Take a Look Inside Maneet Chauhan’s Passport

From bus tours in Lisbon to train rides through India, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Maneet Chauhan discovers tasty gems wherever she travels. “Go with a plan, but conversations with locals are your best resource.” Her new restaurant, EET, opens this fall at Disney Springs, in response to customer demand for Indian cuisine. “The numbers we’re going to do are insane.” Foodies can also catch up with Chauhan this month at the New York City Wine & Food Festival. “The chefs are unabashedly presenting their cuisine at the festival, and the audience is changing because they’re traveling more.” Here, her recent destinations.

Bermuda / Photo: Courtesy of Maneet Chauhan

Bermuda

“Every summer I do an event at The Loren hotel. I take the kids and we make a vacation out of it. Working with locals you learn about the best gems in the city. We would go out dining together—it’s just the best way to get an insider look into a place. Harbourfront Restaurant has great sushi, and I ate at The Swizzle Inn. Sul Verde has great Italian food.”

Portugal / Photo: Alun Reece/Alamy Stock Photo

Portugal

“My cousin’s wedding was in Sintra, and we stayed an extra week in Lisbon. Sintra has incredible history—the Quinta da Regaleira is like something out of the medieval books I used to read. We did the hop-on hop-off bus tour in Lisbon. We have young kids and wanted them to see as much of the city as possible, and these really work for that! Believe it or not, we found incredible Indian food in Portugal. We were laughing that we just can’t get away from Indian food.”

Mexico / Photo: Courtesy of Maneet Chauhan

Mexico

“The James Beard Foundation partnered with Patrón for a Tajin spice tasting and learning experience in Guadalajara for a group of culinary and hospitality professionals. We went to the Patrón Hacienda, which is incredible. We saw the entire process of how the agave is cultivated, cooked and distilled. I got to try a lot of the local fare from chefs and mixologists. We discussed food and drank great Patrón, of course.”

India / Photo: Courtesy of Maneet Chauhan

India

“When I was working on my cookbook Chaat, we went back to India and traveled across the country. Every region has a distinct cuisine. In six days, we tried 650 different dishes—all in the name of work! The trains in India are unlike the trains here. The doors and windows are open, and vendors sell their food and wares. As a child, I tasted the cuisine of India by sitting on the train traveling from city to city. I traveled so much by train and barely scratched the surface of what Indian cuisine is.”