Arjav Ezekiel is an Indian-American restaurateur and sommelier. He and his wife, chef

Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel is an American chef and restaurateur. In 2023 her restaurant Birdie's in Austin, Texas, was named by ''Food & Wine'' their Restaurant of the Year. Early life and education Malechek-Ezekiel was born and raised in Tomball ...

, own and operate Birdie's in Austin, Texas, which was named ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'' 2023 Restaurant of the Year. He is a James Beard Award Winner for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

Early life

Ezekiel was born in New Delhi, India. In 1999, when he was twelve, his family emigrated to Portland, Oregon, on tourist visas and became undocumented after their visas expired. He has described the stresses of living undocumented; when he was in high school, his school choir toured Europe, and he "had to come up with a creative excuse for not going". His parents could not return home for their own parents' funerals. Ezekiel attend

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

Career

After graduating from college, Ezekiel was offered a job as a paralegal but was unable to accept it because of his undocumented status. He started working in restaurants in Washington DC, including Komi and

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...

's Source, starting as a waiter and eventually becoming

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and decided to make hospitality his career. He worked in New York at

Gramercy Tavern Gramercy Tavern is a New American restaurant located at 42 East 20th Street (between Broadway and Park Avenue S.), in the Flatiron District in Manhattan, New York City. It is owned by Danny Meyer (originally co-founded by Meyer and Chef Tom C ...

and Untitled, both restaurants owned by

Union Square Hospitality Group Daniel Meyer (born March 14, 1958) is a New York City restaurateur and the founder and executive chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Background and early career Meyer was born and raised in a reform Jewish family in St. Loui ...

. He

staged ''Staged'' is a British television comedy series. Set and filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, primarily using video-conferencing technology, the series stars actors Michael Sheen and David Tennant as fictionalised versions ...

French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingred ...

and Meadowood. In 2021, Ezekiel and his wife, chef

, opened Birdie's, a counter-service wine bar, in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

where he manages the wine program. In 2023 ''Food & Wine'' named it their Restaurant of the Year.Arjav was Esquire Wine Director of the Year in 2022 and was the first ever recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service in 2025-a national award

Personal life

In 2012, he received documentation under the

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a Immigration policy of the United States, United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigra ...

program (DACA). Ezekiel married Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel in 2018; the couple met in 2015 while working in at Untitled New York City and decided to move to Austin to open a restaurant together to enable a better work-life balance. The couple have a son born in 2022. Ezekiel received a green card after his marriage and in 2023 became a US citizen. Before becoming a citizen, he never visited a wine region outside of the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezekiel, Arjaz Indian restaurateurs American restaurateurs People from New Delhi People from Portland, Oregon People from Austin, Texas 1980s births Kenyon College alumni Sommeliers Living people