About
Raghavan Iyer
Raghavan Iyer is the author of six best-selling cookbooks on Indian cuisine including 660 Curries, the basis of the James Beard Award video series, released on Craftsy.com. For more than two decades, Iyer has shared his knowledge and passion for the food of his homeland. An IACP award-winning culinary educator, journalist, media spokesperson, he has consulted with such international food giants as General Mills, Bon Appetit Management, Target, Idaho Potato Commission, and Canola. In this capacity, he helped launch an Indian Meals program for Bon Appetit Management by training chefs in over seventy-five workshops across the U.S. A highly innovative chef, he created shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals for Target’s Archer Farms brand, and, launched a line of roasted spice blends, www.turmerictrail.com sold online as well as through specialty shops. He just launched a restaurant concept Pizza Karma to great reviews that showcases the global nature of this ubiquitous pie using Tandoor-fired ovens.
He is currently at work on securing a sponsorship for a thirteen-part national PBS TV series, Indian Cooking Unfolded, based on his fourth book by the same name. He was host of the Emmy Award winning PBS documentary, Asian Flavors in 2013. Named by Epicurious.com as one of the top 100 influencers for home cooks in 2017 (alongside names like Julia Child and James Beard), featured in the New York Times twice, including their Thanksgiving feature in 2016, and profiled in the Minnesota Monthly. Iyer is a frequent contributor to Eating Well Magazine, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Weight Watchers Magazine, Cooking Pleasures, Gastronomica, and Cured. Co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institute Ltd dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and enjoyment of the culinary arts of Asia, Iyer served as the past president of the Board of Directors for International Association of Culinary Professionals. Fluent in more than six languages Iyer regularly leads food and cultural tours to India. His work has appeared in hundreds of radio and TV shows across the country, including All Things Considered, Martha Steward Radio, The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
Books:
- Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking (Wiley, ,2001)
- The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood (St. Martin’s Press, 2002), James Beard Award Finalist, Best International Cookbook
- 660 Curries (Workman Publishing, 2008), Named Best Asian Cookbook, World Gourmand Award; listed as top cookbooks for 2008 by National Public Radio, New York Times, Boston Globe, Food and Wine Magazine.
- Asian Flavors (co-author with Phyllis Louise Harris, Minnesota Historical Press, 2012)
- Indian Cooking Unfolded (Workman Publishing, 2013), IACP Cookbook award finalist, listed as top cookbook for 2013 in the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Splendid Table.
- Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked, and Fried Too (Workman, 2016)
Professional Honors
- James Beard Cookbook Award Finalist, 2003
- International Association of Culinary Professional’s Award of Excellence for Cooking Teacher of the Year, 2004.
- James Beard Journalism Award Finalist, 2005
- Sustainable Seafood Ambassador Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2008
- International Association of Culinary Professional’s Cookbook Award Finalist, 2014
- Doctorate of Foodservice by North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers, 2016
- James Beard Journalism and Broadcast Award Winner, 2016
Academic Degrees
- BS Chemistry, Bombay University
- BA Hospitality Management, Michigan State University