Cordon Blu chef and food consultant Diya Sethi’s story is about battling all odds and coming out on top. Her recently released debut book The Addict: A Life Recovered is recounting of her experiences of coping with and overcoming the disorder of anorexia bulimia nervosa. “This is the story of a child who was rejected, ridiculed, hurt and humiliated. And she escaped; she became someone else — I — someone to whom she gave the right to damage, deform and very nearly destroy me, a right that was never mine to give,” she writes, adding, “I was prompted to write my story by an uncontrollable urge to help people suffering from addiction. The book is about my own struggle with addiction, in particular, anorexia — bulimia.
It is about how I suffered, fought and overcame the problem unconventionally. It is the story of my war with myself, as I fought addiction to find my way to who I really was and to the life that was meant to be mine.”Being an ambassador’s daughter, she grew up amongst aristocrats and diplomats. She has been to exclusive parties at Chateau de Versailles and dined at the Cannes Film festival with the likes of Angelica Huston and Francis Ford Coppola.
She has even walked the ramp for Christian Dior, and been to the grandest vineyards in France. Being subject to frequent racist jibes, she sought solace in food and when the weight became noticeable, the downward spiral begun. The book is an honest record of gruelling journey of recovery from self-inflicted ruin. “The tipping point into an eating disorder was the sense of rejection I felt from my peers when I was 13 years old. It had begun in South Africa when I first encountered racism at an all-white party. And in my efforts to circumvent it, I had fallen victim to the discrimination. The message was clear and the impact deadened my senses,” she shares.
In her free time, Diya likes to host parties for friends. She had even hosted the entire cast of Jefferson in Paris including Gwyneth Paltrow, Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. “I love reading, writing and drawing. I cook professionally as a restaurant consultant, and that certainly doesn’t feel like work. It is unadulterated pleasure. I love throwing dinner parties, limited to eight people, for which I like to cook five-course-meals,” she shares.
Diya was born in New York City, and has been constantly on the move — from New Delhi to Peking to Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi, Paris and London. “One of my most memorable holidays was in Umbria, Italy, in 2013 with two friends,” she says. Diya likes to begin her day, with a cup of coffee followed by a swim at the Lodhi Hotel. She asserts her love for food: “ I am addicted to shopping for interesting culinary ingredients, condiments and equipment. Cooking and relishing French cuisine is what really makes me feel satiated,” Diya adds.
