Maneet Chauhan Is Bringing A New Indian Restaurant To Disney Springs
Disney has announced the newest addition to the Walt Disney World Resort's culinary landscape. "Chopped" Judge and "Iron Chef" alum Maneet Chauhan will be opening a new restaurant in the Disney Springs shopping and entertainment district later this year.
The new restaurant has been dubbed "EET by Maneet Chauhan" and is described on the @disneyeats Instagram page as "modern, fun Indian-inspired" cuisine. WDW News Today reports that the venture is a collaboration between the James Beard Award-winning chef and her husband, hospitality entrepreneur Vivek Deora, who owns 23 restaurants across the U.S.
Chauhan rose to prominence in the culinary scene as the Executive Chef of Vermillion, an Indian-Latin fusion restaurant in Chicago, and helped expand the business to New York City with At Vermillion in 2009, but that location closed in 2018. Currently, Chauhan operates Chauhan Ale & Masala House in Nashville which opened in 2014 and highlights Chauhan's wide culinary interests by combining traditional Indian dishes with the flavors of Nashville and the South.
EET joins an impressive lineup at Disney Springs
While Disney has not released a menu for EET or revealed an exact opening date or location within the Disney Springs, Disney news site WDW info reports it is rumored to be taking over the space vacated by another celebrity restaurant venture, Wolfgang Puck Express. When it does open, presumably in late 2023, EET will bring yet another unique culinary style to Disney Springs which already boasts around 70 restaurants, snack kiosks, and food trucks featuring everything from multi-course gourmet meal options to Disney Park staples like Dole Whip.
Chauhan will not be the first Food Network star represented at Disney Springs, but just as she was the first Indian woman to compete on "Iron Chef," EET will be the first fully Indian restaurant at Walt Disney World. Among the diverse dining options in the shopping district, which is popular with both tourists and locals, a few are owned by fellow "Iron Chef" alumni, including Morimoto Asia and Jaleo, established by Masaharu Morimoto and José Andrés respectively, and Chicken Guy!, which is the project of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" host Guy Fieri.