Simply, OFF THE CHAATS

Asheville-based diner, Chai Pani’s executive chef and founder, Meherwan Irani talks about bagging a James Beard award and Indian food winning hearts and accolades in America

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As I write this story, chef Meherwan Irani, who is at the helm of Chai Pani, and a group of selected employees are gearing up for their 2023 tour. The Indian diner, based out Asheville, won the Outstanding Restaurant of the Year at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards last year. "It's a life changing experience. We fully immerse in the street food culture of big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Benares. And also make sure that everyone gets to visit the Dharavi Diary Community Center, an organisation that we've been supporting since 2017," he tells us speaking about the R&D trip. Irani played a pivotal role in bringing Indian food back to the public American culinary discourse with his win. The last time people had seemed this decidedly interested in our cuisine before that was back in August, 2021.

It so happened that Gene Weingarten, a humour columnist for the Washington Post, wrote an article, where he listed Indian food as an ethnic cuisine "insanely based entirely on one spice." By doing so, he ruffled quite a few feathers. Personally, as a reporter invested in food, I find more joy in Chai Pani's win. And think of it as a much more veritable affront than any Tweet, troll or direct jab at Weingarten because it helped the narrative around Indian food come full circle from a senior American columnist disparaging it to the most formidable culinary body in the US recognising it as the best.