Recognition for Rasika in DC, Snackbar in Mississippi.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Two chefs of Indian origin have won arguably the most prestigious prize in the culinary industry: the James Beard Foundation Award.
Vikram Sunderam and Vishwesh Bhatt were announced as two of the winners of the award’s 2014 iteration. Sunderam, a chef at Washington, DC’s Rasika Penn Quarter and Rasika West End establishments, was named as the Best Chef for the Mid-Atlantic region. Bhatt, a chef with Snackbar in Mississippi, was deemed the Best Chef of the South region.
Originally from Mumbai and now residing in McLean, Virginia, Sunderam got into the cooking industry in 1985 by joining India’s Taj Mahal Hotel Group. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, followed by his Diploma in Hotel Administration and Food Technology from Mumbai’s Sophia Polytechnic.
Sunderam has worked at the Riverview Lodge in California, and the Bombay Brasserie Hotel in London. His tenure at the latter establishment lasted 14 years, part of which was spent as the restaurant’s executive chef. He left Bombay Brasserie to come to Washington, DC, where he has been ever since.
He and Ashok Bajaj jointly established the first Rasika restaurant in Washington, DC in 2005. Now with two locations, the restaurant is considered the best place for Indian food in the nation’s capital. Foreign dignitaries and celebrities alike flock to Rasika for lavish dinners, and even President Barack Obama celebrated his birthday dinner last year at Rasika West End.
Bhatt is a native of Gujarat, where he was born before moving to Mississippi. He is a corporate chef for Snackbar, and has been part of the local City Grocery Restaurant Group for 16 years. He earned his B.A. from Johnson and Wales in North Miami, Florida, and has worked in diverse US cities like Miami and Denver, Colorado. Bhatt also trained under James Beard Award Winning Chef, John Currence.
For Bhatt, the recognition this year is especially gratifying, as he had previously being named as a semi-finalist for the award in two separate years.