New Delhi: An Indian-origin chef has been included in the royal invite list for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in London next month. Indian-origin chef Manju Malhi, who works with a senior citizens’ charity in the UK, is among the winners of the British Empire Medal (BEM). Buckingham Palace announced this on Saturday.
Manju Malhi was awarded the BEM for community services in London during the COVID-19 pandemic and will join 850 BEM recipients as well as other community champions and charities across the UK at a coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 6 May Representatives will attend.
Malhi is a professional chef and has been working as the resident chef for the charity ‘Open Age’ since 2016. The charity looks after active living for older people in London. It helps people aged 50 or over to maintain their physical and mental fitness, maintain an active lifestyle and develop new interests.
Manju has converted the Open Edge kitchen into a cookery school and restaurant for members and staff, and has offered online cookery classes during COVID-19, a Buckingham Palace statement said. Manju also leads the Open Edge community ‘Big Local Family Cooking Club’. The club provides entertainment, interaction, and an opportunity for local residents from different backgrounds to come together and cook and eat a meal together as a community family. The UK-born chef and food writer grew up in North-West London and specializes in Anglo-Indian cuisine.
Manju spent many years of her childhood in India, where she explored and experienced the vast and diverse cuisine of the country of her heritage. Malhi also appears in television cookery shows. She serves what she describes as a “British-Indie” style of food, which combines Indian and Western influences. Malhi was awarded the BEM by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
