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Palak Patel grew up between Atlanta and India in a large family. She loved cooking but pursued business and fell in love with food while traveling the world as a marketer. Palak chose to change careers when her company was acquired in 2010 and trained at the Culinary Business Academy of the U.S. Personal Chef Institute in San Francisco, then the International Culinary Center (then the French Culinary Institute). She cooked in the South of France and taught classes at a small Brooklyn cooking school before being persuaded to compete on “Chopped,” which she won in 2013.

Chef Palak has competed on “Food Network Star” and won “Beat Bobby Flay” since, in addition to making guest appearances on the "Today Show," Fox 5 "Good Day Atlanta," Bravo and ABC 7 Chicago. She's traveled to more than 50 countries for food and incorporates nutrition, herbs and spices into her recipes for private lessons and personal chef work.

Chef Palak’s specialty is authentic, healthy and often vegetarian Indian food, and she prides herself on making fine food casual. She's hosted many food pop-ups, consults for high-end restaurants in places like Miami and the Amalfi Coast, and partners with major brands, such as Whole Foods, Clif Bar, BMW, Barclays and Hello Fresh.

In 2019, Chef Palak joined the 51�Թ� to test recipes and develop her health-conscious, vegetable-forward cooking. She is passionate about preventing food waste, advocating for New York City's Southeast Asian population and promoting sustainability.