Dilip Mehta
Director & Co-Screenwriter

Dilip Mehta was born in New Delhi and is a Canadian citizen. He has a long and distinguished career as a photojournalist. His provocative, five-­-year coverage of the Bhopal Gas tragedy won him numerous prizes including the World Press and Overseas Press Awards. His work has been published in The New York Times, Figaro, Newsweek, National Geographic, Geo, Stern, The London Sunday Times, Time, and also in the multi-­ country, award-­-winning “Day in the Life” series. His photographs of Indian Prime Ministers have been covers of Time and Newsweek.

Dilip’s feature documentary THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN, about widows in contemporary India, premiered at the 2008 Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN has been invited to over 16 international festivals, and continues to win accolades and audience awards. Dilip has himself been the subject of a documentary: THE PHOTOJOURNALISM OF DILIP MEHTA, co produced by CBC and Channel 4, UK. He has been a crucial part of many of Deepa Mehta’s films: as production designer and associate producer on WATER, as production designer on HEAVEN ON EARTH, and as a creative producer on EARTH.

David Hamilton
Producer

Before embarking into filmmaking, David Hamilton received his masters at Harvard and wrote a book about “Decision Theory” that was published by MIT Press. He then traveled for a year in India, Iran and the Middle East on a Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellowship. He now divides his time between Ottawa and Toronto.

For the past 15 years, his company Hamilton Mehta Productions has produced Deepa Mehta’s very successful films: the Elemental Trilogy: FIRE, EARTH, WATER (and this included four years spent putting WATER back together after it was shut down by Hindu fundamentalists), BOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD and HEAVEN ON EARTH. He was also the executive producer on the 2001, first ever, Hong Kong – Canada co production LUNCH WITH CHARLES, directed by Michael Parker. Recently David was the producer of Dilip Mehta’s internationally acclaimed documentary THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN. He was once a tightrope performer in a children’s circus (an activity remarkably akin to feature film production) and has acted in plays and musicals.

Deepa Mehta
Co-Screenwriter & Executive Producer

Like her character in COOKING WITH STELLA Lisa Ray is a product of mixed cultures; just like Maya, she is from an Indian-­-Polish family. Lisa grew up in Toronto and was “discovered” in India, while on vacation. She rapidly became a top model and was voted by the Times of India poll as one of the “Top Ten Most Beautiful Women of India”. One of her first film roles was in Deepa Mehta’s comedy BOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD. She spent time in London and studied at the Central Drama School and has subsequently appeared in many Canadian and international films, including WORLD UNSEEN, ALL HAT, KILL KILL FASTER FASTER, SEEKING FEAR and I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT. Her long friendship and professional collaboration with Deepa Mehta led to her portrayal of the heartbreaking young widow Kalyani in WATER. Her role as Maya in COOKING WITH STELLA reunites Lisa with the Hamilton Mehta Productions team for the third time.

Giles Nuttgens
Director of Photography

British-­born Giles Nuttgens has a long professional history with filmmaking in India, which has been a second home for him for the past 20 years. He met Deepa Mehta in Benares in 2002 when they were shooting THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLE for Lucasfilm. He shot the Elemental Trilogy with Deepa, and he also shot BANDIT QUEEN with director Shakhar Kapur. Giles won the Cinematography Award at Sundance in 2001 for THE DEEP END and he has had a close collaboration with filmmaker David Mackenzie for the past few years, shooting YOUNG ADAM, ASYLUM and HALLAM FOE with him. In his earlier career, Giles was one of the youngest film cameramen at the BBC and has shot documentaries on social and environmental issues all over the world.

Tamara Deverell
Production Designer

Tamara Deverell studied Renaissance art and architecture in Florence, and design and painting at the Emily Carr Institute of Art. She worked as an art director with renowned production designers François Séguin and Carol Spier, on such films as CRASH and EXISTENZ, both directed by David Cronenberg. She was also the art director on X MEN, and on Guillermo del Toro’s MIMIC. Her work as a production designer covers a wide range of periods and styles, and includes the ELOISE AT THE PLAZA television movies, and the mini series SOUNDER and A FEAST FOR All SAINTS. She was the production designer for Deepa Mehta’s comedy BOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD, for BREAKFAST WITH SCOT, director Laurie Lynd and also for THE BURNING SEASON, director Harvey Crossland – which was shot in India. She is currently designing the ABC series HAPPY TOWN. Her four months in New Delhi researching and designing COOKING WITH STELLA were a professional and personal highlight.

Gareth Scales
Editor

Gareth Scales attended the Emily Carr Institute of Art, and was a resident at the Canadian Film Centre in 2003. His feature film editing credits include EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN, director Douglas Coupland and THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS, director Bruce McDonald, which was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Editing. Gareth has also edited televisions dramas: THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES and LESS THAN KIND. He won a Gemini Award for the CBC series THE TOURNAMENT, and is currently editing the CTV/CBS series FLASHPOINT. A tremendous bonus for Gareth, in working on COOKING WITH STELLA, was the time he spent in New Delhi, cutting the film with Dilip Mehta – his first visit to India.

Mychael Danna
Composer

Mychael Danna is Canada’s preeminent film composer. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of combining non-­Western sound sources with orchestral and electronic minimalism in the world of film music. He was the composer-­in-­residence at the McLaughlin Planetarium for five years, and has composed for international theatre and dance projects. His feature film debut was for Atom Egoyan’s FAMILY VIEWING (1987), and he has scored almost all of Atom Egoyan’s subsequent films. He is also a collaborator of Deepa Mehta’s, most recently on WATER and HEAVEN ON EARTH. He has worked with many other of the world’s great directors, among them: Terry Gilliam, Scott Hicks, Neil LaBute, Ang Lee, Gilles MacKinnon, James Mangold, Istvan Szabo. His over 60 feature film credits include LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, CAPOTE, GIRL INTERRUPTED, THE ICE STORM and MONSOON WEDDING.

Amritha Fernandes+Bakshi
Composer

Amritha Fernandes+Bakshi was trained in Western classical piano and violin and studied Carnatic music for two years in Bangalore, India. She now lives in Los Angeles and has been composing film music with Mychael Danna for: POMEGRANATES AND MYRRH, director Najwa Najjar; 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, director Mark Webb; TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, director Robert Schwentke; THE IMAGINATION OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, director Terry Gilliam. Amritha was also a collaborator, with Mychael, on Deepa’s movie HEAVEN ON EARTH.

Cameron Stauch
Food Consultant & Stylist

Cameron Stauch graduated from McGill with a Bachelor of Commerce, and graduated from the Stratford Chef’s School -­ with Distinction. He spent two years in Hong Kong and South East Asia traveling, tasting and studying the local cuisines. From 2003 until 2005 he worked as Chef tournant for Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. When his diplomat wife Ayesha Rekhi was posted to New Delhi in 2005, he became a consulting chef at the Canadian High Commission; advising on training, catering and renovations. He also traveled throughout India meeting restaurateurs, chefs and home cooks, accumulating recipes and studying local and traditional methods of cooking – a life-­long, passionate interest. He, Ayesha and their daughter Lyla lived in the Canadian High Commission compound for three and a half years; they recently returned to Ottawa, where they welcomed a new baby into the family. Ayesha continues to work at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Cameron has returned to Rideau Hall, and continues to compile his recipes from the subcontinent.

COOKING WITH STELLA was Cameron’s first experience as a food stylist for movies. He was relieved and delighted that both Seema Biswas and Don McKellar are experienced home cooks – familiar with kitchen techniques. Researching, testing and designing the recipes that are woven into the movie, many of them traditional dishes from Kerala (Stella’s home state) and working on set during the production of COOKING WITH STELLA was a highlight of his time in India.

Rashmi Varma
Costume Designer

Rashmi Varma was born in Montréal and grew up between Canada, Saudi Arabia and India. She now lives in Toronto. She is a clothes and textile designer who has worked in film, theatre, fashion and the visual arts. She uses garments to tell stories, examining history, space and culture, while exploring the intersection between fashion and art. Her performance and fashion installations have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and at the Textile Museum of Canada. She was the costume designer on an earlier Hamilton Mehta Productions project - the 2008 film HEAVEN ON EARTH.