The International Women’s Day Lecture

The Making of a Spice Goddess:

Education, Identity, and Female Empowerment

with Bal Arneson

The Food Network's Spice Goddess

Thursday 8 March 2012, 7:30 pm  

Brescia Auditorium,

Admission by Donation, Free Parking

Bal Arneson's life story makes for an empowering tale of female identity, education, and the drive to succeed -- to dream -- despite enormous personal, cultural, and societal odds. Growing up in an Indian village during a time when girls were raised only to serve their eventual husbands, Arneson felt the weight of her life crushing down on her -- and decided to escape this fate. Drawing on bottomless reserves of energy, and knowing that education was key, she set out on a remarkable journey that spanned continents and decades. Landing in North America -- where she had no money, no friends, and didn't speak English -- she earned her Masters, convinced a publisher to produce her cookbook, and talked her way into bigger and bigger TV deals. All this while raising her infant daughter. With star power, candor, and grace, Bal Arneson traces the unforgettable arc of her life, and draws out pertinent lessons for any audience. She talks about her own story so that others might see themselves in it. And if you look closely, you just might.

Bal Arneson is a mother, an author, an educator and an advocate for healthy Indian cooking. In 2010 her series, Spice Goddess, was launched on the Cooking Channel; it is currently the second-highest ranked show on the network, which reaches millions, and is nominated for a 2011 James Beard Award. Both of her cookbooks, Everyday Indian and Bal's Quick and Healthy are bestsellers.  

Sponsored by The Circle Women’s Centre at Brescia University College