Chef Saransh Goila Pulled Off One of the Dreamiest Proposals We’ve Seen Recently
Food is truly the way to the heart…
ICYMI, Celebrity Chef Saransh Goila and his now fiancée Divya Rao are officially engaged. The chef shared the news by dropping a post on Instagram, with the caption, “She said YES!’
Saransh planned the entire proposal under the codename “The Day”, every little detail carefully thought through. There was a hidden photographer, a dress code disguised as a fancy dinner, and a destination straight out of Divya’s dreams. He chose the Cotswolds as his dream destination, their first travel destination as a couple.
“It was important to me that this proposal reflected our journey,” Saransh shares. “London was where it all began.” And so, at golden hour, on a story bridge in Lower Slaughter in the Cotswolds, Divya said yes. She thought they were just heading to a fancy dinner. But instead, he got down on one knee.
Back in 2017, chef Saransh Goila was holding a pop-up at an office for his now iconic brand, Goila Butter Chicken. Amid a sea of chicken orders, someone from HR asked for a single vegan meal. That one meal, vegan rajma chawal made without ghee, was for Divya Rao, his now fiancée. And it changed everything.
“I often think, what if I hadn’t made that vegan meal that day?” Saransh smiles. “It feels like destiny.”
Curious about the girl behind the sweet request, Saransh introduced himself. She was thoughtful, funny, vegan, and very much not into butter chicken. But somehow, they just clicked.
Their connection was instant, and even their first date was not at a five-star or a candlelit restaurant. It was under a meteor shower in Vangani in December 2017, with wine, stargazing, and a feeling that this was the start of something rare and unique.
Fast forward seven and a half years, two adopted cats, countless long drives, and one deeply secretive plan later, Saransh proposed in the most ‘Divya’ way possible.
From that one vegan bowl to this forever, yes, their love story feels like a rom-com written in slow motion, full of food, travel, two very different souls, and a love that makes space for both.