'Not a Southerner or American': Indian-origin chef Maneet Chauhan faces backlash for calling herself Southern American

Maneet Chauhan, a popular Indian-American chef and restaurateur is currently trending on social media apps, including X (formerly Twitter). While one would assume people would be talking about Chauhan's skills or success what the American netizens seem to be debating, is why she called herself a 'Southerner'.

Chauhan recently appeared in an episode of Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast to talk about her 50th birthday and upcoming ventures. The chef who has been living in Tennessee, Nashville for the past 12 years and calls it a "home" was asked if she feels like a true Southerner now.

"I am, I think there's a lot of commonality between people who are from India and the people from South. So it felt very much at home," she said. "Being a Southerner means having a heart which permeates into everything that you do. With the people that you meet, with every project you take up, with each conversation that you have, there is soul, there is depth," she said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Chauhan shared how she aimed to demystify the Indian food culture for people. "Since 1998, coming to this country, all I have wanted to do is show people the beauty of Indian food, the seasonality, and the health of Indian food. It's really not that complicated and I wanted to demystify that you can do this at home," she said. The chef revealed that now, people reached out to her about how they thought Indian food was complicated but after watching her recipes, they were making it at home.

However, in a post quickly gaining traction on X, MAGA journalist Sean Davis took a dig at Chauhan for calling herself a 'Southerner'. Sharing images of her quote and a Wikipedia screenshot of her being born in India, gaining education there and being married to an Indian spouse. "I mean come on," he wrote.

Numerous netizens called out Davis for attacking Chauhan for identifying as an American. "Republicans are now getting mad at immigrants for *assimilating,*" wrote one.

"Maneet, an award-winning chef, built her restaurant empire in Nashville. She’s also a live fire barbecue expert. She’s an immigrant from India who assimilated and loves America. We should celebrate entrepreneurs like her," added another.

"So she’s assimilated and that’s a problem? But if she praised her birth nation instead that too would be a problem? So which is it? What would you like her and others like her do when asked a question?" asked one.

However, others rallied along with his claims. "She’s not a Southerner or an American! What an insult to real Southerners… In fact, @Southern_Living should be ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED for running this piece! All of these people need to go back to India!" one wrote.

"I have cast iron pans that have been in the south longer than she. And that outfit is neither seersucker nor Lily Pulitzer," added one.

Who is Maneet Chauhan?

Maneet Chauhan was born on October 27, 1976, in Ludhiana, Punjab. She began her culinary career at Manipal University's WelcomGroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal. She completed her bachelor's degree in Hotel Management at the institute and went on to work as an apprentice chef at Oberoi Group, Taj Group, Welcomr Group and Sheraton Group.

In 1998, she arrived in New York to attend the Culinary Institute of America and graduated sweeping all the awards from her class. In 2000, she was hired as a manager for a startup restaurant in New Jersey where she headed the team. In 2003, at the age of 27, she became the opening executive chef of Vermilion in Chicago, Illinois, earning her 3 stars from The Chicago Tribune. In 2007, she moved to NYC to open At Vermilion where she was nominated as the 'Best Import to New York' by Time Out Magazine.

Over the years, Chauhan opened her own restaurants including Chauhan Ale & Masala House and The Mockingbird in Nashville along with EET in Florida. She has also written two cookbooks and appeared on popular shows like Chopped, BBQ Brawl, Maneet's Eats and Tournament of Champions, where she became the first two-time winner in the show's history.