Surbhi Sahni
Masterfully combining textures, tastes, colors,
cultures and imagination, Pastry Chef Surbhi Sahni provides
the sweet finale to the multi-dimensional culinary journey
that is Dévi in New York City.
Sahni and Dévi Co-Executive Chefs Suvir
Saran and Hemant Mathur have received critical acclaim for
recreating authentic Indian flavors, served in a sumptuous
setting, from The New York Times, New York Magazine, New
York Daily News and New York Observer. Dévi was also
awarded a Michelin one-star rating for 2008 and 2007—the
only Michelin-star Indian restaurant in the country.
While she works with unusual ingredients like
curry leaf and cilantro, Sahni always strives to maintain
the integrity of the ingredients she showcases in a dish,
making sure that each component has a sense of place and
that one flavor does not outplay another. Her innovative
repertoire includes: Emperor’s Morsel (Shahi Tukra)—a
crispy Indian bread pudding with cardamom cream and candied
almonds; Chai Panna Cotta, with besan cookie and spicy potato
chips; and the ethereal Mango Cheesecake, served with a rosewater-almond
cookie crust, mango pate de fruit and mango crisp.
Sahni’s wonderfully rich Fig Cake was
most recently in O, The Oprah Magazine. She has been
featured by other media, including: The New York Times,
New York Daily News, Time Out New York, New York Magazine,
The Wall Street Journal, Food Arts, Pastry Art & Design,
Audrey Magazine, ImaginAsiaTV “Pulse” and New
Asian Cuisine, among others. She also served as a contributing
food writer for India Post.
Prior to Dévi, Sahni worked in the pastry
kitchen at davidburke&donatella in New York City. In
2003, she was the executive pastry chef at Manhattan’s
Amma. Collaborating with chefs Saran and Mathur, she designed
the Asian fusion desserts at Amma that helped to garner opening
accolades. Sahni made her mark on New York’s culinary
map when she served as executive pastry chef at the highly
acclaimed Tamarind in 2001. Working with the late chef Raji
Jallepalli, she developed the concept and menu for the restaurant’s
Tea Room.
A native of New Delhi, Sahni has cooked since
she was seven years old, preparing three square meals a day
for her family. Her professional career began as chef de
partie at the New Delhi Hilton Hotel, where she was part
of the opening team for the property’s continental
restaurant The 28th Grill. She moved to New York and worked
as a baker and pastry chef at catering companies, Table Tales
and Between the Bread, respectively. At Between the Bread,
she met her pastry guru, Richard Poselett, former executive
pastry chef at the Hilton Hotel in New York. Sahni was also
a pastry intern at Picholine and worked with restaurant consultant
Clark Wolf to revamp the food service at The Bronx Zoo in
2001.
She has been a featured chef at the James Beard
House and a participating chef at the “Worlds of Flavor” and
Pastry Chef Conferences, organized by the Culinary Institute
of America at Greystone, the Annual Chocolate Show in New
York and The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
She assisted chocolatier Thomas Haas at the 2006 World Pastry
Forum, and her Tasting of Creams took 3rd place in the Innovative
Dessert category at PastryScoop.com’s 2005 Golden Scoop
Awards. She has also taught classes with Saran and Mathur
at NYU’s Department of Food and Nutrition, and De Gustibus
Cooking School at Macy’s.
She received a Master’s Degree in Food
Studies and Food Management from New York University and
a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management from the School
of Hotel Administration in India.
Sahni is proud to be working at Dévi
alongside her husband, Chef Hemant
Mathur. They live in Jackson Heights, Queens with
their daughter, Soumyaa.
• • • • • • •
MEDIA
CONTACTS:
Laura Lehrman + Andria Chin
Lehrman + Chin Public Relations
Tel: (212) 580-0099
Email: [email protected]
Photo by Tanya
Braganti.