Chef Suvir Saran To Bring a Healthy and Happy Approach To Cuisine at Saratoga Wine and Food Festival this Weekend
SARATOGA SPRINGS – He is a master of cuisine, who backs up his joyful philosophy with solid integrity and commitment. Basically, all you need to know about Chef Suvir Saran is that he once willingly fell on his chef’s knife, if you will, to further impart his beliefs.
It was 2011, during the third season of Bravo-TV’s Top Chef Masters. Chef Suvir had reached the fourth round with flair, joy and ease. He was highly regarded in the weekly Top Chef “Power Rating” Blogs (yes, they have them – quite a few, actually) as a contender to reach the finals, when in the last challenge the chefs were assigned a Bacon Cheeseburger…
Chef Suvir, a master of both Indian and Vegetarian Cuisine, was having none of that. His bio (see: suvir.com) states at the top that he views “… the kitchen as both a culinary and spiritual haven,” and so he made a conscious decision to eschew the ground-up cow and the cured pig – instead serving up a delicious veggie burger, with a healthy side dish of a forthright statement on the dangers of red meat. The “Masters” judges appreciated Chef Suvir’s commitment, but still vanquished him from the kitchen. He left, however, with his head held high, and with the respect of the judging panel, his fellow chefs, and a soon-to-be growing audience.
Fast forward to today, and we see that commitment to a healthy lifestyle translated into an empire:
– Author of multiple books, with hundreds of recipes contained therein;
– As Executive Chef/Owner of Dévi, Saran shares the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking in an inviting 75-seat restaurant in the heart of New York City. The only Indian restaurant in the U.S. to have earned a Michelin star;
– Co-Caretaker, with partner Charlie Burd in caring for American Masala Farm, a nineteenth-century farm set on sixty-eight acres of rolling land in Hebron (Washington County), New York, and home to lovingly raised heritage-breed animals and pets – including two dogs, a cat, sheep, ducks, geese, alpacas, chickens, guinea hens, and goats. Saran and Burd are dedicated to the recommendations of the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) in choosing the farm’s animal population and exemplify farm-to-table living by providing local restaurants with their heritage-breed eggs. “We have 39 breeds of chickens,” Chef Suvir noted with a laugh as we talked on the phone, “plus goose eggs! Martha Stewart told me she was jealous of our egg offerings.” For an in-depth look at the farm and details to arrange a visit, see: The farm’s website
All of this, plus more – will be on display at Saturday afternoon’s Grand Tasting at the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival on the grounds of SPAC.
“I’ve been to this festival a few times,” Chef Suvir said, “its a pleasure and honor to be a part of it this year.”
During the Grand Tasting, Chef Suvir will be both doing demonstrations and exercising ‘judicial authority.’ “One dish I plan to make is a corn and shrimp curry, with flavors from the Southwest coast of India. With local corn in peak season, I am excited to be showcasing this ingredient,” he said.
Also on Saturday, Chef Suvir will trade his Chef’s jacket for Judicial robes and be the judge of the finals at the SPAC “Home Rangers” Amateur Chef Competition, in which an amateur who has had to survive preliminary rounds to face off against Blue Star celebrity Chef Melissa Doney (see post HERE). This event is scheduled for about 1:30 pm.
Chef Judge Saran also has much experience in this capacity. He has been seen as a judge on popular Food Network programs, such as Iron Chef America, Next Iron Chef, and Beat Bobby Flay. His style? “I intend to be fair, but unsparing.” In other words, expect Chef/Judge Savir to bring both empathy and a competitive veteran’s spirit and knowledge to the table.
All this on his plate, and yet Chef Suvir Saran is not relaxing one bit.
On the horizon is the opening (next year) of another NYC restaurant. throughout our conversation, I found the Chef to be a confident yet humble, grateful and enthusiastic individual – but never more so than when he detailed a project which is about to launch – The Teaching Kitchen’s Collective – a Joint project between the Culinary Institute of America and Harvard Medical School. Chef Suvir is the Chair, and the program will travel throughout the country, with the goal of educating physicians and patients about the virtues and techniques of healthy cuisine. “It’s not about diet. It’s about lifestyle.” He said.
A lifestyle of color and flavor. A delicious philosophy worth considering and adopting.
No wonder Chef Suvir walked out of Top Chef Masters with his head held high.
He knew that he would win in the end – and he did.
Arthur Gonick
September 8, 2017
