#ELLEGourmetCoverStar: Saloni Kukreja And A Scoop Of Culinary Finesse

Food, for Chef Saloni Kukreja, has never been just about what is on the plate. It has been a thread of community running through her childhood, linking her to her Sindhi roots and the passion that defines her work today. What began as a teenage experiment with caramel custard has evolved into a journey that spans content creation, culinary training in Vancouver, and now, Indu, her artisanal ice cream brand rooted in Indian produce and memory. Her story is one of holding on to tradition while reimagining it for the present.

The First Taste Of Passion

Growing up in a joint family, food shaped her earliest memories of the table. It was always a communal affair, with enormous kadhais and handis brimming with food meant for 10 to 15 people gathered together at every meal. Traditional Sindhi recipes often took centre stage, especially on weekends, when the menus were almost ritualistic in their familiarity.

Firsts are always special. Her first brush with cooking came at the age of 13 or 14, and that moment sparked a lifelong passion. In her words, “I just instantly fell in love with the process of the ingredients coming together and then seeing the output, like the first thing I ever made was like the classic caramel custard, and I remember making it in a pressure cooker, and just the whole process of it was something that just drew me towards cooking. I knew I wanted to attend cooking school right after 10th grade, but I didn't get the chance until much later. That's why I chose the commerce path, but I have no regrets because I learnt a lot. I love working with numbers now, and I have to with the business, so that was a good experience as well.”

For Kukreja, this redirection was a blessing in disguise, as it led to her learning the ropes of content creation under the name ‘Food Of Mumbai’, early on. She says, “I wanted to be around food in any way possible, and that is why I started creating content. I developed my base network in the industry through creating content and doing what I was doing at that time, just learning about restaurant operations, plating, seasonality of menus, so many things especially at that age that I got to learn along with food photography, lighting, how important it is, different ways of capturing food, how the audience is perceiving it, so a lot of things that I picked up while I was creating content.”

Memory As The Map Home

Food is linked to the feeling of nostalgia. It is like the red pin on the maps app that always points to home. And Kukreja agrees. She says, “I like recreating a lot of my traditional Sindhi recipes, so whether it’s Sindhi mutton or a lot of sweetmeats that we have as well, getting that little bit of tips and tricks from all my relatives and how they make it at home, that’s super special because it’s just food that I’ve grown up eating, so recreating that and feeding my family is just a memory that stays with you.” 

As a content creator, she has opened her private life to the observation of many. But what’s Kukreja up to in her free time? She answers, “I pretty much work seven days a week. It’s been a little tough to find free time, but I really enjoy using it to explore new places in the city. I love watching true crime documentaries and Korean dramas. Whenever I get time, I love being a couch potato or heading out.”

The Making Of Indu

Her entrepreneurial leap began after culinary school in Vancouver, Canada. The city’s farm-to-table culture deeply influenced her, shaping the foundation of Indu, her artisanal ice cream brand. “The reason I picked Vancouver is because it’s very much heavy on the farm-to-table concept, so I worked with a couple of farms over there, I worked at the farmer’s market, and seeing that entire championing of local produce and local food is something that really stuck with me. The base for my brand was definitely going to be Indian local produce because that’s just super dear to my heart, and I wanted to make sure that the brand has the essence of that.”

The choice of ice cream felt natural to her. She fell in love with the process, drawn to its versatility and the way it serves as a blank slate for flavour. In the Indian market, she noticed that most artisanal frozen desserts leaned towards gelato, leaving a gap for premium ice cream that celebrated real Indian flavours, a space she was determined to fill.

Ice cream, for her, is also tied to one of the most comforting memories of childhood. Every weekend, the family would drive out to a small spot in Santa Cruz known for its Indian-inspired flavours. Orders were taken right at the car window, and the ritual of enjoying ice cream together in the car became a tradition she still treasures. It is a memory that, as she says, will always stay with her.

A Flavour Of Her Own

If her journey were to be captured as an ice cream flavour, it would balance elegance with depth. She says, “A lavender ice cream with a dark chocolate stracciatella, super flavourful and then a little textured and rocky.”

What emerges from her journey is a portrait of someone who has allowed food to guide her at every stage. As for aspiring food creators and entrepreneurs, her advice is grounded in persistence. “I would definitely say keep at it. There’s a lot of competition, there’s going to be a lot of self-doubt every day, but constantly having an open mind to keep learning and innovating really helps you stand out,” she concludes.

Quick Fires:

Kitchen Nickname: I don’t have one

Comfort Dish After A Long Day: Instant Ramen 

Favourite Ingredient Right Now: Orange Blossom Water

Favourite Drink: Sparkling water with grapefruit

Food Trend You Wish Would Disappear: Green Onion Coffee

If Not A Chef, You Would Be: Marketeer

Dream City To Open A Restaurant In: Osaka, Japan

If You Were A Dish, You Would Be: Lavender Milk Chocolate Ice cream

Favourite Song On Loop: Savera by Maanu

Favourite Movie: The Breakfast Club

Your 3 A.M. Speed Dial Person: My best friend, Vinaya Jhangiani

Editorial Director: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Digital Editor: Isha Mayer; Photographer: Meetesh Taneja; Stylist: Idris Nidham; Jr Graphic Designer: Radhika Trivedi (Cover Design); Set Design: Purnima Nath; Food Stylist: Nikhil Bendre; HMUA: Daniel Bauer Academy; Claire Carmelina Gil (rep by Anima Creatives) for Suvir; Creative production: Anushka Patil and Rishith Shetty; Assisted by: Aafreen Anjum, Ishan Sharma (styling), Sneh Lad (creative production), Vaishnavi Rana; Production: Cutloose Productions.