FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 1, 2025
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is pleased to announce Food Network star, cookbook author, journalist, and television producer Aarti Sequeira as the next featured chef in the historic site’s Culinary Diplomacy at Monticello series. Presented in partnership with The Culinary Diplomacy Project, this ongoing series features prominent chefs, culinary experts, and historians exploring the intersection of food, history, and culture.
Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s legendary dinners renowned for their cuisine and conversation, this series shares how food has been—and continues to be—a bridge for cultural understanding and communication.
“Thomas Jefferson understood that breaking bread is what connects us,” said Dr. Jane Kamensky, president and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “With our Culinary Diplomacy at Monticello series, we hope to continue this tradition of using food as a tool to facilitate the exchange of ideas, passions, and hopes for our shared future.”
Guests can participate in two ways. On November 13, join Chef Sequeira for a Culinary Conversation at the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center at Monticello. This program will feature Chef Sequeira discussing Jefferson-era recipes and her own global culinary experiences. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a dish designed by Sequeira that draws inspiration from the event’s theme. Tickets are available here.
On November 14, guests are invited to On the Menu, an unforgettable evening of dinner and discussion featuring a three-course meal meticulously crafted by Chef Sequeira that will include Monticello-grown ingredients. This intimate dining experience offers a rare opportunity to explore history through food, all while enjoying breathtaking views from Montalto, Jefferson’s high mountain. A small group experience including a pre-reception with Chef Sequeira and a signed copy of “Dining at Monticello” is also available. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
About Chef Aarti Sequeira
Aarti Sequeira, cooking show host, cookbook author, journalist, television producer and food personality likes to joke that her love of food began in the womb (she was a 10-pound baby) and shows no sign of abating!
Aarti is a mainstay on Food Network after winning season six of Food Network Star with her trademark combination of an infectious cackle and a unique signature food style: American favorites with an Indian soul.
In addition to hosting her own shows, Aarti Party, and the travel show, Hidden Eats, she also serves as judge on hit shows like Guy’s Grocery Games, Cooks vs. Cons, and Christmas Cookie Challenge. She also cooks alongside some of the best chefs in the country on the new show, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen. She co-hosted Drop 5 Lbs and has made numerous talking-head appearances on Best Thing I Ever Ate, Best Thing I Ever Made, and Unique Eats on Cooking Channel. A seasoned competitor (or glutton for punishment!), she also won Chopped All-Stars, Cutthroat Kitchen All-Stars, and Guy’s Grocery Games. Off-network, she has been a colorful, memorable repeat-guest on Today Show, CBS’ The Talk, Home and Family (Hallmark Channel), and Dr. Oz. She also penned a nationally-syndicated column for the Associated Press entitled “World’s Fare” in which she taught readers how to use ingredients in the international aisle in simple, weeknight dishes. A gifted writer, Aarti published her first cookbook, Aarti Paarti: An American Kitchen with an Indian Soul in 2014 (Grand Central).
Aarti is an ardent advocate for women battling postpartum depression, having overcome her own battle with it following the births of her two daughters, Eliyah and Moses. A passionate Christian, she also speaks to women of faith about overcoming fear and the sacred nature of breaking bread. She lives in Los Angeles with her children and husband, actor Brendan McNamara.
Born in India, brought up in Dubai, and educated in a British school, Aarti grew up against a varied tapestry of food cultures…from the homemade curries and flatbreads of her mother, to the spit-roasted shawarmas her family would enjoy every Friday. It was during the first Gulf War that Aarti decided to pursue a career in journalism, eventually earning her bachelor’s degree at Northwestern’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. She went on to work for CNN straight out of school, covering everything from economic reports to the plight of firefighters after 9/11. She also produced Sand and Sorrow, the HBO documentary about the genocide in Darfur, narrated by George Clooney and directed by Peabody Award-winner, Paul Freedman. After staging under James Beard Award-winner Suzanne Goin at Lucques, Aarti began shooting a YouTube cooking-variety show, Aarti Paarti, with her husband behind the camera. At the behest of said spouse, she sent an audition video to Food Network Star, and was immediately called in. The rest is history!
Culinary Diplomacy images and assets available for download here.
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.