Meeru Dhalwala Explained

Meeru Dhalwala
Birth Place:Amritsar, Punjab, India

Meeru Dhalwala is an author and cook who worked with her ex-husband Vikram Vij at the Indian restaurants Vij's and Rangoli in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Meeru Dhalwala was born in India. When she was still young, she moved to Washington, D.C., with her parents. She began her career in D.C., working with various international non-profit organizations on human rights and economic development projects. She attended the University of Bath in England, receiving a master's degree in Development Studies.[4] [5] [6]

Career

In February 1995, Dhalwala joined, Vikram Vij, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She began helping the kitchen for his newly opened restaurant, Vij's.[4] In the early days, Vikram Vij’s parents would make the curry at their home and deliver it by bus to the restaurant.[7] [8] By 2003, Mark Bittman of the New York Times was praising Vij's Restaurant as "easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world".[9] [10]

In 2004, Vij opened up a second restaurant and market called Rangoli.[4] Both restaurants are known to have an all female kitchen staff,[2] [11] [12] having all come from the Punjab of India.[4] [5] Vikram and the cooks experiment together with new techniques and spice combinations. Along with the restaurant recipes, Vikram creates recipes for Vij's Inspired Indian Cuisine, a line of prepackaged gourmet curries. The product line is sold in grocery stores across British Columbia, and other regions.[4] [5]

In November 2012, Dhalwala launched a new restaurant called Shanik, in Seattle, Washington.[13] [14] The project was in partnership with Oguz Istif. Shanik was an Indian restaurant.[15] [16] Shanik closed shortly after in March 2015.[17]

Vikram Vij has two cookbooks,[4] [18] with Dhalwala writing the text.[19] [20] In 2006, Dhalwala penned the first, Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine,[19] which won several awards in 2007, including Cuisine Canada's Gold Award for Best Cookbook and Cordon d'Or Gold Ribbon International Cookbook Award.[15] [21] [22] The book also took first place in the reference category at the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design.[23] In 2010, she penned Vij's at Home: Relax Honey,[20] which placed second in the Best Indian Cuisine Book in the World category at the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards,[21] and received silver at the Canadian Culinary Book Awards.[24]

Advocacy and Interests

Dhalwala believes in supporting local business and agriculture, and is committed to improving her business environmental footprint. Within her restaurants, Dhalwala takes strides to build long-term relationships with local farmers and other local suppliers in order to source produce, seafood and meats that align with her philosophy.[4] [5] [6] Dhalwala has added crickets to her restaurant menus, advocating them as a healthy and sustainable food source. She is working to have them farmed locally.[18] [25] Dhalwala is active in the community and sits on the board of Vancouver Farmers Markets.[5] [6] With her restaurant in Seattle, she worked to build relationships with Oregon and Washington farmers, just as she did in British Columbia with her Vancouver restaurants.[16]

Dhalwala actively researches topics around food, the environment and health. This plays a key role in developing her recipes. Dhalwala is particularly interested in sharing her cooking skills with parents who wish to feed their families in a way that is "easy, delicious and healthy".[5] [6] Dhalwala shared her ideas through her regular monthly column in The Vancouver Sun, titled Food for Thought, and a regular Point Person for CBC Radio's 2009 national show The Point.[4] Dhalwala hosts annual cooking shows at the Bowery Whole Foods Kitchen in New York City.[5] [6] Dhalwala is founder and co-organizer of the Joy of Feeding, an annual international food fair held at the UBC Farm in Vancouver.[26] [27] The event serves a fundraiser for the farm and combines a focus on culture, health and the environment. It features around 16 home cooks from various heritages and professions, sharing their home style of comfort foods. Most of the food is sourced organically and/or locally. Dhalwala's vision is to grow the event to "a worldwide Joy of Feeding day where various communities throughout the world gather together to feature and share their home cooked meals".[5] [6]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://nationalpost.com/life/Insider+Guide+Vancouver/1690295/story.html "The Insider's Guide: Vikram Vij takes you through Vancouver"
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/magazine/07food-t-000.html?_r=4&ref=dining "The Cheat: The Greens Party"
  3. https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=5424627&page=1#.T8O3K8Ut11E "Bug Appetit! Insects as Ingredients"
  4. Web site: Meeru Dhalwala . D & M Publishers . July 26, 2012.
  5. Web site: Judges: Meeru Dhalwala . Better Together . September 11, 2012.
  6. Web site: WCOC Faculty . September 11, 2012 .
  7. https://www.thestar.com/Travel/NorthAmerica/article/689484 "Vancouver chef reinvents Indian food"
  8. https://archive.today/20120721142702/http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=52467af8-26a0-4d74-b3dd-96a4928afd21&sponsor= "Flavours of Vij's excellent adventure"
  9. Web site: JOURNEYS; 36 Hours - Vancouver, British Columbia . Bittman . Mark . 8 August 2003 . The New York Times . July 26, 2008.
  10. Web site: Q&A with Vikram Vij: the celebrated Vancouver chef on his successes and why he won't open a restaurant in Toronto . Suen . Renée . Mar 11, 2011 . Toronto Life . Toronto Life Publishing Company Ltd . Jul 26, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110314032417/http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/aprons-icons/2011/03/11/qa-with-vikram-vij-the-celebrated-vancouver-chef-on-his-successes-and-why-he-won%E2%80%99t-open-a-restaurant-in-toronto/ . March 14, 2011 .
  11. http://www.westernlivingmagazine.com/FD/0910.food.EatPlayLove.html "Eat, Play, Love"
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/dining/03note.html?pagewanted=2 "If Meals Won Medals"
  13. http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/05/09/vijs-family-of-restaurants-expands-to-seattle/ "Vij’s family of restaurants expands to Seattle"
  14. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/allyoucaneat/2018179062_new_indian_restaurant_by_world.html "New Indian restaurant by 'world's best' Vij's coming to Seattle"
  15. Web site: Shanik Restaurant to Open in South Lake Union . Vulcan Real Estate . May 10, 2012 . press release . September 10, 2012 .
  16. Web site: Meeru Dhalwala, . Vermillion . Allecia . May 7, 2012 . SeattleMet . September 10, 2012.
  17. Web site: Vij's Sibling Shanik Closes in South Lake Union | Seattle Restaurants.
  18. http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/foodbytes/2008/06/from-haute-to-cricket-cuisine.html "From haute to cricket cuisine"
  19. Book: Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine . Dhalwala . Meeru . Meeru Dhalwala . Vij . Vikram . Vikram Vij . 2006 . Douglas & McIntyre, D&M Publishers Inc. . Vancouver, Toronto, Berkeley . 978-1-55365-184-0.
  20. Book: Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey . Dhalwala . Meeru . Meeru Dhalwala . Vij . Vikram . Vikram Vij . 2010 . Douglas & McIntyre, D&M Publishers Inc. . Vancouver, Toronto . 978-1-55365-572-5 . registration .
  21. Web site: More than Recipes: Inspired Food Writing with Meeru Dhalwala . The Tyee . 13 February 2012 . September 10, 2012.
  22. Web site: Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine . D & M Publishers Inc. . July 26, 2012.
  23. Web site: Indian Cuisine at the Top of the List . 5 November 2007 . D & M Publishers Inc. . July 26, 2012.
  24. Web site: Vij's At Home: Relax, Honey . D & M Publishers Inc. . July 26, 2012.
  25. Web site: Rangoli puts insect dish on menu . Stainsby . Mia . October 24, 2011 . The Vancouver Sun . Postmedia Network Inc . September 11, 2012.
  26. Web site: Joy of Feeding reaches for the heart . Stainsby . Mia . June 7, 2012 . The Vancouver Sun . Postmedia Network Inc . September 11, 2012.
  27. Web site: Joy of Feeding . Joy of Feeding 2012 . September 11, 2012.