Taniya Nayak

Famous for her manic energy and bright engaging Smile, Taniya Nayak was born in Nagpur, India, and came to the US as an infant with her family, who settled in Boston, MA, where she was raised. Her father is B. D. Nayak, a renowned Boston-area architect. Taniya graduated from Weymouth High in 1991, from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell with a B. A. in Marketing and is pursuing her M. A. in Interior Design at Boston Architectural College. She shared an award for Top Honors in the International Interior Design Associations' Student Sketch Problem Competition. In addition to her work on television, Taniya has founded her interior design company "Design Digs", advising clients on decorating for teenagers' rooms. She also spent over 13 years as a bartender/mixologist for many of Boston's trendier restaurants and clubs, including Venu, Felt and Bar Lola.

As a bartender, her signature drinks were "Chocolate Cake" cordial shot (Frangelico/Citron), "Pineapple Upside Down Cake" cordial shot (Stoli vanilla, Malibu coconut-flavored rum, pineapple juice, shaken, then add a few drops of Grenadine.) and "Taniya's Coolata Cone" cordial shot (2 parts Bailey's, 1 part Peachtree, pineapple juice and shake.) [From October 2003 interview by Steve Bradford].