Vishwesh Bhatt
Vishwesh Bhatt | |
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| File:Vishwesh Bhatt 2022 Texas Book Festival.jpg Bhatt at the 2022 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Education | University of Kentucky, Johnson & Wales University |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant
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Award(s) won
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Vishwesh Bhatt is a James Beard Award-winning chef based in Oxford, Mississippi.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]In 1985, Bhatt immigrated with his family from Gujarat, India to the United States at the age of 17, first settling in Austin, Texas.[1] He studied biology and political science at the University of Kentucky and then sought a master’s in public administration at the University of Mississippi.[1] During his time as a student, Bhatt maintained a side-business cooking for friends and colleagues. He also began working at a vegetarian cafe in Oxford.[1]
In Mississippi, he became a regular patron at John Currence's City Grocery, and he eventually joined the kitchen staff. This experience led him to pursue a culinary career, and he enrolled in the North Miami, Florida culinary school of Johnson & Wales University.[2][3][4]
Career
[edit | edit source]After culinary school, Bhatt worked in restaurants in Jackson, Mississippi and Boulder, Colorado before returning to Oxford to work for Currence again in 2001.[4] When Currence opened a new restaurant called Snackbar in 2009, Bhatt was named executive chef.[1][2] Over time, Bhatt began to incorporate Indian influences into Snackbar's menu, and his cooking gained recognition.[3] Regional and national publications highlighted Bhatt's signature okra chaat, a combination of southern fried Okra and Indian Chaat masala.[2][5][6]
Bhatt was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in 2011 and then a finalist in 2014.[4] He was a finalist again in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, before winning the James Beard title of Best Chef in the South in 2019.[7]
In August 2022, he released his cookbook, I Am From Here, which focuses on Southern cuisine and declares his status as an authentic Southern chef.[1]
References
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