Suvir Saran
Author of American Masala and Indian Home Cooking

“In the kitchen, I found the answers to all my curiosities,” says New Delhi-born chef Suvir Saran. While his brother and sister went to sports events or concerts, Saran was lured by the fascinating rituals of the kitchen—both the culinary and spiritual center where he cultivated his passion for the traditional flavors of Indian cooking. Saran is at once faithful to the authentic homemade dishes of his youth, and also a champion of the great diversity that India has to offer and the continual evolution of these multitude flavors.

Saran received wide acclaim for his accessible approach to Indian flavors and techniques in his cookbook, Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, September 2004), with Stephanie Lyness. In his new cookbook, American Masala: 125 New Classics From My Home Kitchen (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, October 2007), with Raquel Pelzel, he combines the best that both Indian and American cooking have to offer.

Saran and tandoor master Hemant Mathur are the co-executive chefs of Dévi, the 75-seat upscale restaurant in New York City, which together they have owned since October 2007. Offering the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking as well as dishes inspired by Saran’s cookbooks, Dévi received a Michelin one-star rating in2007 and 2008,as well as a three-star rating from New York Magazine and two stars from The New York Times.

Already a respected food authority at age 35, Saran is making great contributions to furthering appreciation of Indian food in America. Most recently, The Culinary Institute of America named him Chairman, Asian Culinary Studies for its World Cuisines Council. In March 2006, Sodexho, Inc. named him its first-ever “International Concept and Brand Development Partner” to work side-by-side with Sodexho chefs for culinary training and business development with a focus on health and wellness.

He has been featured in such publications as Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking, Travel & Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, InStyle, Metropolitan Home, Parade, Newsweek, US News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Nation’s Restaurant News, Chef Magazine, Economic Times of India. He is a contributing authority to Food Arts.

Television and radio appearances include: NBC “Today”; Travel Channel’s “Epicurious TV”; FOX9 Minneapolis with Andrew Zimmern; FOX4 “Good Day Dallas”; BBC Radio “The World”; APM “The Splendid Table”; WBEZ-FM "848 with Steve Dolinsky"; WHYY-FM "A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman"; KGO Radio "Dining Around with Gene Burns", among many others. Saran is also a featured chef in the national public television series “How To Cook Everything: Bittman Takes On America’s Chefs” (2005) and “Food Trip with Todd English” (2007).

Saran has taught all over the country privately and for such culinary centers as Sur La Table (nationwide), Institute for Culinary Education, Williams-Sonoma at Time Warner Center (NY), Cooks of Crockus Hill (MN), Central Market (TX), The Kitchen Store at J.K. Adams (VT) and Apron’s Cooking School at Publix (FL and GA). He has spoken at conferences at the Culinary Institute of America; “Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives” conferences organized by Harvard Medical School Osher Institute and CIA; and the 39th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, among others. In 2006, he led a culinary tour of India for Sur La Table and has been a guest chef on Holland America Line. He has been a featured chef at The Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival and The Gourmet Institute; and will participate in The 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival and the inaugural Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor (May 2008) in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, he will launch The American Masala Collection of porcelain dinnerware and kitchenware made by Wade Ceramics, a producer of high-quality porcelain goods for nearly 200 years based in Burslem, England.

While food is a lifelong love for Saran, he began his professional career in art. After studying at the venerable Sir J.J. School of Arts in Bombay, he moved to New York City in 1993 to study at the School of Visual Arts. He was manager at a Metropolitan Museum of Art store, a buyer for Bergdorf Goodman, and later director of retail merchandising for the home collection at Henri Bendel. While the business of art occupied his days, his nights were filled by cooking elaborate meals for an ever-growing crowd of friends who loved his food and urged Saran to teach cooking classes and cater events.

By 1997, Saran joined the staff of NYU’s Department of Food and Nutrition, teaching what became some of their most popular classes. He also started a small catering business that became one of New York’s hottest catering companies as heralded by New York Magazine in 1999. The highlight of his catering career, says Saran, was cooking the first Indian meal ever served at Carnegie Hall for a host of international celebrities and dignitaries in honor of the 50th anniversary of India’s independence in 1997.

When he is not on the road teaching and learning, Saran enjoys working on his 68-acre American Masala Farm in upstate New York.

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To download a 150-word bio (61K PDF), click here.
To download a 250-word bio (64K PDF), click here.

To download a press release about Dévi, October 29, 2007: click here (1.7MB pdf).

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Laura Lehrman + Andria Chin
Lehrman + Chin Public Relations
Tel: (212) 580-0099
Email: [email protected]