Famed chef Zubaida Tariq laid to rest in Karachi

KARACHI: Famed chef, cooking expert, and television personality Zubaida Tariq passed away Thursday night here in Karachi.

Her brother Anwar Maqsood confirmed the sad news, adding the celebrated professional cook had been unwell for some time.

Tariq's funeral prayers were offered at Sultan Mosque in the city's Defence area after Friday prayers, after which she was buried in the nearby graveyard.

She achieved fame doing culinary shows on TV and writing cookbooks. Her regular culinary advice segments on various TV channels were so popular that Zubaida 'Aapa' became a household name across Pakistan.

With a formal-sounding name "Mrs. Zubaida Tariq," Aapa made her TV debut back in 1996 when she was in her 50s. Her first programme — Dalda Ka Dastarkhwan — soon went on to become a widely popular evening engagement.

Aapa had nine siblings, including playwright Anwar Maqsood, author and poet Zehra Nigah, designer Sughra Kazmi, and the late Fatima Surraiya Bajiya — a drama writer.

Aapa used to narrate that right after her marriage — whereafter she moved to Lahore — she had no idea about cooking, which is why the first-ever meal she prepared at her in-laws’ house was ruined.

Interestingly, she had attempted to prepare “karhi, a chickpea flour dish, without the critical ingredient—yogurt—and tossed it out. To disguise her failure, she got dressed up and convinced her husband to take her out for Chinese food”, freelance journalist Saba Imtiaz wrote in November 2017.

Also read: In memoriam - Nation reacts to Zubaida Aapa's death

“I know people will remember me well,” she had said, according to Imtiaz.

“I tell my husband if I die, please have this inscribed on my tombstone: Zubaida Aapa totkay wali.”

Condolence tweets for Zubaida Tariq: