Pastry chef Pooja Dhingra will be joining the upcoming season of MasterChef India as a judge alongside celebrity chefs Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar, streaming platform SonyLIV announced on Friday.

“The incredible Chef Pooja Dhingra is about to grace the panel of MasterChef India Judges with her culinary genius! @TheVikasKhanna @poojadhingraa @ranveerbrar,” a tweet from SonyLIV read.

Sharing her enthusiasm about joining the panel of judges on the cooking reality show, Dhingra said, “MasterChef India is an incredible platform that celebrates the art of cooking as an ever-evolving journey, where each dish is a canvas and every flavour is a brushstroke painting a unique story.”

The 37-year-old chef, known as the first person to open a macaron store in India, was a guest judge in the last season of the show.

“As someone who has been both an avid admirer and a guest judge on the show, this opportunity to now join MasterChef as the third judge feels truly momentous,” she said, adding that she cannot wait to be on the show.

MasterChef India is a cooking reality show where aspiring chefs and food lovers from various parts of India showcase their culinary skills in front of judges to win the title of Masterchef and a prize money. The show was created by Franc Roddam in the UK in 1990 and debuted in India in 2010. Nayanjyoti Saikia from Assam won the last season in 2022.

Together, the three judges will guide 16 contestants through the upcoming season.