Hari Nayak

Hari Nayak is an Indian chef and food industry executive.

Early life

Hari Nayak was born in Udupi, India. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and after moving to the US, spent the first twenty years of his career as a chef working for restaurants in New York City.

Career

In addition to his work as a chef, he is known as an advocate of South Indian cuisine. His first restaurant was the first patisserie to open in the US, located in Princeton, New Jersey, Halo Fete. Following this, he became an executive chef with a North American food service company, and has worked for several food companies, including Sodexo.

Restaurants that Nayak has worked as an executive founder for have included Alchemy in Bangalore; the Tandur Indian Kitchen chain of restaurants in Tennessee and South Carolina; the restaurants Masti and Bombay Bungalow in Dubai; Charcoza in Riyadh; and he has been the Culinary Director for Café Spice in New York City. He is also the owner of Soul Curry, which he opened in 2019.

In 2018 Nayak co-developed The Trial Box, a self-catering product for festival meals like Diwali. Before 2017, he published five Indian cookbooks for the western market, including Modern Indian Cooking, My Indian Kitchen, and Café Spice Cookbook. He then released his sixth book, Spice Trail - 100 modern global recipes to excite and inspire home cooks!, which was his first to focus on a readership in India rather than the west. Each of his books has been a bestseller.

He also runs a website that features his work and recipes, and has appeared on Food Network shows like Beat Bobby Flay as a judge.