Balboa Park Food & Wine School

Shital Parikh grew up in a cooking family where her mother, aunts, and grandma enjoyed the art of cooking from scratch. She received a French dessert cookbook for her 13th birthday and was ecstatic! She has always loved being in the kitchen and would cook large gourmet birthday parties for her mom's birthday of 40-50 guests. While earning her Master's degree at Western Michigan University, Shital was Treasurer of the Indian Student Association. She led them to receiving a 1st prize in a food contest for the International Student Festival with her amazing gulab jamboons and samosas. She has lately begun teaching Indian fusion food, blending the exotic Indian flavors with mainstream American tastes. It is something that is not traditionally found in Indian cuisine, but is a very delicate blend of both food cultures. She currently teaches cooking classes within San Diego county and was highly recommended in Riviera Magazine's February 2006 issue for great cooking classes. Currently Shital is being considered for Bravo's Top Chef reality T.V. show in which she competes with other chefs around the country!