Today we’d like to introduce you to Niven Patel.
A pursuit of knowledge was the stimulus and continues to be the driving force behind Chef Niven’s career. The 33-year-old was born in Georgia to parents of a traditional Indian heritage. His first glimpse into the restaurant world was during culinary school, and he was hooked. “I was cooking and working in restaurants the whole time during college”. But his passion for cooking came much earlier on, he says, “I have been cooking all my life. I used to make my menus as a child and let my family order, and then I went into the kitchen to cook whatever they wanted.”
He earned his chops at 3030 Ocean Restaurant at the Harbor Beach Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale Florida, working under Chef Dean Max for six years. He then traveled to Italy to learn and cook for six months, returning to the U.S. to be a part of various restaurants such as Watertable at the Renaissance Baltimore, Atlantic’s Edge at four-diamond resort Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, Florida, The Brasserie in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Michaels Genuine in the Design District, Miami. Honing his craft, Chef Niven had the opportunity to experience the farm to table renaissance happening at each location.
Working closely with farmers and purveyors, he developed a deeper appreciation for the product coming into the restaurant. He began digging in his backyard, lovingly referred to as RanchoPatel, cultivating greens, fruits, and vegetables. For young cooks dreaming of one day becoming a chef, Patel offers some words of wisdom, cultivated over his many years of due diligence, “Be inquisitive. Every time there is something you don’t know, research it, look it up”. Clearly, the success of the highly disciplined Patel proves that the chef is guided by his own advice.
When he decided to leave Michael’s Genuine in pursuit of his dream to open up his place, he knew it would be an emotional goodbye. But with much motivation and gratitude, he was on to his next big thing, on to Ghee. Chef Niven knew that after all the traveling, and all the experience, at the end he wanted to come back home, come back to home cooking – Indian home cooking. So the concept of Ghee came along one day he planted his first seeds on his 2-acre property.
Ghee means PURE and has a symbolic meaning both spiritually and in the kitchen of an Indian home. Ghee will encompass traditional Indian home cooking, ingredient-driven using local artisan purveyors. He want his guests to walk into Ghee with the sense of entering his home. He wants them to feel at home. He wants them to smell the aromas and spices and get more engaged in their meal. One of the things that he always tell his cooks is, ask questions, be inquisitive if you don’t know. He wants the same for his guests.
RanchoPatel will play a vital role in Ghee. His 2-acre land in Homestead is home to fresh Indian vegetables that they use on a daily basis at home. These vegetables will be frequenting at Ghee. Vegetables such as Elephant Ears, Purple Potato, Ivy Gourd, Fenugreek Leaf and Curry Leaf.
He wants to share with his guests what Indian home cooking is. Spices are tame, they are present to enhance the flavor of the ingredients.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth, what is that? Haha, Miami is very young to a different type of Indian Cuisine. Ghee is here to introduce these new flavors. Yes, there will always those guests who ask for the traditional items but it is our job to sell them on this new experience.
RanchoPatel saw many struggles, from the heat to the two day cold fronts. Each condition killed the crops. Hurricane Irma destroys all trees but we chipped them all and are reusing the mulch on the property. RanchoPatel is now a baby again in its phase of new organic farming in Homestead.
Permitting for our Downtown Dadeland location was nerve wrecking. It took forever for the city to inspect and approve. At some point the team would stop telling future guests the opening date, we just say “soon”.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ghee Indian Kitchen story. Tell us more about the business.
Ghee Miami LLC was founded in 2017 by myself and my wife Shivani Patel. Ghee Indian Kitchen is an Indian restaurant specializing in Gujarati cuisine but not limited to. We feature Punjabi, south Indian and Maharashtrian dishes too.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We do not have any solid plans to open Ghee in any other locations in the next couple of years. My goal is quality and consistency in the two location we currently have. I have to be 100% satisfied before I move forward.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8965 SW 72nd Pl Miami FL, 33156 (Downtown Dadeland)
3620 NE 2nd Ave Miami FL, 33137 (Design District) - Website: www.gheemiami.com
- Phone: 305-986-1850 , 786-636-6122
- Email: gheemiami@gmail.com
- Instagram: gheemiami
- Facebook: Ghee Miami
- Yelp: Ghee Indian Kitchen
Image Credit:
Andres Acero
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