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Biography of Keka Ferdous
TV Chef, Author, Teacher
(4 August 1960 – Present)
Keka Ferdousi is a well-known Bangladeshi chef and writer. She has been attending cooking shows since 1984. Because of her delicious dishes enriched with proper nutrition, she gained immense fame worldwide. Besides cooking, she is also an author. Keka got her first award, “The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards” for one of her famous books titled “Sastho Sacheton Ranna”.
Ferdousi has performed as a chef on five TV shows till now. Her incredible knowledge of cooking also made her act as a judge on multiple TV shows. She has even written several books based on nutritious cooking skills and recipes as well. For more than 35 years, this incredible personality has uplifted our local cuisine around the world.
Life of "Keka Ferdousi" At a Glance
Real Name: Keka Ferdousi
Date of Birth: 4 August 1960
Place of Birth: Dhaka, East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh)
Father Name: Fazlul Haque
Mother Name: Rabeya Khatun
Sibling: Faridur Reza Sagar (Brother)
Professions: TV Chef, Author
Education: Graduate from Dhaka University
Religion: Islam
Native Language: Bangla
Spouse: Abdul Mukit Majumder Babu
Children: 2
➢ Sonali (Daughter)
➢ Akash (Son)
Favorite Hobby: Cooking, Writing
Awards and Achievements:
➢ Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2011.
➢ The British Curry Awards in 2011.
Early Life
Ferdousi was born on 4 August 1960 in Dhaka (East Pakistan). Her native village is Bogra. She is the daughter of a well-known film producer, Fazlul Haque, and a famous author, Rabeya Khatun. Faridur Reza Sagar, her brother, is also a film producer. She has spent most of her childhood with her family in Dhaka. But later, she moved to England in 1980. There, she stayed with her husband for two years. Then she went to the United States and stayed there for three years. After a couple of years, she returned to Bangladesh.
Education
Keka Ferdousi is a graduate. She finished her schooling at a local school near her home. Later, she completed her graduation in Geography from Dhaka University. During her graduation, she got married. So, she finished her studies after marriage.
During her childhood, she had some dreams. In an interview, she mentioned her desires. When she was a child, she used to see a lot of Bengali films. Those films inspired her to become an actress.
Later, Ferdousi felt an avid desire to study Geography and build her career as a city planner. But unfortunately, she couldn’t achieve any of them. Then, she decided to be a chef and stepped in to follow her dream.
In that interview, Fredousi also mentioned one of her biggest dreams. She always wanted to establish a cooking school. Following that, she established a cooking school named “Keka Ferdousir Rannaghor” in 2018. There she teaches cooking to needy girls to make them financially independent.
Career
Ferdausi started her career as a chef in 1994. However, she mostly learned cooking from her mother. Yet both of her parents inspired her to be a good cook. During her childhood, she used to help her parents in cooking. There she felt an avid interest in cooking. As a consequence, she started cooking from a very early age while studying in just class five.
Besides her parents, Ferdousi also learned a number of dishes from her mother-in-law. She used to love Ferdousi’s dishes and encouraged her to cook as well. While staying in the United States, she also taught a lot of foreigners Bengali dishes. During this process, she became quite an expert in cooking. She also learned several local and foreign recipes. This helped her a lot to take a step toward coming into the limelight.
Ferdausi continued her career as a TV chef in 1994 through a TV show. It was Shykh Seraj’s BTV show named “Mati O Manush ”. There she appeared as a chef and presented a mushroom recipe. Later, she appeared in multiple TV shows titled Desh Bideshe Ranna, Je Radhe Se Chulo Badhe, Mayer Hater Ranna, Rannaghar, Monohor Ifter, and so on.
In her show, Desh Bideshe Ranna, aired on Channel I, she represented both local and foreign cuisines. Later, she came with some local dishes in the TV shows named “Mayer Hater Ranna” and “Je Radhe Se Chulo Badhe”.
On 26 December 2017, she appeared as a guest chef in an Indian cooking show named “Rannaghar” in the episode of 3685. The show was aired in Zee Bangla and hosted by Vibrant Sudipa. Ferdousi was invited to the show as an honor as she was about to step into the 25 years of her successful cooking career.
There Ferdousi cooked a famous cuisine of Dhaka named “Dhakai Thali”. The recipe was a combination of four dishes inspired by our local cuisine. She also tried to represent the authentic cheese of our country through her dishes. Mostly, chefs cook two dishes within 30 minutes. But surprisingly, she prepared all of the four dishes in just 30 minutes.
After that, Ferdousi organized another cooking show titled “Monohor Iftar”. The show was aired on Channel I, during the holy month of Ramadan. With the help of many guest chefs, such as Fatema Tuz Johra, Tanvin Sweety, Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Ferdous Ahmed, Sharmili Ahmed, Samina Chowdhury, and other renowned personalities, she made a lot of delicious and healthy dishes.
Besides performing as a TV chef, Ferdousi also appeared as a judge on a lot of cooking reality shows. ACI Pure Sorishar Tel Anondo Alo Jatiyo Vorta Protijogita, Tommy Mia International India Chef of the Year, The Chef TV Reality Show, and Deko Food Limited Bou Sajano Protijogita are some of them.
Apart from being a chef and judge, Ferdousi is a good author as well. She has written fourteen books till now based on some unique, nutritious, and tasty recipes. Besides, she has even performed on a music video titled “Beainshab” in 2016.
During her entire career, she faced some challenges as well. However, she overcame and remembers those as some precious moments of her life. Ferdousi traveled to nearly 30 countries in her cooking journey. She got the opportunity to cook outside of the Eiffel Tower and the holy place Arafah Maidan as well. Ferdousi also cooked all the favorite dishes of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and some other renowned persons in her show.
Cooking Programs
- Desh Bideshe Ranna (Channel I)
- Je Radhe Se Chulo Badhe (Channel I)
- Mayer Hater Ranna (Channel I)
- Rannaghar (Zee Bangla)
- Monohor Iftar (Channel I)
As Judge
- ACI Pure Sorishar Tel Anondo Alo Jatoyo Vorta Protijogita 2017 (Bangladesh)
- The Chef TV Reality Show 2017 (UK)
- Tommy Mia International India Chef of the Year 2017 (UK)
- Deko Food Limited Bou Sajano Protijogita 2019 (Bangladesh)
Music Video
- Beainshab (2016)
Bibliography
- Diabeteser Mojar Ranna
- Harano Diner Ranna
- Sonali Diner Ranna
- Mojadar Ranna
- Jhotpot Achar
- Sasto Sochaton Ranna
- Desh Bidesher Ranna
- Microwave Ovene Ranna
- Jhotpot Ranna
- Thai, Chinese O Indian Ranna
- Rokomari Nasta
Contributions, Awards and Achievements
From a very early decade, cooking was considered a daily chore of women. But this incredible person has uplifted this perception by enhancing cooking as an artwork rather than a daily chore. In 2018, Ferdousi established a cooking school in her name. There she helps the poor girls by teaching them cooking to build them financially stable.
Ferdousi also encouraged the teenagers to pour their interest in cooking. In an interview, she said that cooking is not easy. But the kitchen is not a terrifying place as well. The kids should be encouraged to learn cooking. In fact, she showed her interest that, if the government assists in running a project, she would love to teach the school kids to prepare their breakfast on their own.
Besides teaching and cooking, Ferdousi also wrote some books based on nutritious recipes. One of her most famous books is “Sastho Sacheton Ranna”. For this work, Ferdousi was honored with the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards from Paris in 2011. In the same year, she got another award for the special recognition category, The British Curry Awards.
Ferdousi also had a major contribution to diabetic patients. As the patients have to go through several medical restrictions. Thus they can not enjoy the delicious foods they want. That’s why Ferdousi placed some delicious meals in her book that are nutritious and absolutely permitted for diabetic patients.
Personal Life
Ferdousi tied the knot with Abdul Mukit Majumder Babu in 1980. Her husband is a businessman, a member of the Bangladesh Freedom Fighters, and the director of the Impress Group. He is also the chairman of the “Prakriti and Jiban Foundation”. The couple has two children named Akash and Sonali. Ferdousi is also blessed with a grandson named Kaysan. They are together living in Dhaka now.
Controversies
As Ferdousi loves to make new dishes, she often appears on cooking shows with a variety of recipes. But sometimes, she even gets criticized for those on social media. She says that she always tries to maintain the nutritious elements in her dishes. Before sharing her new recipes with the audience, she always encourages her family to taste them first. Because she knows her family will always give her an honest review.
In an interview, she shared some of her bitter experiences. She knows how some of the audiences criticize her for her dishes. Sometimes she feels very low. But she thinks if the audience tried her dishes, they wouldn’t do so. But at the end of the day, she doesn’t pay heed to any criticism and moves on with her journey.
Legacy
Ferdousi is an incredible personality who brings our local cuisine to the world. During her time living in the United States, she learned a lot of cooking skills and new recipes from foreigners. She has also learned our local dishes from rural women. But she just didn’t stop there. Rather, she decided to step up with all her amazing cooking skills and thus she started to appear in public. She thinks there is no fixed gender for learning cooking. In fact, cooking is a basic skill which everyone should learn.
To encourage the people, she has appeared in a lot of cooking shows and also performed some of them as a judge. She even invited a lot of renowned personalities and celebrities to her shows to encourage teenagers to learn cooking. Moreover, she also opened a cooking school for poor children to teach them cooking and help them to stand on their own. That’s how Ferdousi has placed immense importance on cooking for the new generation.
Conclusion
Keka Ferdousi is one of the most famous chefs who stepped out from all odds and enhanced our nation’s honor. Her fantastic cooking skills and great passion for cooking have made her come this far. She is the one who brought our local cuisine to the world and placed it on the next level. That’s the reason she is an unforgettable name for our country.
