Maneet Chauhan has become a standout figure in both the culinary and style worlds. As a judge on Chopped, a James Beard Award winner, and a restaurateur, she’s built a career on both creativity and confidence, traits that shine just as brightly in her wardrobe as they do on the plate. Maneet opens up about her signature style, the cultural influences behind her look, and how dressing boldly is just another form of self-expression.
What inspires your fashion choices in the kitchen and beyond?
I think it's a couple of different things. One of the biggest things is that I'm very proud of where I come from. I grew up in India and I came here to go to school. That is the part I always associate myself with. The Indian flair - be it the jackets that I'm wearing, or the earrings that I'm wearing. But I do think a lot of it also came from the fact that I had a young daughter who was trying to figure out where she fits in. She was born in America, she identifies herself in being American, but her genes are Indian, so I think that's where it really started, where I told her that, "Be comfortable with who you are. Be very proud of where you've come from, and be very proud of where you've ended up." And it was easier for me, because I did it later on in life, but she's young. So I think that's where it comes from. I also love bling. I love color, and that's what it's all about.
Are your chef's coats custom-made? You have like 60 of them.
Yes. They are custom-made in India from the fabric, to the block printing, to the embroidery, to the stitching. I love them. I'm obsessed with them. I do think that I just got a new shipment for a new show that I'm doing, because each episode, I have a new one, and I love it. I think it's amazing. If you're building a house, the foundation has to be strong. And that, to me, is what chef jackets are about, the foundation has to be strong.
Food is such an art. And so is fashion. I remember a long time back, in Chicago, The Chicago Fashion Institute, they paired us with a designer, and we did food and the design, like how they came together. And I think that's what it's all about. If you are creative enough, you will find a correlation with anything.
Do you see parallels between the way you dress and the way you cook?
Absolutely. To me, it's something that comes with age. When you're younger, you want to conform to what everybody around you is doing and how they're dressing. And I did that for the longest time. One of my favorite quotes is that youth is wasted on the young.
And I realized how it was completely wasted on me, because I wanted to be what everybody was doing, and how everybody looked, and how everybody portrayed themselves. But as I got older, I realized I have a voice, I have an identity, and that's what I need to put across. And that is not only in the way I look or the way I dress. I don't know what fashion it is, but I'll wear my Indian earrings to it, because it associates. I will have these big, sparkly shoes. That's what it's all about.
And I think that's the same with food. For the longest time, I wanted to be this young chef with tweezer cuisine, but it did not resonate with everyone. And that's important to me. I wanted to resonate. There needs to be that comfort food with a little bit of flair. So I think that's what it's all about. So yes, my fashion style and food completely talk to each other.
What drives you when you're creating new concepts in your restaurant empire?
I think it's a combination of everything. I think teamwork is a big thing. You could have had an idea which I would've never thought of. But it's also our guests. When we opened Tanso, there were a lot of our guests who were asking for a Chinese concept, and we thought, "Huh, we've got the talent, we can do this. Let's do it." So I think it's a combination of everything. And you eventually realize that you're a very small part in that entire combination. You're a conduit. We take ideas, and then we sit and we talk about it, and we hash it out. And my ideas are not ultimate every time, but they are a lot of ideas. And if you don't listen to all the ideas, then you're being stupid and not growing. I have a great team, and you build this great team by not discounting their ideas.
What does the concept of self-expression mean to you?
I think self-expression as an idea is a very isolating idea, but self-expression magnifies if the self-expression is a team, if a self is not an individual person. That's what it's about. It's never individual. It always is a group effort. I'm having this conversation with you because there's this incredible team around me who makes me look good, and that's what it's all about, and I'll never ever underestimate that fact.
How has being in the public eye shaped your approach to food, and style, and your storytelling?
In India, I went to this convent school, and to me, whenever I would be in front of an interview, or television or something, it would be like it's an elocution, or it's stopping by the woods on a slow evening because that's how I was trained. And after some time, you realize that the reason why I am doing this is because of my need to connect with people, and you can never connect with people by not being genuine about who you are. You'll act for one interview, you'll act for another interview, but who you are always shines across.
What's been the most surprising or rewarding part of your journey so far?
I do think that the most rewarding is the empathy and the correlation that you create with people around you. You think that what you are is very unique, "This is Maneet. This is the only thing that she can do." But no, that's not true. There are people around you who have the absolute same beliefs that you do, but they're just saying it in a different color. And you just take a moment to breathe, and you are like, "Oh, what you're saying, and what I'm saying is exactly the same, but it's in a different color, that's why we are having a fight about it." And that's what it is. Because at the end of the day, who we are as human beings, our beliefs are the same. We want the people around us who we love. We care about them, and we want them to be safe, and I think that's what it's all about.
Looking ahead, whether it's food, fashion, or family, what excites you most about what's coming up, or the next chapter for you?
I think what excites me the most is the next generation and how they look at things. The amount that I learned from them is incredible. You reach an age where you think that you know everything. And it's not true.
You think that young people are stubborn? BS. It's the older people who are. Me, when my daughter is telling me that "What do you think about this?" And I'm like, "You don't know anything." And she's like, "Okay." I am the one who's being most stubborn, while she is looking at the world in a completely different, unique way. And if I don't look at the world, or my approach in that way, then I'm doing something completely wrong. And I think that surprises me the most, where she can come and tell me, "Oh, this is my viewpoint." And my first reaction always is, "You have no idea what you're talking about." But if I take a minute and take a breath, I'm like, "Huh, you're right."
Talk to me about Franklin. What drew you there, and what do you love most about living in Franklin?
I think what I love about Franklin is that the first time I went to Franklin, I felt I was home, which is crazy, because to me, until that moment, I always felt that home was India.
I came to America in December of 1998. I went to Upstate New York, in Hyde Park, to go to school. After that, I worked in Cherry Hill, and after that, I worked in Chicago, and then I worked in New York, so I have had a path. And when we got a call to open this place up in Nashville, my first reaction was, "Who the 'beep' goes to Nashville?" And I landed in Nashville, and I'm like, "Huh, okay." And then we started looking for a home.
We were opening this place {Chauhan}. Instead of six months, it took two years. We found out we were expecting baby number two. We had a three-year-old already. We were living in a hotel, next to the airport, and we found out we were expecting baby number two. We opened the restaurant in December, and the baby was due in March. Baby had his own plans. He decided to be born three months early, the day we opened this restaurant.
So November 18th, 2014, we opened this restaurant. He was born at 5:00 in the morning, and we opened this restaurant at 5:00 in the evening.
And it was a major surgery. He was a two and a half pounder. He was lighter than a gallon of milk. And to us, we were like, "If he's so adamant in being a Nashvillian, who are we to stop it?"
So we moved over here. We ended up in downtown Franklin, which there was something about it, the story, and the relation, and there was something about Franklin that we felt we had arrived home.
What about any restaurants in downtown Franklin? Have you thought about that?
You know what? In all honesty, that was definitely a conversation, until COVID happened. And COVID really put things in perspective. We thought, "Okay, what we have, we need to preserve." So it made us stop and rethink what we had, and to preserve it, and to make sure that it flourishes. But Franklin also is a place that I can go into any of the restaurants, and people see me, and they talk to me, and they acknowledge me. They're like, "Why are you at this restaurant, not at your own restaurant?" So that makes it a lot of fun.
And so, what's next for you, books, anything? What's coming up? You're just taking it one day at a time.
Everything. Everything. I have a big problem of saying yes to everything, so whatever comes my way.