When Chef Vishwesh Bhatt started serving his Indian-inflected Southern food at SnackBar in Oxford, Mississippi, the food world was so dazzled, the James Beard committee nominated him for Best Southern Chef five times before he finally won in 2019. His new book, I Am From Here, captures what makes his cooking so original and specific to him and his journey from Gujarat India to the American South. In today's conversation, we get at the heart of his idiosyncratic cuisine -- from cornbread infused with curry leaves and chilies to his signature dish, okra chaat -- and how it reflects who he is as a person as his identity has shifted along with his geographical location. It's a deep conversation with a thoughtful chef and it'll make you very, very hungry. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.