Vidya Maharaj
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| Vidya Maharaj | |
|---|---|
 VidyaMaharaj.jpg Maharaj at her Miami Beach restaurant | |
| Born | Vidya Maharaj Sangre Grande, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago |
| 🏫 Education | Miami Dade College Florida International University |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Vidya Maharaj is a Trinidadian-American chef, epidemiologist, and restaurateur.
Early life[edit]
Maharaj was born in Sangre Grande, on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago, the third of 5 children and the daughter of an electrical contractor and a nurse. She finished her high school education at North Eastern College, a government-run secondary school, before migrating to the U.S., where she began college.[1]
Her family settled in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1988.[2] Maharaj attended Miami Dade College before graduating from Florida International University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She received a Master's degree cum laude in epidemiology and public health, from FIU in 2007. In 2001, while attending FIU, she helped found the school's Eta chapter of Delta Phi Omega, a South Asian-interest, multicultural sorority.
Career[edit]
Scientist[edit]
In the immediate years following her schooling, Maharaj served variously as an adjunct graduate professor, environmental consultant, project manager, and researcher.
As a senior epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2016 to 2018, she led a team of clinical researchers investigating the Zika virus outbreak, focusing on reported cases of infection in pregnant women, fetuses, and infants.
After leaving the CDC, Maharaj served as the director of research development for the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Miami in 2018. She also worked with big and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies before she was named, in 2021, as vice president for clinical operations and development for Regenerative Outcomes Miami, a firm specializing in pharmaceutical clinical trials in the fields of regenerative medicine and biotechnology.[3]
Chef and restaurateur[edit]
In December 2019, Maharaj, in collaboration with her two brothers, opened Diya Miami, a restaurant in Miami Beach's trendy Sunset Harbour neighborhood.[2][4] The idea of starting the Indian-influenced vegetarian restaurant evolved from the Maharaj family's efforts to aid in the treatment of their Parkinson's disease-afflicted patriarch.[2][5]
Maharaj, the restaurant's executive chef, mastered her mother's recipes while a brother researched ancient and little-known Indian recipes that might serve as inspiration for the restaurant's menu.[6] Drawing from her background as an epidemiologist, she devised a menu that relies heavily on ingredients and spices (such as cilantro, ginger, and turmeric) that boast immune-boosting qualities, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and other health benefits.[6][7][2] Maharaj told Miami's Community News in 2020, “We wanted to introduce a concept that authentically represented our heritage and offered extensive options for vegetarians and our community... [using] healthy and flavor-forward food.”[6]
"I am the vice president of a biotech company that submits FDA-approved new drugs and therapies during the day, and at night I am a chef," she told the Trinidad Express in August 2021.[1]
Maharaj told The Huxley Morton Podcast in August 2021 that "actually getting the food on the table to the customers is one of my passions. I make sure everything tastes the way it's supposed to taste and look the way it's supposed to look."[5]
"Chef life is not easy," she added. "I have a newfound respect for [it]. Anyone who's a chef or works in the kitchen -- it is the most difficult, hard-working job one can have. It's very demanding." On juggling two jobs, she noted: "I am so busy from four in the morning to 11:30 at night."[5]
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 threatened to upend the restaurant's launch. Maharaj told CBS Miami in August 2020 that "as an epidemiologist, I knew what was coming....[S]o with my background, we went into emergency operating kind of mode"[7] outfitting the restaurant with precautionary innovations and implementing measures for safe dining.[7][8]
The concept of her restaurant has grown to more a gastronomic experience for fusion Indian cuisine from traditional Indian cuisine. This allows her to showcase her culinary skills keeping some Indian notes. Her recent ambition includes a new restaurant concept inspired by an authentic vegan, Mexican, casual menu, at BackRoom, also in Miami Beach.
In 2021, Maharaj and her restaurant, in conjunction with chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen, helped raise over $6,000 for meal distribution to frontline healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients in India.[9][10]
Maharaj is scheduled to be a featured chef at the 7th annual SEED Food and Wine Festival in Miami in November 2021.[11] Her restaurant participated in the 2020 and 2021 South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
Personal life[edit]
Maharaj is married and has one daughter.
Maharaj's 2010 Bollywood-style wedding was featured in an episode of TLC's American spin-off of the British television reality series, Four Weddings.[12]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Trini runs Miami restaurant: Scientist by day, executive chef at night". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Accioly, Juliana. "Diya Indian Kitchen Offers a Vegetarian Menu in Sunset Harbour". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ "Regenerative Outcomes Establishes Newest Location - Regenerative Outcomes Miami, Announces Appointment Of Maharaj as Clinical Trial Management Head". PRWeb. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ↑ "Indian-Trinidadian vegetarian restaurant in Miami – DIYA INDIAN KITCHEN BAR & LOUNGE". Indo-Caribbean. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Development, PodBean. "Series 3 Ep8. Scientist by day and Chef by night with Vidya Maharaj". huxleymorton.podbean.com. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chamber, Miami Beach (2020-07-02). "TRADITIONALLY MODERN VEGETARIAN INDIAN DINING DESTINATION LAUNCHES WITH A FLAVORFUL, PALATE-AWAKENING MENU". Miami's Community News. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Cuisine & Chemistry Blend Perfectly At Diya Sunset Harbor On Miami Beach Amid Coronavirus Pandemic". 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ "Epidemiologist turned chef provides tips for restaurant owners during COVID". WSFL. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ "Chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen: COVID-19 Relief in India". BORGEN. 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ "José reports from India as WCK team serves 400,000 meals". World Central Kitchen. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ↑ "Vidya Maharah". seedfoodandwinemiami. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ↑ "Vidya Maharaj's Wedding Story". Retrieved 2021-10-09.
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