Meherwan Irani Wants to Change Stereotypes About the South, Starting With Dinner | Bon Appétit

"A traveling dinner series that consciously bridges the American South and South Asian cooking, staging communal meals and guided conversations that reframe Southern identity as inclusive. Dinners pair inventive fusion dishes—platters of craggy fried chicken inspired by goat karee, turmeric-tinged tomato hand pies, pickled watermelon rinds, coconut-oil fried chicken with a hint of garam masala, shrimp-and-grits prepared upma-style, tomato pie, and spiced butternut squash soup—with Q&As that coax guests into deeper discussions about what it means to be a Southerner and to be brown in the South. Events draw a broad crowd of chefs, writers, and locals (about 130 attendees at one dinner), aim to amplify immigrant chefs in the deep South, and are intentionally taken on the road to spark community dialogue and change." - ByElyse Inamine