Jehangir Mehta

Jehangir Mehta (born in Mumbai, India) was the executive chef and owner of New York City restaurants Graffiti, Mehtaphor and Graffiti Earth. He is the chef and owner of the private dining experience, Me and You. He is also the author of the 2008 HarperCollins cookbook "Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence," offers a cooking class at his restaurant for children 4-14 called "Candy Camp" designed to build interest in more diverse foods, hosts exclusive in-home dinner parties and runs an event planning company.

In August 2009, Jehangir appeared on "Iron Chef America" on Food Network, and was the runner-up on the second season of "The Next Iron Chef" later in 2009.

Jehangir Mehta was born to Petras and Kolly Mehta in Mumbai, India where he was raised. He is Zoroastrian.^[1] After moving to the United States, he met and married his wife, Hinata Jambuserwala. They currently live in New York City.

Jehangir holds a bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of Mumbai. Jehangir then moved to the United States to attend The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and graduated from there in 1995.

After graduating from culinary school in 1995, Jehangir began his career at L'Absinthe in New York City. From there, he moved on to Typhoon Brewery where he worked as the pastry chef to James Chew, formerly of Vong fame.

Jehangir's next move was to Jean Georges. In 1998, Jean Georges Vongerichten selected him to open his new restaurant, Mercer Kitchen, quickly to become one of the hottest destinations in New York City.

In 1999 he moved on to work with Rocco DiSpirito at Union Pacific, and in 2001 joined Didier Virot, who had left Jean Georges to open the highly acclaimed although short-lived restaurant Virot. Jehangir's next move was to Compass, where he became known for unorthodox but creative and intellectually driven desserts.

In 2002, Jehangir teamed up with Didier Virot as the pastry chef at Aix, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he received acclaimed reviews for his pastry creations, while also consulting with Patricia Lo at Sapa and Michael Symon at Parea.

En 2007, Jehangir abrió su primer restaurante, Graffiti, donde actualmente es chef ejecutivo y propietario. Comenzó a trabajar como consultor para la Universidad de Massachusetts Amherst en temas de sostenibilidad alimentaria.

En 2008, publicó su primer libro de cocina, "Mantra: Las reglas de la indulgencia", editado por HarperCollins .

En 2010, Jehangir abrió su segundo restaurante, Mehtaphor, en TriBeCa, dentro del Hotel Duane Street. Este restaurante se transformó en Graffiti Earth en 2016.

En 2013, Jehangir se asoció con la organización sin fines de lucro de defensa de los pacientes Beyond Celiac (entonces conocida como National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) como chef embajador para ayudar a lanzar su Gluten-Free Chef's Table Tour. El objetivo del programa era educar a los chefs sobre la dieta sin gluten y las necesidades de los clientes con enfermedad celíaca. ^{[ 2 ]}

En 2016, Graffiti Earth abrió sus puertas en el mismo local que Mehtaphor. Tras una renovación y un cambio de imagen, Graffiti Earth ofrece la misma cocina que el Graffiti original, con un menú más centrado en las verduras y un mayor énfasis en la sostenibilidad. En Graffiti Earth, el chef Mehta trabaja con verduras, frutas, verduras y mariscos poco utilizados.

En 2017, el chef Mehta inauguró Me and You, un concepto de restaurante boutique privado. Este concepto también se traslada a diferentes lugares de ciudades y países.

En 2018, el chef Mehta inició su consultoría en mindfulness, cultura e impacto con Gourmet Dining, Compass USA.

En 2008, Jehangir publicó su primer libro de cocina:

• Mantra: Las reglas de la indulgencia ( HarperCollins , 20 de mayo de 2008) - ISBN 978-0-06-089985-1

Mehta estrenó su programa web de cocina para aficionados, J Walk, en noviembre de 2009. ^{[ 3 ]}

• Timeout: El mejor restaurante dirigido por un chef pastelero en 2008.

• Sitio web oficial
• Graffiti Food and Wine Bar
• El próximo Iron Chef