Vishwesh Bhatt's Mississippi Magic

About Vishwesh Bhatt

Vishwesh Bhatt is a chef and cookbook author who has changed the way we think about Southern food. The James Beard Award-winning chef at Snack Bar in Oxford, Mississippi, was born and raised in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, but he moved to the United States at the age of 18, when his father accepted a teaching position at the University of Texas in Austin. As the youngest in a big family, he had grown up in the kitchen, helping his mother prepare meals, and he later discovered a passion for cooking and sharing food with others. After meeting Chef John Currence, another James Beard Award winner, he found a friend and partner who would ultimately help him open one of the most celebrated restaurants in America. In his gorgeous new book, I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef, Vish talks about the shared ingredients between Indian and Southern cultures, how he developed his own unique style of cooking at Snack Bar, and why he hopes to expand and redefine what we think of as Southern food.

What Vishwesh Bhatt Talks About In This Episode

*The shared ingredients between Indian and Southern cultures

*Developing his own unique style of cooking at Snack Bar

*His mother's rice pudding and Punjabi-style fried catfish

*His new cookbook, I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef

*Moving to the United States at 18 with his family

*Growing up in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India

Quotes from Vishwesh Bhatt

"I'm from Mississippi. I've been here since '92. This is where my home is. This is where I work. This is where I learned how to become a chef. This is where I learned my craft...I've been here longer than anywhere else in the world."

"I have not met anybody that used food as a means to make connections and transform people and transform a room like she (my mom) could. I would love at some point in time to be able to emulate that. I don't come close yet, but yes, that would be something."

About Biscuits & Jam

In the South, talking about food is personal. It's a way of sharing your history, your family, your culture, and yourself. Each week Sid Evans, editor in chief of Southern Living, sits down with celebrity musicians to hear stories of how they grew up, what inspired them, and how they've been shaped by Southern culture. Sid takes us back to some of their most cherished memories and traditions, the family meals they still think about, and their favorite places to eat on the road.

Download and listen to this episode of Biscuits & Jam with Vishwesh Bhatt on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or everywhere podcasts are available.

Get a transcript of the full interview with Vishwesh Bhatt.