A proponent of Indian cuisine with a global twist, and an avid supporter of women – former World bank economist and McKinsey management consultant Rohini Dey straddles the worlds of business and glamor across the US and India. Rohini was inspired to create her Vermilion restaurants in Chicago & NY by a desire to go entrepreneurial and the passion to retain the boldness of both cuisines, within a contemporary ambiance. She created and developed the Vermilion indian-latin concept, and developed the cuisine with consulting chef Ambarish for a year before Vermilion opened. She then trained his successor Chef Chauhan to replicate her cuisine. Some of Vermilion's flagship dishes (the tandoori skirt steak, lobster portuguese and others) starred conceptually in Rohini's business plan well before Vermilion became a reality. Since opening, her travels (Brazilian caldeirada & empanadas, Miris sri lankan fish, Peruvian ceviche, duck arepas) continue to inspire the culinary evolution of Vermilion, along with Vermilion's talented culinary teams across both kitchens in NY and Chicago (including over time Chefs Chauhan, Joe Heppe, Dominic Joseph, Keerthi Cacatte, Anthony De Prima, and Anup Patwal).
Rohini chose to meld Indian & Latin culinary worlds at Vermilion for four reasons:
1.
their deep historical cross influences (Arab & Persian on both Indian & Spain, Portuguese in Indian & S. America, direct migratory flows),
2.
the commonality of ingredients across these tropical zones (heavy use of guava, tamarind, coconut, plantain, saffron, rice, beans, corn, cilantro, to name a few)
3.
to celebrate the warm, effusive, family oriented, late night, and dining rich cultures across both regions
4.
to create an intellectually provocative and unique cuisine
