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The James Beard Awards select the best of the food industry
Indian-Americans among those shortlisted for the Oscars of Culinary World
The families immigrants left behind in the small towns and villages of India would be surprised to learn that their rural foods – the dals, vegetables, fish and fowl eaten in simple home kitchens – are becoming quite loved in America and are actually getting Indian restaurateurs and chefs a lot of attention. The nominations for the James Beard Foundation Awards – the Oscars of the Food World – were just announced and there are enough Indian-Americans on the finalist list to prove that Indian food is becoming increasingly popular in America.
A decade ago it would have been impossible to see so many Indian names on the shortlist for top honors: Ashok Bajaj for Outstanding Restaurateur, Chai Pani for Outstanding Restaurant, Dhamaka for Best New Restaurant in New York, Chintan Pandya for Best New Chef in New York State, and Cheetie Kumar for best chef of the Southeast.
For the first time, an Indian-American entrepreneur, Ashok Bajaj is on the final shortlist for Outstanding Restaurateur – the criteria for which is using the restaurant as a vehicle for building community, demonstrating creativity in restaurant operations and efforts to create a sustainable work culture.
Bajaj heads the Knighbridge Restaurant Group (Rasika, Bindaas, Annabelle and others) in Washington DC. The others on the outstanding restaurant shortlist include Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco, and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix; Kevin Gillespie, Red Beard Restaurants (Gunshow, Ole Reliable, and Revival), Atlanta; Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom, Langbaan, Hat Yai, Eem, and others, Portland, OR; Chris Williams, Lucille’s Hospitality Group, Houston; Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia
Bajaj founded the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group in Washington, DC in 1989 when he launched its first restaurant, The Bombay Club, and over the years he has opened 30 more restaurants featuring modern Indian, modern American, Italian, and Israeli cuisine. He also received the Restaurateur of the Year award from Washington Magazine and his restaurants have got several Rammy Awards from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) and also been nominated by the JBF in various categories.
A native of New Delhi, he worked at the Ashok Group and after that with the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces. After spending time in London and Australia, he started the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group in Washington, and the restaurants have often been on top 100 best lists.
It is noteworthy that Chai Pani, an Indian restaurant in Ashville, NC is a finalist for outstanding restaurant in America. This award goes to a restaurant which demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations while contributing positively to its broader community. The others in the running are Brennan’s, New Orleans, Butcher & Bee, Charleston, SC, Parachute, Chicago and the Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle.
The Chai Pani group is owned by Meherwan Irani who has been nominated five times for the JBF award. Some of its most popular items are street food and thalis – food items which are beloved by all Indians and which are finding a following amongst Americans too.
The Best New Restaurant award goes to one which started in 2020 or 2021 and that already demonstrates excellence in cuisine and hospitality and seems likely to make a significant impact in years to come. Dhamaka is among 11 new restaurants across America shortlisted for best new restaurant.
For Best Chef in New York State, we have Chintan Pandya the popular chef of Dhamaka going up against four other NYC chefs – Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy, NYC JJ Johnson, FIELDTRIP, NYC Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shuka, NYC and Junghyun Park, Atomix, NYC.
Chintan Pandya has received a lot of acclaim for Dhamaka and this nomination is the icing on the cake. Both Roni Mazumdar, the owner of Dhamaka, and Pandya are planning to head out to Chicago for the James Beard Awards. As the two tweeted, “A double @beardfoundation nomination is beyond anything we had planned for. Guess we are to Chicago! Congrats to all our peers who are part of this shortlist.”
In the category of best chef from the Southeast we have the chef Cheetie Kumar of Garland in Raleigh, NC. The other chefs in the running are Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC, Greg Collier, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC, Phil Krajeck, Rolf and Daughters, Nashville, Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, NC
I had the pleasure of tasting her food at a James Beard House dinner some years back and seeing her and her team cook in the Beard House kitchen. Kumar is not only a talented chef but an amazing musician too with her own band. Her Indian roots are very dear to her but so are her beloved hometown of Raleigh and the spirit of the South. As the Local Palate described it, she uses “the corn roti with long-stewed mustard greens of her Chandigarh youth to create a decidedly Southern corn and sweet potato fritter atop bright winter greens seasoned with ginger and garlic.”
Her Pan-Asian restaurant Garland in North Carolina was voted amongst the 100 Best Restaurants for Foodies in America by Opentable, and she was named a finalist by the James Beard Foundation as best chef from the South-east in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Now she has again been named a finalist.
Two Indian food writers are also up for the James Beard Media Awards which go to Journalism, Broadcast Media and Books. The winners will be announced at the Media Awards ceremony in Chicago on the campus of Columbia College Chicago on June 11. Among the books shortlisted is Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave) by David Chang and Priya Krishna. This is in the general category while in the Reference, History and Scholarship category is ‘The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained +More than 100 Essential Recipes by Nik Sharma.
One cannot really read the tea leaves or predict the future but those nominated for the 31st James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards are headed for Chicago where the awards ceremony is slated to take place and the rest of us can see it broadcast live via the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter feed.
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