Owner, Entrepreneur Namita Panjabi MBE

Born in India. Career : Namita Panjabi studied economics at Newnham College, Cambridge University. She was hired as a merchant banker by Grindlays Bank, and then by Midland Bank, and was dispatched to grow the Indian market. She then became fashion merchandising manager in Bombay for the Associated Merchandising Corporation. She moved to London in 1986 where she married merchant banker Ranjit Mathrani and set up a business designing Indian jewellery for department stores, which she still runs. The brainchild of Cambridge educated Namita, Chutney Mary opened in 1990 to become the first up-market Indian restaurant to promote Anglo-Indian cuisine.Ranjit Mathrani, Namita and sister Camellia Panjabi form the directorship of Masala World which also owns Veeraswamy, Amaya & Masala Zone outlets. Awards :Awarded ‘Personality of the Year’ by Curry Club in 1998. Masala World won Best in Britain (BIBA) Group of the Year Award 2007 Awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours 2011 Fellow of Restaurant Hall of Fame (FRHF)