Jehangir Mehta (born in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

) was the executive chef and owner of

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restaurants Graffiti, Mehtaphor and Graffiti Earth. He is the chef and owner of the private dining experience, Me and You. He is also the author of the 2008

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

cookbook "Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence," offers a cooking class at his restaurant for children 4-14 called "Candy Camp" designed to build interest in more diverse foods, hosts exclusive in-home dinner parties and runs an event planning company. In August 2009, Jehangir appeared on "

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, wh ...

" on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

, and was the runner-up on the second season of " The Next Iron Chef" later in 2009.

Personal life

Jehangir Mehta was born to Petras and Kolly Mehta in

where he was raised. He is

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

. After moving to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he met and married his wife, Hinata Jambuserwala. They currently live in

Professional life

Jehangir holds a bachelor of arts in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

. Jehangir then moved to the

to attend

The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...

in Hyde Park,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and graduated from there in 1995. After graduating from culinary school in 1995, Jehangir began his career at

L'Absinthe (English: ''The Absinthe Drinker'' or ''Glass of Absinthe'') is a painting by Edgar Degas, painted between 1875 and 1876. Its original title was , a name often used today. Other early titles were ''A sketch of a French Café'' and ''Figures at ...

. From there, he moved on to Typhoon Brewery where he worked as the pastry chef to James Chew, formerly of Vong fame. Jehangir's next move was to Jean Georges. In 1998, Jean Georges Vongerichten selected him to open his new restaurant, Mercer Kitchen, quickly to become one of the hottest destinations in

. In 1999 he moved on to work with

Rocco DiSpirito Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American chef and reality television personality based in New York City, known for starring in the series '' The Restaurant''. Early life and education DiSpirito was born in Queens, New York. He gra ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

, and in 2001 joined Didier Virot, who had left Jean Georges to open the highly acclaimed although short-lived restaurant Virot. Jehangir's next move was to Compass, where he became known for unorthodox but creative and intellectually driven desserts. In 2002, Jehangir teamed up with Didier Virot as the pastry chef at Aix, located on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

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, where he received acclaimed reviews for his pastry creations, while also consulting with Patricia Lo at Sapa and Michael Symon at Parea. In 2007 Jehangir opened his first restaurant, Graffiti, where he is currently the executive chef and owner. Started consulting with Umass Amherst on food sustainability. In 2008, he authored his first cookbook, "Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence" which was published by

. In 2010 Jehangir opened his second restaurant, Mehtaphor, in TriBeCa within the Duane Street Hotel. This restaurant transformed to Graffiti Earth in 2016. In 2013, Jehangir partnered with the non-profit patient advocacy organization Beyond Celiac (then known as the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) as a chef ambassador to help launch their Gluten-Free Chef's Table Tour. The aim of the program was to educate chefs about the gluten-free diet and the needs of customers with celiac disease. In 2016, Graffiti Earth opened in the same spot as Mehtaphor. A complete renovation and rebranding, Graffiti Earth has the same signature eclectic cuisine as the original Graffiti with a more vegetable-forward menu and a focus on sustainability throughout. At Graffiti Earth Chef Mehta consciously works with underutilized vegetables, produce and seafood. In 2017, Chef Mehta opened Me and You, a private dining boutique concept experience. This concept also travels to different venues in cities and countries. In 2018, Chef Mehta started his consultancy in mindfulness, culture, and impact with Gourmet Dining, Compass USA.

Television and media coverage

Food Network

* In August 2009, Jehangir appeared on

, where he lost to Iron Chef

Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff ''Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto was born in Hiroshima, where he rece ...

in Battle Coconut by only 2 points. * Beginning on 4 October 2009, Jehangir was a contestant on the new season of the reality show The Next Iron Chef. Jehangir finished second, losing in the final episode, telecast on 22 November, to

Jose Garces Jose Garces is an American chef, restaurant owner, and Iron Chef America#The Iron Chefs, Iron Chef. He was born in Chicago to Ecuadorian parents. He won in the second season of ''The Next Iron Chef''. Early life Garces was born in the early 1970s ...

. * In 2012, Mehta competed in the 5th season of The Next Iron Chef. He was eliminated in the 6th episode.

Other television appearances

* In January 2009 Jehangir and Graffiti were featured on the

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...

Show. * In September 2009, Graffiti's beet ice cream was featured on The Dr. Oz Show as a food for preventing kidney stones. * Jehangir, and his restaurant Graffiti, have been featured on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, and

NY1 NY1 (also officially known as Spectrum News NY1 and spoken as New York One) is an American cable news television channel founded by Time Warner Cable, which itself is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition in May 2016. The chan ...

LXTV. * In December 2011, Jehangir featured on the show

MasterChef India (season 2) ''MasterChef India'' is an Indian competitive cooking game show franchise based on the Australian show ''MasterChef Australia'', which itself is based on the original British television show ''MasterChef''. ''MasterChef India – Hindi'' (Season ...

Media coverage

Jehangir has been featured in numerous publications in the

, including ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

'', ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

'', '' Time Out'', '' Gotham'', '' Daily News'', ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

''. He has also been written up on various blogs including

DailyCandy DailyCandy was an online media company founded in 2000 by Dany Levy. The business originally consisted of a daily email newsletter that provided readers with information about hip and trendy events and businesses in their city. The emails first ...

, Strong Buzz, Restaurant News, and Grubb Street.

Books

In 2008, Jehangir published his first cookbook: * ''Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence'' (

, 20 May 2008) -

Web show

Mehta debuted his do-it-yourself cooking web show, J Walk, in November 2009.

Awards

* Timeout: Best Pastry Chef run restaurant in 2008

References

External links

*
Graffiti Food and Wine Bar

Next Iron Chef
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Jehangir 21st-century Indian male writers Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni Food Network chefs Living people Participants in American reality television series Writers from Mumbai Year of birth missing (living people) ja:ボビー・フレイ zh:巴比·福雷