New Delhi-born Top Chef Master Suvir Saran has nurtured a lifelong passion for the traditional flavours of Indian cooking, which has led him to become an accomplished chef, cookbook author, educator, and culinary consultant.
Viewing the kitchen as both a culinary and spiritual haven, New Delhi-born Top Chef Master Suvir Saran has nurtured a lifelong passion for the traditional flavours of Indian cooking, which has led him to become an accomplished chef, cookbook author, educator, and culinary consultant.
Saran’s approachable style has helped demystify Indian cuisine in America and formed American Masala, his culinary philosophy, which celebrates the best of Indian and American cooking. A respected culinary authority, Saran is Chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for the Culinary Institute of America and travels extensively to teach audiences ranging from home cooks and fellow chefs to physicians and nutritionists. Renowned for his accessible approach to Indian flavors and techniques, Saran has penned three cookbooks: Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes; American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen; and Masala Farm: Stories and Recipes from an Uncommon Life in the Country.
He has been a featured judge on Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef on the Food Network and has had numerous appearances on national broadcasts. In spring 2011, Suvir was a break out star on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters. Saran is something of a legend in New York food circles, having garnered a Michelin star at Devi, a first for Indian cuisine as well as the first for any non-French or Non-Italian restaurants in North America. Here he shared the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking. Under Saran’s leadership, Devi consistently received popular and critical acclaim.
Most recently, Saran was Executive Chef/Owner at Tapestry in Greenwich Village, New York. The menu featured Saran’s nuanced understanding of the many grand cuisines of the world. Saran is the only chef on the nutrition advisory board to Brigham & Women’s Hospital, at Harvard Medical School. In this role he works with physicians, dietitians and nutritionists to ensure that culinary innovation meets fact-based science where trends and flavor, meet taste and health.
When he is not on the road teaching, presenting or eating, Saran can be found caring for American Masala Farm, a 19th Century farm set on 68 acres of rolling land in upstate New York and home to lovingly raised heritage-breed animals and pets.
Photos: Daesha Devon Harris