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"In the kitchen, I found the answers to all my curiosities."

Viewing the kitchen as both a culinary and spiritual haven, New Delhi-born chef Suvir Saran has nurtured a lifelong passion for the traditional flavors of Indian cooking, which has lead him to become an accomplished chef, cookbook author, educator, and a natural/humane farmer.

As Executive Chef/Owner of Dévi, Saran shares the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking in an inviting 75-seat restaurant in the heart of New York City. Devi has consistently received popular and critical acclaim, earned a three-star rating from New York magazine and two stars from The New York Times. It is the only Indian restaurant in the U.S. to have earned a Michelin star.

A respected culinary authority, Saran is Chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and travels extensively to teach audiences, ranging from home cooks and fellow chefs to physicians and nutritionists. He has been a featured speaker and guest chef for notable gatherings such as the "Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives" conference hosted by the CIA and Harvard Medical School Osher Institute; Smithsonian Folklife Festival; Food Network's South Beach Wine & Food Festival; New York City Wine & Food Festival; and many others. Saran has also led classes for culinary centers and schools nationwide including the Institute for Culinary Education; Sur La Table; Williams-Sonoma at Time Warner Center; Central Market; and Apron's Cooking School at Publix.

Renowned for his accessible approach to Indian flavors and techniques, Saran has penned several cookbooks including "Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian Food, with More Than 150 Recipes" (Clarkson Potter, 2004) with Stephanie Lyness and "American Masala: 125 New Classics From My Home Kitchen" (Clarkson Potter, 2007) with Raquel Pelzel. In November 2010, Saran was the only U.S.-based contributor to the largest Indian cookbook ever published, "India Cookbook," featuring 1,000 recipes (Phaidon Press, 2010).

Saran's approachable and informed style has helped to demystify Indian cuisine in America and ultimately formed American Masala, his culinary philosophy which celebrates the best of Indian and American cooking. His recipes have been featured in publication such as Bon Appétit; Cooking Light; Food & Wine; Fine Cooking; Travel + Leisure; Condé Nast Traveler; Departures; InStyle; The New York Times; The Wall Street Journal; USA Today; and more. He is a contributor to Food Arts magazine.

He has been a featured judge on Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef on the Food Network and numerous appearances on national and local broadcast including NBC's "Today"; "The Martha Stewart Show"; Travel Channel's "Epicurious TV"; Martha Stewart Living Radio "Living Today"; BBC Radio "The World"; APM "The Splendid Table"; WBEZ-FM "848 with Steve Dolinsky"; WHYY-FM "A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman"; KGO Radio "Dining Around with Gene Burns"; among many others. In spring 2011, Suvir will compete as a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef Masters, cooking to raise money for the Agricultural Stewardship Association.

When he is not on the road, Saran and partner Charlie Burd live and care for American Masala Farm, a nineteenth century farm on sixty-eight acres of rolling land in upstate New York and home to lovingly raised heritage breed animals and pets including two dogs, cat, sheep, ducks, geese, alpacas, chickens, guinea hens, and goats. Dedicated to the recommendations of the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) in choosing the farm's animal population, Saran and Burd exemplify farm-to-table living by providing local restaurants with their heritage breed eggs and goat's milk.

For more information about Suvir Saran or Devi please contact:

Chloe Mata Crane (cmcrane@baltzco.com) or Rachel Wormser (rwormser@baltzco.com)

at Baltz & Company, 212.982.8300