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"Let me also acknowledge our James Beard award winning guest chef Meherwan Irani who is here with us today. And you should know Meherwan credits his mother Amrit as his earliest culinary inspiration and I think we are all about to be very inspired by what she gave to him and what he is now going to give us,” said the US Secretary of State Antony John Blinken, at the State luncheon he hosted with the US Vice President Kamala Harris in honor of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in the last week of June, 2023.
This 25-second video was repeatedly making the rounds on several Parsi social media groups where its members took pride that Meherwan, the founder of the Chai Pani group of restaurants in the US, was conferred this honor. In June 2022, Meherwan’s eatery Chai Pani, located in Asheville, North Carolina was declared "Outstanding Restaurant” at the prestigious James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. As founder, chef and chief executive officer of the Chai Pani Restaurant Group, Meherwan, and his wife Molly, lead a team of more than 300 members at their restaurant empire that now includes eight restaurants (see "Choicest Chai Pani,” Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, July 7-20, 2022).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The assignment (for Modi) was challenging to say the least,” said Meherwan when responding to Parsiana’s queries on July 27. "We had to serve 220 dignitaries and guests a beautifully plated and hot three-course lunch with amuse bouche and chai within a 30-minute window. Almost everything had to be prepared off-site and brought in the morning for reheating, final touches and plating. There were security protocols, dietary restrictions, and even considerations of what could be rated with a fork versus a spoon!” were the insights shared by Meherwan.
The fully vegetarian meal started with pani puri. This was followed by patti style samosas, a childhood favorite of Meherwan’s when made by his mother, served with a Maharashtrian style green chutney with peanuts. "For the main course we made a very decadent khichari but substituted millet instead of rice along with bhindi masala and a beautiful kadhi. For dessert we invented a dish where we used Parle G biscuits to make a crust that we topped with mango-sooji halva and rabdi. Sooji halva was another favorite of mine that my Mom used to make,” revealed the chef.
When Harris and Blinken introduced Meherwan to Modi before the photo shoot he had an opportunity to briefly interact with the Indian Prime Minister. "Regardless of differences in ideology or policies, it is important to sit down at the table and engage in dialog and conversation to find common ground,” believes Meherwan. "Being able to serve a meal at that table and help participate in ongoing diplomacy was an incredible honor.”
When we were trying to establish contact with Meherwan, photographer and Meher Baba devotee Homyar Mistry shared a YouTube link with Parsiana that showed the restaurateur talking of his family and their spiritual ties with Meher Baba. As the grandson of Meher Baba’s brother, Meherwan was privileged to come in close contact with Baba’s teachings and inner circle from an early age. Apparently when his mother had been taken to Meher Baba as an infant, the mystic had told her father that the perfect husband for her would be his nephew Dara!
That the two did get married is a story known to many Baba lovers. What they may not have known is how Meherwan came to the realization that Meher Baba was born on earth "not just to show us the divine and universal aspect of him but also the human aspect of him — to be in the world but not of it… There are two paths to him: the spiritual which requires a life of detachment or renunciation, and the more difficult material path that requires living in this world as he would have wanted — by being cheerful and not complaining; doing the most good to people around me, whatever be the situation I am in.”
Moving from a successful car salesman to a restaurateur was a journey "preordained” by Baba, Meherwan is convinced. "I have always been in love with food. My mom is one of the best cooks I know,” he stated.
He related his experience of procuring prime property with the intention of starting his first eatery in Asheville that would serve Indian street food. At the interview for the property deal he was asked whether he had any experience in the restaurant business. He had none. How many Indians were there in the area? Two. Seeing the direction in which the interview had continued, Meherwan had doubts whether he would ever be allotted the space.
Seeking Baba’s help, he was reminded of his mother’s decision to discontinue consumption of coconut when Meherwan’s brother Jamshed was diagnosed with pigmentosa as a teenager, a hereditary degenerative eye disease he had inherited from his father. At that time Meherwan had been very sceptical of his mother’s gesture.
Desperate to secure the space, Meherwan felt he too should give up something if he was favored. He thought of pineapples but then admitted it was not something he would miss greatly and would not therefore be considered giving up. Knowing that he really loved his coffee, with a specially installed $ 3,000 (Rs 1,86,495) Espresso machine at home, he decided he would abstain from coffee. "This is an offering, not a bargain,” a voice told him, implying that irrespective of the outcome of the land transaction, he should cease consumption of coffee. Once he had decided on this sacrifice, within a short time he received a call confirming the land deal. Just when he thought he would share the joyous news with Molly, he received a call from her to announce that the coffee machine at home had broken down!
Baba’s message to him has been clear: "Not to live an extraordinary life but to live an ordinary life as perfectly as I could. That became my spiritual path.”