Raghavan Iyer (chef)

Iyer was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India in 1961. He grew up in Mumbai.[1] He moved to the United States in 1982 to study hospitality at Southwest Minnesota State University, before transferring to Michigan State University.[1][2] After using his background as a French teacher to find work in the field, he eventually became a chef and cookbook writer. His first book, published in 2001, was Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking, an introduction to Indian food aimed at Americans with limited previous experience with it.[1][3] The Betty Crocker book was the first of a number of popular cookbooks on the subject; as the New York Times reported, he "has by some estimations taught more Americans how to cook Indian food than anyone else."[4] In 2016, he won a James Beard Foundation Award for his video series Indian Curries: The Basics and Beyond.[5] His final major project was a crowdfunded enterprise called The Revival Foods Project: Global Comforts That Heal.[6]

Iyer met his future partner, Terry Erickson, on his first day in Minnesota; he and Erickson lived in Minneapolis and raised a son together.[1][2]

In his late 50s, Iyer was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and decided to go public with the news to encourage others to get screened.[2] After five years of living with the disease, he disclosed that it had metastasized to his brain and lungs and he did not expect to survive.[4] At the end of March 2023, Iyer was visiting friends in San Francisco when he fell ill with pneumonia, as a complication of the cancer. He was admitted to UCSF Medical Center on March 27 and died four days later, on March 31, at the age of 61.[1][7]

• Iyer, Raghavan (February 28, 2023). On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-5235-2073-2.
• Iyer, Raghavan (November 1, 2016). Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked--and Fried, Too!: A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7611-8973-2.
• Iyer, Raghavan (July 30, 2013). Indian Cooking Unfolded: A Master Class in Indian Cooking, Featuring 100 Easy Recipes Using 10 Ingredients or Less. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7611-7700-5.
• Iyer, Raghavan (May 1, 2008). 660 Curries. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7611-3787-0.
• Iyer, Raghavan (June 29, 2002). The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-27682-9.