Vishwesh Bhatt facts for kids
Bhatt at the 2022 Texas Book Festival.
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| Education | University of Kentucky, Johnson & Wales University |
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Current restaurant(s)
Snackbar
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Award(s) won
2019 James Beard Foundation Award, Best Chef: South
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Vishwesh Bhatt is a famous chef who has won a special cooking award called the James Beard Award. He lives and works in Oxford, Mississippi.
Vishwesh Bhatt's Early Life and Learning
Vishwesh Bhatt was born in Gujarat, India. In 1985, when he was 17, he moved with his family to the United States. They first lived in Austin, Texas.
He went to the University of Kentucky to study biology and political science. Later, he studied at the University of Mississippi. While he was a student, Vishwesh loved to cook for his friends. He even had a small cooking business on the side! He also started working at a vegetarian cafe in Oxford.
Vishwesh often ate at a restaurant called City Grocery, owned by John Currence. He liked it so much that he joined their kitchen team. This experience made him want to become a chef. So, he went to cooking school at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami, Florida.
Vishwesh Bhatt's Cooking Career
After cooking school, Vishwesh worked in restaurants in Jackson, Mississippi and Boulder, Colorado. In 2001, he returned to Oxford to work with John Currence again.
In 2009, Currence opened a new restaurant called Snackbar. Vishwesh Bhatt became the main chef there. Over time, Vishwesh started adding flavors from India to Snackbar's menu. His cooking became very well-known.
Newspapers and magazines across the country wrote about his special dish: okra chaat. This dish mixes southern fried Okra with Indian Chaat masala spices.
Awards and Recognition
Vishwesh Bhatt was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2011. He was a finalist for this award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Finally, in 2019, he won the James Beard title for Best Chef in the South. This is a very big honor in the cooking world!
In August 2022, Vishwesh released his own cookbook called I Am From Here. This book shares his recipes for Southern cuisine. It shows how he has truly become a Southern chef.
