Vikram Sunderam

Vikram Sunderam (born 1967) is an Indian-American chef. He serves as the James Beard Award-winning chef at Rasika restaurant in Washington, DC and is co-author of a cookbook by the same name.

Early life

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Sunderam was educated in Mumbai, where he applied to several colleges, including to study engineering and medicine, but the culinary institute was the first to accept him so he enrolled.[1] Next he began working for Taj Group of hotels, first for six years in Mumbai then 14 years in London.[1]

He was executive chef for eight years at London's Bombay Brasserie.[2]

Restaurants

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Working with Ashok Bajaj's Knightsbridge Group, Sunderam opened Rasika in December 2005,[3] in downtown DC (Penn Quarter).[4] Six years later, the team opened a second Rasika location in DC's West End neighborhood.[3]

Sunderam won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2014 for his work at Rasika.[2] The restaurant also receives widely favorable reviews[5] and while President Barack Obama twice celebrated his birthday with dinner at Rasika.[6]

In August 2016, Sunderam and the Knightsbridge Group opened a new restaurant in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington called Bindaas, focused on Indian street food.[7] In November 2017, a second Bindaas location opened in Foggy Bottom.[8]

Cookbook

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On October 10, 2017, Sunderam published a cookbook called Rasika: Flavors of India with Ecco Press.[9] The book is co-authored with Bajaj and DC-based chef and author David Hagedorn,[10] and includes the recipe for palak chaat, Rasika's signature crispy spinach dish.[3] The cookbook drew praise for rendering Sunderam's methods accessible to the home cook.[10]


References

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  1. ^ a b Winters, Jeff (October 14, 2014). "Chef Vikram Sunderam Talks James Beard Foundation's Taste America". Capitol File. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  2. ^ a b Carman, Tim (6 May 2014). "Rasika chef Vikram Sunderam wins James Beard Award". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Subramaniam, Arthi (October 18, 2017). "Rasika's cookbook reveals the restaurant's house secrets". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  4. ^ Somvanshi, Kiran Kabtta (2017-11-18). "The taste of India in US capital". The Economic Times. The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  5. ^ Sietsema, Tom (30 September 2016). "Rasika review: A national treasure in D.C." The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. ^ Shapiro, Ari (October 18, 2017). "In New Cookbook, Acclaimed Indian Restaurant Finally Spills Its Secrets". NPR. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  7. ^ Plumb, Tierney (22 August 2016). "The Early Word on Bindaas in Cleveland Park". Eater DC. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  8. ^ Spiegel, Anna (November 1, 2017). "The Rasika Team's New Indian Bistro Will Open Downtown with Chili-Fried Chicken and Spiced Cocktails". Washingtonian.
  9. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Rasika: Flavors of India by Ashok Bajaj, Vikram Sunderam, and David Hagedorn. Ecco, $34.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-0624-3555-2". Publishers Weekly. September 18, 2017. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  10. ^ a b Benwick, Bonnie S. (2017-10-04). "Think recipes from an Indian restaurant's cookbook will be too hard? 'Rasika' proves otherwise". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
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