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Described as a “home cook who prides herself on American-Indian fusion,” Purvi Dogra, 48, moved to East Windsor from India 21 years ago.
Season 13 of the cooking show, which premiered on Wednesday, May 24, breaks down the 20 apron-earning competitors into categories based on one of four territories — West, Northeast, Midwest, and South.
The games officially begin for the 20 competitors on Wednesday, June 21. The winner gets rewarded with a hefty $250,000 check — but perhaps more importantly, the coveted MasterChef trophy to bring back to their reigning region.
Dogra dazzled the judges with her vanilla eggless bundt cakes infused with Indian spices gulabjamun, rose, cardamom saffron, and paan. Her flawless execution prompted three yeses and a “resounding yes” from Ramsay himself before she walked away, in awe, with a well-deserved apron.
“Gordon Ramsay saying that — I look back on my video and I keep repeating the words over and over again,” Dogra said during a phone call with Daily Voice. "It was just an honor to be in front of Gordon Ramsay and all the other chefs. It was just too good.”
Dogra has always loved to cook for others, hosting holiday gatherings with up to 45 people, but didn’t dip into desserts until March 2020 after her daughter had a sweet and simple request to bake some cupcakes.
“We started doing it, and I started liking the process,” Dogra said.
While her daughter eventually outgrew it, Dogra did exactly the opposite and unlocked her passion — and skill — for curating sugary-sweet American-Indian delicacies.
Now, she’s taking 100+ cupcake orders for birthday parties and other special events through her home business, Everything But Plates.
At the time, Dogra named her business based on her plan to stick to desserts served in shooter-style glasses — but her food-loving fans had a different future in mind.
“I was just wanting to make dessert shooters,” Dogra said. “But it just so happens people kept on and on and on, and now I’m making all different types of desserts.”
Blended with a full-time job in the finance industry, Dogra’s side hustle keeps her working seven days a week — but her goal is to eventually expand Everything But Plates into a brick-and-mortar space to serve her international culinary confections.
“I always had a dream to open a cafe where I can showcase different desserts from all over the world,” said Dogra. “I feel there are certain people who can’t travel, but they can at least enjoy the desserts of their favorite country, so that’s what my goal is.”
Dogra has already decided where her storefront will be named: Purvi’s Delights, located in East Windsor, the town she’s known and loved for more than two decades.
“The day I landed in the U.S., I came to East Windsor,” Dogra said. “It’s going to be 21 years, and I just can’t think about any city other than East Windsor. It has given me such a beautiful life, two beautiful kids, my family, my husband, everything is East Windsor…I already uprooted myself from India to this place, and now, this is my home.”
Her incredibly supportive family even put together a viewing party as her audition episode aired to celebrate her apron-related achievements.
“They are just my blessings from God, that I have two wonderful children who support me,” Dogra said of her daughter, now 14, and her son, a 20-year-old economics business major at Rutgers University.
“I should not forget to mention my husband,” Dogra chuckled. “I’m only here because of his support — he’s never said no to me, anytime, whatever I want to do, he always, always, always supports me.”
Want to learn just how Dogra crafts her intricate creations? You’ll have your chance in September during a hands-on piping class she’s teaching at the Jersey Shore Cake & Cookie Convention at Monmouth University. She’s hosted several workshops in the past as well.
Taking it all in, Dogra sums up her MasterChef adventure so far:
“MasterChef has been so good; there are so many things I’ve learned. “It is just a truly wonderful experience that is definitely going to stay with me forever.”
Watch Chef Purvi Dogra compete on MasterChef: United Tastes of America starting Wednesday, June 21, and follow Everything But Plates on Facebook for more updates.
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