Maharashtra’s Father-Daughter Duo Set to Revive the Fading Flavors of Karada Community in MasterChef India
Meet the Contestants of MasterChef 2026 , Venu and Avni Sharma
MasterChef India continues to champion the spirit of a nation moving confidently on the front foot—guided by pride, partnership, ambition, and unity. Reflecting this ethos, father–daughter duo Venu and Avni Sharma step onto the MasterChef stage carrying a unique cultural blend. While their family roots trace back to Kashmir and Kerala, the duo hails from Karad, a district in Maharashtra, and arrives with a singular mission: to place Karad’s lesser-known cuisine firmly on India’s culinary map.
By profession, Venu is involved in farming and runs an advertising agency, while Avni is a food stylist who has grown up absorbing stories, flavours, and aspirations from her father. During their interaction on the show, Chef Vikas Khanna curiously asked, “You guys are doing so well. Why did you choose the MasterChef journey?” Avni answered with clarity and conviction, “When you go to a restaurant and open the menu, you will find North Indian cuisine, South Indian, Chinese, and Italian. You must have heard all this, but I have a small dream about our community’s cuisine, like Karada cuisine. I want to see a restaurant’s menu in the wing. So this platform is very important to me.”
MasterChef India 2026 Contestants Are ? – Avani Sharma Uppangala, Venu , SaiSri and Chandana from Telangana Are So far Introduced.
When Chef Vikas followed up by asking what she would name such a space, Avni replied, “Maybe Karada Spice Box…” Visibly moved, Chef Vikas concluded warmly, “I am in love with this.”
Reflecting on their journey, Chef Vikas added, “Most of my life I have spent in countries abroad, the identity of food is not just my representation but it also represents my ancestors as well.” He further shared that the true purpose of MasterChef India is to create a platform for voices like Venu and Avni’s, stories rooted in identity, legacy, and aspiration.
Venu and Avni’s dream of taking Karad cuisine to national and global recognition stands as a powerful example of India’s evolving narrative, where regional voices find national pride, and partnerships across generations drive ambition forward. Their journey reinforces MasterChef India’s role as a stage where heritage meets hope, and where India continues to move ahead, confidently and together, on the front foot.
MasterChef India premieres on 5th January, Monday to Friday, at 9:00 PM on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Liv!
