Employees at Xoom reacted with knowing excitement last summer when producers selected Anagha Godbole for MasterChef India, a reality show that’s one of the most watched TV shows in the world. Colleagues recognized her culinary talents. Brent Williams, Director of Payments, said “We’d see her lunches, and they looked delicious.”
Anagha taught herself to cook from her mother’s handwritten recipes mailed to her two decades ago when she arrived in the United States from Solapur, Maharashtra in India. The engineer who “loves” cooking for others, said with grateful humor that her colleagues became “my guinea pigs.”
Anagha blends Indian and Wester cuisines as in curried chicken tacos, a hit at Xoom’s potluck.
“Being an engineer helps me follow a recipe,” she said. “Once you understand the essence of a dish, you’re able to play with it and customize it. It’s a bit like what happens in project management, where if you’re working with a partner in Pakistan you have to take an approach that’s slightly different from what you might take in India. It’s a skill that’s useful to have.”
Two of Anagha’s office-wide favorites, chicken tikka masala curry and an apple rose tart.
Starting in July, Anagha worked from Mumbai for two months as she worked on projects in India. In mid-September, Anagha took a leave from Xoom to continue competing on the show. Days on the set lasted 12 hours or longer with show filming followed by shooting “video diaries” for the contestants.
Xoom adapted. “We really pride ourselves on creating an environment that encourages people to be who they are,” said Williams. “If you have an opportunity, you take it. It was very exciting that she could do this.”
Archana Murali, who Anagha credits with helping her while filming, enjoys the Xoom potluck.
Anagha made it to the Semifinals of MasterChef India. “It's been an incredible journey,” Anagha said. Anagha’s televised efforts included Saoji chicken, a specialty of Nagpur, in her home state, that she made her own with Tex-Mex spicing.
Anagha says her husband supported her in every way possible and beyond. She says he “understood what the challenge was and then helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses.” He even sent her care packages to her hotel in Mumbai.
She credits her husband for overseeing family affairs and Archana Murali, an integrations project manager at Xoom, with ensuring the smooth transition to off-site work. “We knew she had something special in her,” said Murali, a fan of Anagha’s cooking. “Her food is unbelievable. She brings so much life to the dishes, she cooks with so much passion, you can taste it.”