[7] Sequeira said cooking was a large part of her family's identity, and she credits much of her culinary inspiration to her Indian cultural background and her mother's influence.

[10][11] Her fondest food memories as a child were her father's weekly trips to the market for fresh fish and produce, as well as her mother's daily recipe creations.

[7] She was also exposed to cuisines of other countries, including homemade pastas in the home of her Italian best friend, and Arabian spit-roasted shawarmas her family ate every Friday.

[5] Sequeira was inspired to pursue a career in journalism after watching CNN cable news coverage of the Gulf War as a child.

[9] Sequeira worked for CNN until 2003,[3][15] and in 2004 moved from New York City to Los Angeles, California,[2][15] to be near her husband Brendon McNamara, who was pursuing an acting career.

[4][18] A friend suggested Sequeira start a cooking show on the video-sharing website YouTube, an idea she initially regarded with skepticism.

"[19] The name "Aarti Paarti" came from her husband Brendon McNamara, who previously suggested it on a date when they were discussing possible ice cream flavors that could include Sequeira's name.

[9] Sequeira said she experienced imposter syndrome in her early years making cooking videos because she had not gone to culinary school or worked in restaurants for a long period of time.

[2][3] Sequeira said she occasionally felt she was "not the best person for this job because I'm not your quintessential Indian", not having grown up in the country,[2] and she described her early videos as "almost like doing an experiment; I was doing it because something in me was compelling me to do it".

[5] Although Sequeira believed her experience with the Aarti Paarti online show would give her an advantage with the camera segments, she instead found them to be very challenging.

[22] Judges and critics were attracted to her bubbly personality, sense of humor, on-screen charisma, and strong food,[21] though they repeatedly commented upon her admitted lack of self-confidence.

[5] The first time she faced possible elimination, series judge and Food Network executive Bob Tuschman said, "You were a frontrunner," and Sequeira said his use of past tense made her realize she could not become complacent and had to work harder in future challenges.

[20] Sequeira won several of the weekly challenges, including an Iron Chef-style cook-off competition in the penultimate episode, which drew her particularly strong praise from judges Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, and Michael Symon.

[21] Sequeira felt more confident about shooting the pilot compared to some of the other challenges, because there was no time limit and it did not involve cooking for celebrity judges.

[20] Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Slezak called Sequeira's pilot "thoroughly engaging and casually informative, while managing to present a dish that looked equal parts unique and delicious".

[21] Sequeira was selected as winner of The Next Food Network Star, defeating fellow finalists Tom Pizzica and Herb Mesa.

[18][21][19] Tuschman said of Sequeira: "Aarti has that all-too-rare combination we seek in our stars: a passionate food expert who is warm, radiant, fun, and relatable.

[2] Sequeira had to conceive 40 recipes in the span of one month for the series, which she described as challenging but "great for your brain because you start thinking creatively much more quickly".

[24] In September 2012, Sequeira was a headliner at the Savor the Central Coast, a culinary festival in San Luis Obispo County, California.

In the episode, entitled "Selena + Aarti: Friendsgiving", Sequeira helped Gomez cook a Thanksgiving turkey for the first time.