Meet the Chef: Hari Nayak of Orissa

Orissa was opened on February 9, 2010 by physician/scientist Cynthia Caracta and her husband Niall Cain, owner of NcC Studio Architecture in Dobbs Ferry, who designed the restaurant's colorful contemporary interior.

Consulting chef Hari Nayak worked with Caracta and Cain to design a bold menu that brought creative interpretation to traditional Indian cuisine, introduced non-Indian flavors to certain Indian dishes and conversely applied Indian flavoring to dishes not of Indian origination.

An inspired menu resulted that convincingly reflects daring and impressive imagination. "This isn't your typical Indian restaurant," remarked The New York Times reviewer Emily DeNitto in an approving critique published on April 23, 2010.

Nayak grew up in a small Indian coastal town in the state of Karnataka called Udupi. The town had long ago become known for its delicious vegetarian food. Today "Udupi" is used as a descriptive adjective not only for dishes on menus in India but throughout the world.

By the age of eight, Nayak could cook a Masala omelet: a Udupian favorite he made with fresh vegetables and spices for his family (his parents, an older brother and an older sister). But when he wasn't preparing omelets, he stayed out of his mother's kitchen.

When he was fifteen, he took an avid interest in food and began watching cooking programs on television; he was soon hooked. "The shows were repeats but that didn't matter," he recalled. "I watched Martin Yen, Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet Show (Graham Kerr) whenever they were on."

His siblings went off to college - his brother to study engineering; his sister to prepare for a medical career. This may have been of some consolation to his parents when Nayak revealed his intention to enroll at the Welcomgroup School of Hotel Management in nearby Manipal. ["Hotel" schools in many countries do not include the word "restaurant" in their names but they are training grounds for chefs as well as hotel managers.]

Following graduation, Nayak worked at hotel and resort restaurants in Bombay (Mumbai) and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is located) and at ITC Sheraton properties including a stint under chef Imitiaz Quershi at the Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi.

His language skills have proved helpful throughout his career. Nayak speaks Hindi, the official language of India and four regional Indian dialects: Kannada (the language of the state of Kamataka), Tulu (a language of Southwest India) Marathi (the official language of the Indian state of Maharashtra) and Konkani (an Indo-European language spoken on the Konkan coast).

Upon arrival in America in 1998, Nayak enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America. He was 24.

Following graduation, he and some partners opened a patisserie called Halo Fete in Princeton N.J. that specialized in making pastries with ice cream - a concept rarely practiced in America. Next, he interned at several French and other non-Indian Manhattan restaurants, training with acclaimed chefs including Alain Ducasse and Marcus Samuelssen.

Nayak also began taking food-related consulting and advisory assignments from the corporate world - clients included Sodexho USA, Whole Foods and ifoodTV. He currently consults for Tiffin Indian Cuisine in Philadelphia and Cafe Spice in New York.

As his reputation grew, his achievements were recognized by the James Beard Foundation which invited him to prepare an entirely Indian dinner.

He joined Cooking for Life founder Indian chef  Vikas Khanna in 2005 and helped to jump start this nonprofit organization in recruiting distinguished chefs to participate in emergency fund-raising tasting events or dinners following disasters such as the Tsunami and the South Asian earthquake.

His book "Modern Indian Cooking," was co-authored with Vikas Khanna and Daniel Boulud (2007); he also wrote "Spice: Flavors and Recipes from Around the World" (2008). His newest book "My Indian Kitchen" will be brought out later this year by Tuttle Publishing.

Orissa  puts it all together and dares to be different:

The diversified menu includes standard Indian fare such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Korma along with departures like bison burger with green chili chutney and crispy okra.

Nayak said that one of his favorites is spice-crusted bay scallops with coconut green chili reduction and roasted red pepper coulis. "But my favorite Orissa food is an Indian version of Valencian paella - a blend of Basmati rice, saffron, chicken, mussels and calamari."

Popular dishes at Orissa, Nayak said, include fennel-infused lamb chops, New York strip steak rubbed with Indian spices,  smoked fire roasted eggplant with curried couscous called Baingan Bharta, Tamarind shrimp as an appetizer, and plum tomato and mustard chutney.

Mohammed Aluaddin, a 20-year veteran chef, was trained by Nayak and has been in the kitchen since day one.

Chef Aluaddin favors tandoori-oven chicken and potato curry with cardamom and clove scented basmati rice. Owner Caracta's favorite dessert is chocolate brownie scented with cardamom and topped with French vanilla gelato.

Key personnel at Orissa includes general manager Renato Nikprelevik who many local residents will remember as the congenial host and owner of the popular Italian restaurant Renato's in Irvington.

Orissa is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. It is located at 14 Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY. 914-231-7800. www.orissany.com.