Ranji Smile: America’s First Celebrity Chef

Long before NYC had Danny Meyer, the charismatic chef J. Ranji Smile took the city by storm.

Arriving in NYC in 1899, Smile introduced Indian cuisine to the well-to-do, ushering curry into America’s foodie lexicon. In this talk, Sarah Lohman will trace the life of this fascinating, flamboyant womanizer, and reveal what Smile’s story can tell us about early Indian immigration in the U.S.

Taught by Sarah Lohman

Dubbed a “historic gastronomist,” Sarah Lohman recreates historic recipes as a way to make a personal connection with the past. She chronicles her explorations in culinary history on her blog, Four Pounds Flour, and her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She appears on the Cooking Channel’s Food: Fact or Fiction? and is 1/2 of the Masters of Social Gastronomy with co-founder Jonathan Soma.

Currently, she works with museums and galleries around the city to create public programs focused on food, including institutions such as The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Science, Boston, and The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Her first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, was published with Simon & Schuster in 2016.











When: Tue., Mar. 6, 2018 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Prospect Heights Brainery
190 Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights

Price: $12
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Long before NYC had Danny Meyer, the charismatic chef J. Ranji Smile took the city by storm.

Arriving in NYC in 1899, Smile introduced Indian cuisine to the well-to-do, ushering curry into America’s foodie lexicon. In this talk, Sarah Lohman will trace the life of this fascinating, flamboyant womanizer, and reveal what Smile’s story can tell us about early Indian immigration in the U.S.

Taught by Sarah Lohman

Dubbed a “historic gastronomist,” Sarah Lohman recreates historic recipes as a way to make a personal connection with the past. She chronicles her explorations in culinary history on her blog, Four Pounds Flour, and her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She appears on the Cooking Channel’s Food: Fact or Fiction? and is 1/2 of the Masters of Social Gastronomy with co-founder Jonathan Soma.

Currently, she works with museums and galleries around the city to create public programs focused on food, including institutions such as The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Science, Boston, and The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Her first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, was published with Simon & Schuster in 2016.

Buy tickets/get more info now