Hemant Kumar, Executive Chef and co-owner, Tulsi, New yorkEarlier this month, Kingsley Mamabolo, the new South African ambassador to the United Nations, was readying to present his credentials to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He texted chef Hemant Mathur to prepare a special dinner that night at his midtown Manhattan restaurant, Tulsi.
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Around the same time, Floyd Cardoz, who counts Madonna and Matt Damon among his fans, had just been asked to conduct an exclusive cooking class for 30 top American female corporate executives in New York. Also in the Big Apple, Jehangir Mehta, owner of two restaurants but best known as a brilliant pastry chef, was heading out to judge a hummus competition.
Elsewhere, in California, Sachin Chopra had received a shipment of the much-sought-after Iberico ham from Spain, and was excitedly working on a limited edition recipe at his Michelin-starred restaurant. And a few thousand miles away, on a highway between Manipal and Bangalore with erratic cellphone connectivity, Maneet Chauhan was frantically looking for a PCO to call producers of the Food Network TV channel in New York to discuss a forthcoming episode of Chopped, on which she is a judge.
Top Indian chefs in the US are no longer defined by their ethnicity, but seen as expert chefs catering to a mainstream, often global, guest list, even as they leverage their knowledge of Indian cuisine. "It's not about stepping away from Indian food, but about expanding it to a new horizon instead of sticking to old recipes," says Chopra, chef and owner of All Spice, a two-year-old restaurant near San Francisco.
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Adds Chauhan, former executive chef at New York and Chicago restaurant Vermilion and now owner of a food business in New York, "I think the new crop of Indian chefs is responsible for presenting the beauty of Indian food, as opposed to the $8.95 all-you-can-eat buffet."
The recognition is reflected not just in rave reviews but also in the holy grail of the restaurant business, Michelin stars. In its 2012 guide for New York, Michelin awarded one star to three Indian restaurants-Tulsi, Junoon and Tamarind Tribeca. They retained their stars for 2013, along with another winner, Chopra's All Spice. Until 2012, only one Indian restaurant in the US, New York's Devi, then helmed by Hemant Mathur and Suvir Saran, had won the coveted star, for 2007 and 2008.
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No longer are Indian chefs in the US limited to churning out one-gravy-floats-all curries or pseudo-sambars for budget buffets. They are confident enough to offer dishes like Chickpea Crusted Squid or Pumpkin and Fresh Fennel Dosa, and $65 tasting menus. Many are graduates of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. They have proved their chops working at restaurants of renowned chefs, like Chopra at Daniel Boulud's Daniel, Mehta at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Jean-Georges, and Cardoz at Lespinasse under Gray Kunz.
Cardoz, who is credited with introducing modern Indian cuisine to Americans at the path-breaking Tabla in New York, which closed in 2010, is now the executive chef at North End Grill, a contemporary American eatery. His Clam Pizza here is as sought after as his Goan Fish Curry was at Tabla. The All Spice menu is dominated by Indian-influenced Californian cuisine, with dishes like Slow-roasted Venison.
Chefs are also pushing geographic boundaries. While most Indian restaurants are concentrated in and around big cities like San Francisco and New York, media attention and TV appearances by Indian chefs have made Indian food familiar across the US. This growing interest is now taking Chauhan to an unlikely location-Nashville, Tennessee. Later in 2013, she will open an India-inspired gastropub and microbrewery in the capital of country music and Southern cuisine.
Meanwhile, authentic Indian cuisine is thriving in the hands of chefs like Tulsi's Mathur, Vikas Khanna of Junoon and Peter Beck, who guided the Tamarind group of restaurants and now cooks at the recently opened Benares in New York. According to The New York Times, "No one in New York makes lamb chops like Mr Mathur," and he also serves "a wickedly fine duck moilee".
Yet, while some Indian chefs have broken through the glass ceiling, most are still trapped by stereotypes surrounding India, according to Chopra, who recalls early patrons at All Spice demanding to know why naans were not on the menu. "We are still looked at as an ad for Indian tourism. We're supposed to be the messiahs of secret spice blends," he observes.
With US restaurant sales projected to cross $660 billion (Rs.3,564,000 crore) this year, even a niche in the industry can be lucrative. But top Indian chefs in the US have their eyes on a larger market, as well as on expanding the niche. Many are also looking at India, given the fast-changing restaurant scene there. When Madonna and Leonardo DiCaprio are fans of your food, it would be a shame-no, make that a crime-not to dream big.
Elsewhere, in California, Sachin Chopra had received a shipment of the much-sought-after Iberico ham from Spain, and was excitedly working on a limited edition recipe at his Michelin-starred restaurant. And a few thousand miles away, on a highway between Manipal and Bangalore with erratic cellphone connectivity, Maneet Chauhan was frantically looking for a PCO to call producers of the Food Network TV channel in New York to discuss a forthcoming episode of Chopped, on which she is a judge.
Top Indian chefs in the US are no longer defined by their ethnicity, but seen as expert chefs catering to a mainstream, often global, guest list, even as they leverage their knowledge of Indian cuisine. "It's not about stepping away from Indian food, but about expanding it to a new horizon instead of sticking to old recipes," says Chopra, chef and owner of All Spice, a two-year-old restaurant near San Francisco.
The recognition is reflected not just in rave reviews but also in the holy grail of the restaurant business, Michelin stars. In its 2012 guide for New York, Michelin awarded one star to three Indian restaurants-Tulsi, Junoon and Tamarind Tribeca. They retained their stars for 2013, along with another winner, Chopra's All Spice. Until 2012, only one Indian restaurant in the US, New York's Devi, then helmed by Hemant Mathur and Suvir Saran, had won the coveted star, for 2007 and 2008.
Cardoz, who is credited with introducing modern Indian cuisine to Americans at the path-breaking Tabla in New York, which closed in 2010, is now the executive chef at North End Grill, a contemporary American eatery. His Clam Pizza here is as sought after as his Goan Fish Curry was at Tabla. The All Spice menu is dominated by Indian-influenced Californian cuisine, with dishes like Slow-roasted Venison.
Chefs are also pushing geographic boundaries. While most Indian restaurants are concentrated in and around big cities like San Francisco and New York, media attention and TV appearances by Indian chefs have made Indian food familiar across the US. This growing interest is now taking Chauhan to an unlikely location-Nashville, Tennessee. Later in 2013, she will open an India-inspired gastropub and microbrewery in the capital of country music and Southern cuisine.
Meanwhile, authentic Indian cuisine is thriving in the hands of chefs like Tulsi's Mathur, Vikas Khanna of Junoon and Peter Beck, who guided the Tamarind group of restaurants and now cooks at the recently opened Benares in New York. According to The New York Times, "No one in New York makes lamb chops like Mr Mathur," and he also serves "a wickedly fine duck moilee".
Yet, while some Indian chefs have broken through the glass ceiling, most are still trapped by stereotypes surrounding India, according to Chopra, who recalls early patrons at All Spice demanding to know why naans were not on the menu. "We are still looked at as an ad for Indian tourism. We're supposed to be the messiahs of secret spice blends," he observes.
With US restaurant sales projected to cross $660 billion (Rs.3,564,000 crore) this year, even a niche in the industry can be lucrative. But top Indian chefs in the US have their eyes on a larger market, as well as on expanding the niche. Many are also looking at India, given the fast-changing restaurant scene there. When Madonna and Leonardo DiCaprio are fans of your food, it would be a shame-no, make that a crime-not to dream big.
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