Varli Culinary Awards: A Pat on the back for Indian Food

Indian Cuisine – Applauding  Success  at the Varli Culinary Awards

There was a time in America when Indian food, like Rodney Dangerfield, got no respect. Westerners (and some embarrassed Indians) tried to eat rotis with knife and fork, complained of the greasiness and the smell of the cuisine, and thought Indian food began and ended with ‘curry’.

That was then – this is now!

In our new global world, Indian cuisine is hot – and cool!  Everyone seems to understand the language of Indian food, Indian chefs are stars and Indian cuisine has many fans, is anointed by Michelin and Zagat, and is the subject of great reviews. So it was inevitable that a glamorous award ceremony celebrating these successes would be next – the Varli Global Culinary Awards for the best and brightest in Indian cuisine…

Who’s Who in Indian Cuisine

At the inaugural annual Varli Global Culinary Awards event at Altman Building, it was a gathering of major chefs, restaurateurs and foodies, and some had traveled from as far as Dubai and India to be there. Guests included Ambassador Manjit Singh Puri, actor Chandrachur Singh, American TV star Tamara Tunie of Law & Order: SVU, and Saveur senior editor, Gabriella Gershenson. Guests got to mingle with the celebrity stars, and taste food  from ten different restaurants.

Manu Narayan, actor and singer whose ‘Bombay Dreams’ had lit up Broadway, took to the stage for quite a different reason – to sing the praises of Indian cuisine. He laughingly admitted that much to his mother’s dismay he couldn’t cook at all but had co-hosts who were stars of the culinary world – Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and NYC chef Jehangir Mehta.

Indian Food Tales: Happy Endings

For Varli Singh, the entrepreneur behind the Varli Awards, it was the realization of a long term dream to get Indian food the recognition it deserves. So who were the winners? The Best Chef Award went to Vikas Khanna of Junoon, and Best Dessert & Pastry Chef to Jehangir Mehta, Grafitti & Mehtaphor. The Lifetime Award to Restaurateur Avtar Walia of Tamarind Restaurants.  Rohini Dey of Vermilion Restaurants won the Influential Women in the Restaurant Scene Award. The award for best dessert went to Shefalee Patel of Sweet Silk.

The Critics Choice Award for Best Restaurant was won by Junoon, while the People’s Choice Award for Best Restaurant New York City went to Bukhara Grill. Other winners for Best Restaurant were Jaipore in Upstate, NY, Thali in  Connecticut, Mint in Long Island, and Palace of Asia in New Jersey.  Check the full list of winners at the Varli Culinary Awards

Indian Restaurateurs – Untold Stories

For me, as a long time foodie and people watcher, the best moment was when seasoned restaurateurs, who usually fade into the background,  took to the stage. They are the ones who make good food and good restaurants happen but they are always in the back office or the kitchen, making sure that restaurant-goers get the best experience possible. Often guests don’t know their names and certainly don’t know their faces. They often work behind the scenes and make the magic happen. So it was the day for these hard-working individuals to get their moment in the limelight.

Ricky Singh introduced them all with a jubilant beating of the Indian dhol and amidst fanfare presented them with the Movers and Shakers medallions – Rakesh Agarwal – Shaun Mehtani – Sneh Mehtani – Nitin Vyas – Shiva Natrajan – Avtar Walia – Kamal Arora – Rajesh Bhardwaj – KN Vinod – Surfy Rahman – Gary Sikka – Prasad Chirnomula – Munish Narula – Nitu Singh – Sajal Latka – Sukhdev Singh. These never say die restaurateurs are the ones who have made the tri-state area’s vibrant Indian culinary scene possible over the last three decades. It was a touching moment as people who make the dining experience possible were finally recognized for their efforts.

The Indian Chef’s Journey – Sanjeev Kapoor

There was one major mover and shaker who had supported the Varli concept from the beginning and that is celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Chef as well as an award for the Best Restaurant in Dubai. “All of us need some kind of recognition and this is what these awards do,” he said. “They motivate us to do better and bring out excellence in us.”

He recalled the start of his own journey many years ago when chefs were not respected at all. “The General Manager would say, ‘Chef what are you doing in the lobby – you should be in the kitchen!’ Today I can tell you that I look at hotels and restaurants and I smile because every general manager is telling their chefs to go out in front, go meet people. The times have changed and I’m happy that the perception of chefs has changed dramatically. It’s just the beginning.”

Turning to Varli Singh who is on the cusp of something new with the culinary awards,   he said, “What you’ve started has challenges. I can see your journey almost like my own because that also began with great challenges. Keep on doing the good work.”

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