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Maneet Chauhan
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
"I’ve worked to adapt my food according to the environment that I’m in." For Maneet Chauhan, the line describes a method more than a mood: read the room, then cook to it. That approach sits at the center of her work as an Indian American chef, where traditional Indian flavors are kept in motion rather than locked in place. Her food tracks across memory, season, and setting, with each plate adjusted to the city and the context around it.
The Climb
Formal training at Culinary Institute of America gave Maneet Chauhan a kitchen discipline to match her technical range. The apprenticeship years that followed at Oberoi Group, Taj Group, Welcome Group, and Sheraton Group in India added breadth through immersion, moving across kitchens and traditions and building the foundation for the adaptability that later became a hallmark of her work. In 2000, management at startup restaurant in Cherry Hill, New Jersey put Maneet Chauhan into a role that required operational steadiness as much as culinary judgment. By 2003, as opening executive chef at Vermilion in Chicago, Illinois, she was shaping a new concept from its first steps. In 2007, the role of chef at Vermilion in New York City, New York extended that cross-cultural register into another market, where precision and point of view matter in equal measure. Recognition has also come through the screen, where Maneet Chauhan serves as judge of Chopped, Food Network. Since 2014, she has also been co-owner and executive chef of Chauhan Ale and Masala House, a role that reflects the same control and clarity she brings to the line.
Today
At Chauhan Ale & Masala House in Nashville, Maneet Chauhan’s menu works by adjustment: familiar forms are recast for the setting without losing their core. Nashville hot chicken pakora, a house blend and pepper sauce-doused fried chicken tenders dish, places Southern heat beside Indian technique. Gol Guppa Shots, the restaurant’s version of panipuri, bring the scale and punch of street food into a plated service context, while saag paneer made with local, seasonal greens shows a kitchen tuned to what Nashville can supply. Beyond the restaurant, she serves as founding partner and president of Morph Hospitality Group in Nashville.
Signature
Maneet's signature dishes include Nashville hot chicken pakora, Gol Guppa Shots, saag paneer, and Flavors of My World. Together they show a working method built on range: street-food forms, regional references, and dishes that stay responsive to place and season. The throughline is adaptation without flattening the source.
Recognition
Maneet Chauhan has received James Beard Award. Maneet's honors include Tournament of Champions winner. The recognition matches a career built on range, control, and the ability to keep changing form without losing the flavors that shaped the work in the first place.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Maneet
What is Maneet Chauhan's current role?
As of 2026, Maneet Chauhan is Co-owner and Executive Chef.
Where did Maneet Chauhan train or study?
Maneet Chauhan trained at Culinary Institute of America.
What recognition has Maneet Chauhan received?
Tournament of Champions winner (2021).
