Meet Raghavan Iyer, Culineer, (culinary engineer), for ŌM

Bombay-native Raghavan Iyer, is a Certified Culinary Professional, a member of The International Association of Culinary Professionals, and has acquired degrees in Chemistry (Bombay University) and Hotel & Restaurant Management (Michigan State University). He is a cookbook author, culinary educator, spokesperson, and consultant to numerous national and international clients such as General Mills and Canola. For Bon Appetit Management Company he helped launch an Indian Meals program and trained all their chefs across the United States. He also helped design a shelf-stable, ready-to-eat Indian meals line for Target’s Archer Farms brand. In 2008, he was named a Sustainable Seafood Ambassador for the prestigious Monterey Bay Aquarium. He is currently the Culineer, culinary engineer, for ŌM, an upscale-casual restaurant specializing in contemporary Indian cuisine scheduled to open May 2009 in downtown Minneapolis.

He is the author of Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking, The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood (a 2003 James Beard Awards Finalist for Best International Cookbook), and the just-published 660 Curries. 660 Curries has been shortlisted among the top cookbooks for 2008 by National Public Radio, the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Food and Wine Magazine (among many others). The book has been named 2008 Best Asian Cookbook in the USA by World Gourmand Awards. He received the highly coveted 2004 International Association of Culinary Professional’s Award of Excellence (formerly the Julia Child Awards) for Cooking Teacher of the Year, and was a Finalist for a 2005 James Beard Journalism Award as a contributing writer for EatingWell Magazine. His numerous articles have appeared in Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Weight Watchers Magazine, Cooking Pleasures, and the internationally renowned literary food magazine Gastronomica.

Iyer is co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, Ltd., an organization dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and enjoyment of the culinary arts of Asia.

He is also an accomplished and prolific culinary instructor at many international, national, and local venues, including the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Annual Conferences in Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montreal, Dallas, Seattle, and Chicago. With over 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Iyer is also fluent in more than six languages and leads yearly food and cultural tours to India.

He has appeared in numerous radio and television shows across the United States and Canada including Martha Stewart Radio, The Splendid Table (NPR), A Chef’s Table (WHYY Philadelphia), WGN Morning News (WGN Chicago), Good Day Atlanta (WAGA TV), Good Day Tampa (Fox Affiliate Tampa), The Morning Show (KARE 11 – NBC Affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul), and the Vicki Gabereau Show (national Canadian television talk show).

Come and Join us at the upcoming Sample Circuit Event at OM on April 1st, 2010, 5:30pm-7:30pm. Tickets are $38.00 each and available for purchase in advance, click here.