Restauranteur Rohini Dey Wants Women To Take Control Of Their Kitchens

Let’s talk about Indian cuisine quickly. I’m digging the Indian-Latino match at Vermilion, but what I’ve been seeing in New York, and definitely in the rest of the country, is that certain types of ethnic food have started to become more elevated and ubiquitous. But why is it that you’re not seeing the type of near-national obsession that you’re starting to see with, say, Asian-American cuisine? Is it possible for Indian cuisine to ever experience David Changification?

Absolutely. I think we haven’t cracked the code on what a successful model is. And this is another pet peeve of mine – I’m in huge admiration of the Chinese and what they’ve done. Not just in the US, but anywhere in the world – if you go to India, Indian Chinese is a national food.  If you go to Peru, it’s called “chifa.” Hugelys successful. Is it, like, authentic Chinese? Absolutey not. Anywhere you go, it’s modified for the local palate. Is that bastardization? No! It’s being smart! It’s being savvy. It’s being responsive to the needs of your local clientele. I don’t think we’ve really cracked the code on that. Part of that has to do with the fact that Indian food has very horrible side effects associated with it.

Which is…

95% of what you’re going to find out there is going to be the same mold. It will be the $9.95 all you can eat  buffet, with ten items, all prepared with hygienic uncertainty. The ambience being, what I would not take a corporate client to, or go to for a date. Some of the shortcomings keep perpetuating in the model, and people have grown to expect that. In fact, when they walk into our place, there are two camps. One, that ask for the regular [food] and are disappointed that the price is what it is, and the other, that really revels in the fact that they’re eating something fresh and new. So I don’t think we’ve adapted ourselves in just the right way…

If anything, [ethnic food in the] US, over time, has successfully become national…It’s mainstream. Japanese is now mainstream. If you can get sushi in a 7-11, I don’t consider it “ethnic” anymore. The same goes for Chinese. The same goes for Thai. These are all part of mainstream American diets. In that…I think the time for [Indian food] will come. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t stick around.

…When I launched Vermilion, [Danny Meyer’s] Tabla was an inspiration…it was a role model, it was a beacon for hope. There is a way to play with Indian food and make it much more interesting, instead of sticking to the same old mold. And it’s very unfortunate that, despite Danny Meyer’s empire and fame, Tabla folded after a ten-year run. So I don’t see very many other models that are much more outside the regular mold. Upscale Indian, yes. But Indian beyond the box, not so much.

So something mid-range, like an Indian version of Momofuku Noodle Bar.

Exactly, yeah, yeah. That would be so fantastic. That would be a way to crack the code.