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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline NOVEMBER 24, 2023 | The Indian Eye 32

NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com

GHAZALA HASHMI VIKAS KHANNA

VA senator leads Indian-Amer- Chef congratulates three

ican winners in state polls for Michelin Star

ndian cuisine is making waves at the global platform yet again as three
t least 10 Indian-Americans, mostly Democrats, have won local and Indian chefs from Chicago, Washington DC, and New York were recently
state-level elections held in several parts of the country. In Virginia, Hy- Iawarded Michelin Stars. This is the highest honor in the world of gastrono-
Aderabad-born Ghazala Hashmi was re-elected to the State Senate for a my. The chefs who made it to the Michelin Star list are Vijaya Kumar, Chetan
third consecutive term. She was the first-ever Indian-American woman and a Shetty, and Sujan S.
Muslim to be elected to the Virginia State legislation. Suhas Subramanyam Chef Vijaya Kumar heads the kitchen at Semma in the New York City.
was re-elected to the Virginia State Senate. He was elected to the House of Semma means awesome in Tamil and offers the most delicious South Indian
Delegates for two terms in 2019 and 2021. delicacy in the bustling city. Semma is also known to be the only Indian restau-
Business leader Kannan Srinivasan, who immigrated from India in the rant to receive a Michelin star - the restaurant got its first recognition in 2022.
90s, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates from the India-Ameri- Chef Chetan Shetty heads a fine dining restaurant called Raina in Wash-
can dominated Loudon County area. In New Jersey, Indian-Americans Vin ington DC. Conceptualised by the owners of another iconic restaurant Punjab
Gopal and Raj Mukherji, both from the Democratic Party, were elected to Grill DC, Raina offers Indian cuisine in a new and transformed version for a
the State Senate. Indian-American Balvir Singh, a teacher, was re-elected to unique experience.
New Jersey’s Burlington County Board of County Commissioner.
In Pennsylvania, Neil Makhija, a Democrat, won the coveted position Chef Vikas Khanna took to social media and penned a heartfelt
of Montgomery County Commissioner, while Indian-American physician Dr
Anita Joshi won the West District seat for Carmel City Council seat in Indi- note on the occasion. His post read, “Diwali has arrived a little
ana. early in the United States. Chef Vikas referred to the achievement
Makhija is the first-ever Indian-American or AAPI (Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders) to serve on a county’s board of commissioners in the as a “milestone,” and wrote, “Salute to all the 3 Indian Chefs
Commonwealth’s 342-year history. Dr Joshi is the only Democrat to have who got Michelin Stars yesterday in New York.”
won in the Republican bastion.
Born and raised in the United States, India-American Priya Tamilarasan
Chef Sujan Sarkar heads Indienne, a modern fine dining restaurant that
won the election for Gahanna City Attorney in Ohio. Non-profit Land Bank offers progressive Indian food, in Chicago. This restaurant is known for a
CEO Arunan Arulampalam of Indian origin who immigrated from Zimba- curated meal experience, along with a la carte dishes at the establishment.
bwe was elected as the Mayor of Hartford in Connecticut.
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