ABOUT
Palak Patel is a classically trained chef, Atlanta restaurant owner, and two time food network champion winner of Food Network’s famed shows Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. Her new cookbook INVITED: Recipes for Joy and Connection debuts (Spring 24) with Harper Collins. She was a finalist on Food Network Star season 14. Most recently Palak appeared as a guest judge on Food Network’s newest competition series, Money Hungry in 2021. A TEDx speaker and chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, Palak has partnered with many high-profile brands like BMW, Well+Good, Clif Bar, BOU Brand, Whole Foods and Hello Fresh. She’s made on-camera appearances on the TODAY show, Food52 digital and Good Day Atlanta. Chef Patel was featured in an article entitled “The Women Of The Restaurant Industry Speak Out About Their Pandemic Experience” in Forbes. She was also featured in Huffington Post, People, Women’s Health, Thrive Global, Mashable, Epicurious, Bon Appetit, Los Angeles Times, India Abroad, and made the cover of Atlanta’s Simply Buckhead magazine as a rising star to watch in 2021 and beyond.
Palak moved to the United States when she was 12 and became a classically trained chef graduating from the French Culinary Institute. Her style of cooking is influenced by her childhood in India and time spent working in the South of France, San Francisco and New York City. But she attributes her mother, grandmother and aunts, the most influential women in her life, as her first culinary teachers.
NEW RESTAURANT LAUNCHED IN ATLANTA DURING PANDEMIC, INDIAN PLANT-BASED STREET FOOD
Moving closer to her family, Patel is making her mark on Atlanta’s food scene. She recently opened her new restaurant concept Dash & Chutney at Chattahoochee Food Works. Located in the heart of Atlanta’s Upper Westside, the 22,000 square-foot food hall highlights the best of Atlanta’s best culinary talents. The popular food hall was a collaborative vision between celebrity chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern. Chef Patel describes her vision of Dash & Chutney to serve Atlanta a fully plant-based Indian street food menu. The concept is a perfect addition to what’s already proven popular at Food Works: small businesses highlighting cuisines from around the world. Prior to her new restaurant venture in Atlanta, Palak has had many exciting culinary projects as a private chef. Her work has taken her to Italy as a consultant for a restaurant launch. She curated one-of-a-kind menus for the Dinner Lab supper club franchise in Miami, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, and Atlanta. Palak also created personalized, innovative menus and elegant catered affairs for New York clients ranging from small dinner parties to Fortune 1000 events.
