In 2015, she hosted a cooking and travel series, Ariana’s Persian Kitchen, which launched on Nat Geo People and was broadcast in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It was the show that caught the attention of some very important people. In 2016, two months before Bundy planned to move back to the States, she got a call from the office of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “My first thought was, uh oh, what did I do?” She wasn’t in trouble – Sheikh Mohammed had watched her show and wanted to invite her to an iftar he was hosting. She was in Iran at the time, and booked a flight back to Dubai for the next day to attend the red-carpet affair. Bundy met His Highness, exchanged pleasantries, and thought of it as an occasion that capped off her memorable time in Dubai.
