Meeru Dhalwala was born in India and moved to Washington, DC, at a very young age with her parents. In DC, she worked with various international non-profit organizations on human rights and economic development projects. She received her Master’s degree in Development Studies from Bath University in England. In 1995 Meeru moved to Vancouver and joined her husband, Vikram, to work at his newly opened restaurant, Vij’s. She quickly took over the menu responsibilities and has been creating new recipes since the summer of 1995.

In 2002, Meeru and Vikram opened up a second restaurant and market called Rangoli. Together they manage a staff of over 70 employees. Meeru continues to work closely with her all-female kitchen staff – all of whom hail from villages in the Punjab – to experiment with various cooking techniques and spice combinations. In addition to her responsibility for the recipes at Vij’s and Rangoli, she is also responsible for their packaged gourmet curries, which are sold at Rangoli and most gourmet markets in the greater Vancouver area, and will be available throughout Canada by the winter of 2011.

Meeru’s particular interest and focus at Vij’s and Rangoli is to forge business relationships with other local businesses and farmers. She is committed to improving her business environmental footprint. In 2009, Meeru signed up Vij’s to join local CSA (community supported agriculture) farms and has started long-term business relationships with various BC farmers. Meeru also formed a vegetable garden club, called Vangrow, which has over 100 members. Vangrow is a community of novice and experienced home gardeners in the greater Vancouver area who are interested in various food issues and are committed to growing at least a small portion of their fruits and vegetables at home. Meeru is very passionate about sharing her ideas on healthy and Indian cooking with other parents who have the same goal as hers – to feed their families a combination of easy, delicious and healthy meals.

Meeru and Vikram have penned two cookbooks: Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine, which won Cuisine Canada’s 2007 Gold Award for Best Cookbook, and Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey. Meeru also wrote a regular monthly column called Food for Thought for the Vancouver Sun for over a year and was a regular Point Person for CBC radio’s 2009 national show The Point. She lives with her family in Vancouver.