mangalorean food and spends her time away from the bakery learning age-old recipes of Mangalorean masalas from chefs & smaller kitchens in the city. “Mangalorean food is often stereotyped! People have this notion that all Mangaloreans eat is neer dosa and ghee roast or idli and dosa (which is a South Indian food stereotype). When planning the menus, I want to showcase the food I grew up eating as a Bombay Shetty, as well as some of the beautiful discoveries I made in 3 years I have spent in Mangalore. It is a mix of the old and the new, with all the flavours true to my culture” says Chef Shriya Shetty.
AMRITA KAUR
Amrita worked as a city journalist & a radio jockey before realizing that kitchen holds deeper secrets for her. She started her food blog lifekirecipe.com about 8 years back & since then she has been experimenting in the food space. From writing about food to recipe creations, food styling to cooking workshops & now certified Ayurveda Nutrition consultant, she's always up for exploring new ingredients through her monthly Ayurveda based meal popups 'Two Rainbows'
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