Expert Interview: Jehangir Mehta
Behind the Chef
What were your favorite foods growing up?
Okra, lamb and all spices
What is your least favorite food?
Meatloaf
What is your beverage of choice?
Water and tea
What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Pancakes made by Eric Hubert
Did you always prefer dessert over dinner?
No, definitely food
What do you eat when you are home?
Persian Indian food
What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Make things simple and follow clean lines
Where and when did your career in culinary arts begin?
In Bombay, India I went to Hotel Management School then came to the CIA.
When did you decide you wanted to be a pastry chef?
After I finished Hotel Management School
If you didn't become a pastry chef, what would you be?
A pilot
Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
The influence of food growing up
What influences your cooking style and particularly the treats at Graffiti?
The influences are from a lot of ingredients that are dear to me.
Which foreign country inspires your style most?
India, as that is my origin
What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
My staff, especially Andres, my assistant for the past 11 years, who also heads the kitchen at Graffiti.
What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Passion!!
If I'm trying to watch my weight and I still want to order something sweet, what am I ordering to satisfy my craving?
Any fruit dessert, e.g. the watermelon mint salad at Graffiti
When you are not eating at your own restaurant...you are eating at?
Home
What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
Using a lot of Japanese influences
What was the most challenging confection you had to make? Why?
A dessert with vidalia onion for the Ronald McDonald Foundation
What was your worst restaurant disaster?
When I dredged sugar instead of salt on roast chicken, and it browned in 15 mins, but the chicken was of course raw!
What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
To respect each other and do as much as possible to make all customers feel they get value for their money.
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Expert Profile
Jehangir Mehta
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Mehta has been a pastry chef in some of the finest restaurants in New York City, including Jean Georges, Union Pacific, Virot, Compass and Aix. Mehta is the owner and Chef at Graffiti in NYC’s East village. Mehta finds endless inspiration in cultural heritage and Ayurveda. His favorite ingredients are fruits and spices. “I feel that dessert should compliment the meal. I like small desserts that are not too sweet,” he says. His predilection for these ingredients is evident in Partistry’s line of Star Anise and Grand Marnier Truffles, and in its Pineapple Chamomile Lavender Tea.
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Chef Mehta comes across as a very simple, down to earth person. His passion for cooking radiates in the fact that he cares about his customers’ tastes. I watched him on ‘Next Iron Chef’ cooking some exotic cuisines some of which were simple enough for me to try at home, but innovative, and, coming from Chef Mehta, the taste has to be fabulous. No wonder I get those yearnings to taste them. Chef Mehta’s dishes have a blend of cultures. He uses a lot of spices from Asian cuisine, and very intelligently complements them with food eaten in the West. Honestly, I never have thought of trying something that had a lot of spices, but Chef Mehta’s style has enticed me to not only taste the cuisine, but use the spices at home too. Chef Mehta’s style definitely rocks! I don’t know how he blends different ingredients to make really amazing stuff.
posted Dec 4 2009 12:59 AM by nnancyhelen