Ep. 029 – Owning a Restraurant and Empowering Women for Culinary Leadership with Rohini Dey

We have an amazing guest today, Rohini Dey is an inspiring woman, who not only owns a very successful restaurant in New York and Chicago, but also spearheads a great scholarship program for aspiring women in the culinary field.

We are also proud to announce the Women in Culinary Leadership Scholarship and encourage you to apply. Click here for the link.

About Rohini Dey, Ph.d. 

A leading restaurateur, proponent of Indian cuisine with her unique Latin twist across Vermilion Chicago and NYC, an avid supporter of women, former World Bank economist and McKinsey management consultant, Rohini Dey straddles the worlds of business and philanthropy across the US and India.

Rohini was inspired to break away from her management consulting career by a desire to go entrepreneurial and a conviction that Indian cuisine in the United States was either confined to stereotypes, or timid and washed out. Rohini created and developed the Vermilion Indian-Latin concept and cuisine. She led the spectrum of entrepreneurial activities across her NYC & Chicago entities. As founder, owner and culinary director of Vermilion, Rohini oversees the operations and culinary evolution of her restaurants.

As a woman restaurateur, Rohini is a staunch supporter of women in business and mentorship and education of girls on a global level. A member of the Board of Trustees and the National Advisory Board of the James Beard Foundation, she co-founded the James Beard Foundation Vermilion Women in Culinary Leadership Program (WICL), backed by a roster of incredible restaurateur-mentors and celebrity (CFW) “Chefs for Women.”

About Vermilion

Since inception, Vermilion has been acclaimed as “Best New Restaurant” by Chicago Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, USA Today, and Bon Appetit, among others. For its pioneering cuisine, woman-led team and Rohini’s entrepreneurial journey, she and Vermilion have been profiled in The Financial Times, Time, Oprah Magazine, Fortune, Esquire, Crain’s, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC World, CBS News, and NBC, among others.

Key Takeaways

- How Rohini took advantage in the rise of Ethnic Food - How Rohini planned her research to make her restaurant (she gets very intense! Like interviewing 40 people) - Why Rohini is also very passionate about Women in Culinary Leadership (there’s a scholarship at the end) - Tips on what they look for as a candidate for a scholarship

What We Talk About

Previous Job: World Bank and McKinsey Indian Cuisine Passion: to feed the world Latin Cuisine Tandoori Skirtsteak (It’s fusion) Play with food anything south of the US What makes a good Chef?: Taste-minded, Cost-minded, Team –oriented, Vision-minded, Why Does Your Food Job Rock?: "Because I can create an amazing new cuisine and surprise people by how delicious it is." Women in Culinary Leadership – (Jamesbeard.com) James Beard Foundation Women in Culinary Scholarship Tip: Go Above and Beyond and Ask For More New Trends and Techologies: Exotic flavors and spices getting utilized Stiff upper-lipped Upscale Dining Favorite Meal: Home cooking and street dining Grilled Peruvian food in Cuzco Tempura in Japan What’s the one thing you’d like to know more about: Someone to catapult Rohini’s business (I pitch here about food science) Advice on how to start your own restaurant: Do your research. Especially the cost. Vermilion in New York and Chicago New York is more competitive and jaded than Chicago eaters

 

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