We are delighted to welcome the legendary Zeba Kohli, India’s renowned Chocolate Sommelier and Consultant, to the Culinary Corner at Anuga Select India 2025.

With over 40 years of rich experience, Zeba Kohli is celebrated for her mastery in chocolate artistry, earning her the title of "Chocolate Queen of India." Her contributions span across curating exclusive tasting menus for restaurants, hosting engaging chocolate workshops for both adults and children, and leading sensory chocolate tasting sessions that have captivated audiences across the globe.

Highlights of Her Journey:

• Crafted Experiences:
  • TATA Zoya x Zeba Kohli
  • Hafele x Zeba Kohli
  • Chocolate tasting and sensory sessions tailored for diverse audiences
• Educator & Workshop Leader:
  • Signature Chocolate Workshops for Adults and Children
  • Curated Tasting Menus and Sensory Sessions for F & B establishments
• Author of 3 books
• TV Show Host: Gimme Chocolate
• TEDx Speaker, inspiring audiences with her journey in the world of chocolate

Zeba Kohli’s presence at Anuga Select India 2025 promises an unforgettable experience where visitors can witness chocolate elevated to an art form. Stay tuned for live demos, interactive sessions, and a dive into the indulgent world of gourmet chocolate.

Meet Chef Jerson Fernandes – Culinary Visionary & Sustainability Advocate

We are honoured to welcome Chef Jerson Fernandes, fondly known as Jerson Monterey Jack, to the Culinary Corner at Anuga Select India 2025.

Currently serving as the Director of Culinary Operations at Sodexo India, Chef Jerson leads transformation across the corporate food landscape through innovation, sustainability, and a deep-rooted passion for culinary excellence.

From humble beginnings as a dishwasher to becoming an Executive Chef in just a decade, his journey is a testament to resilience and ambition. An alumnus of IHM Hyderabad, Chef Jerson has led kitchens and operations across renowned hospitality giants like P & O Cruises, Taj Hotels, Marriott-Ritz Carlton, and Accor Hotels, where he notably spearheaded culinary strategy for all Accor brands in India.

Highlights of His Journey:

• 🏆 Multi-Award-Winning Chef
  • Executive Chef of the Year- Seven-time winner across Hotelier India, BW Hotelier, Accor South Asia, and more.
  • Winner – Asia Food Congress Awards
  • Guinness World Record - For the largest bread display
• 🧑🍳 Culinary Thought Leader
  • Recognised as India’s Most Influential Chef (2022) by The Times Group
  • Active member of IFCA, WICA, TCA, and YCAI, contributing to chef development and industry growth
• 🌱 Champion of Sustainability
  • Advocates for eco-conscious culinary practices
  • Leads diversity and inclusion initiatives in kitchen teams
  • Implements strategies to reduce carbon footprint and food wastage
• 📲 Social Media Influencer
  • A well-known face in the digital culinary space, inspiring chefs and food lovers across platforms

Philosophy:

Chef Jerson believes chefs are artists who bring recipes to life with soul and creativity. His work is dedicated to crafting wholesome, flavourful experiences that blend health, sustainability, and culinary artistry.

Chef Jerson’s presence at Anuga Select India brings not just gastronomic brilliance but a perspective on the future of food—creative, responsible, and deeply inspiring.

In a country where cake decor was once an afterthought, Chef Gauri built an entire category from scratch. As the founder of Confect, India’s first and only premium confectionery decor brand, she turned an overlooked niche into a thriving industry, empowering thousands of bakers, chefs, and home entrepreneurs in the process.

What sets Gauri apart is not just her culinary expertise, but her grit. With zero legacy, no initial funding, and no roadmap to follow, she launched Confect as a one-woman army - personally sourcing, testing, packaging, and marketing each product. In an unorganized market flooded with low-quality imports, she committed herself to creating safe, edible, and aesthetic decor elements that matched global standards.

Under her leadership, Confect rapidly scaled to become a go-to name for cake toppers, edible glitters, sprinkles, and customizable decor, not just in India but across international markets. Today, the brand clocks thousands of orders monthly, serving customers in over 20+ countries, while also remaining proudly rooted in Indian manufacturing.

Her journey caught national attention when she appeared on Shark Tank India Season 4, where she not only secured a deal but also earned the admiration of the sharks for building a profitable, scalable, and original business from the ground up. Her pitch wasn’t just about a product - it was about a revolution in how India decorates desserts.

Beyond numbers, Gauri’s impact lies in her ability to create a ripple effect - enabling small home bakers to scale their craft, pushing professional chefs to experiment more boldly, and giving the confectionery world in India a new vocabulary of luxury, creativity, and finesse.

Today, Chef Gauri stands as a category creator, a design-led innovator, and a relentless entrepreneur, proving that even in the most saturated industries, originality backed by execution always wins.