It was Maneet's insatiable curiosity about food that inspired her to ask question after question as her mother and neighbors cooked. Over time, she developed a sophisticated palate that innately understood the magical alchemy that exists in Indian cuisine. There was never a question in Maneet's mind that she would one day be a chef. Food consumed her and this insatiable passion propelled her on a journey from a humble upbringing in India to television sets around the world. After years of home cooking education, Maneet embarked upon her professional training at one of India's premier culinary and hospitality schools and then worked her way through the restaurants of the nation's premier hotels. She then traversed the ocean to Hyde Park in New York to attend The Culinary Institute of America. After graduating at the top of her class, she worked at a restaurant owned by an extended family member in New Jersey before moving to Chicago where her sister lived to work at one of the city's premier Indian restaurants. It was during this time that Maneet began experimenting with different cuisines, using Indian techniques and ingredients as the foundation and then building upon them with unique twists that inspired her from other nations. She soon brought this energized style of cooking to New York City where she was the executive chef at the sister restaurant to the one in Chicago. It was around this time that the Food Network came calling with an offer to be a judge on their new show, Chopped. Maneet's charisma, charm and energy made her an ideal candidate for one of the network's longest running and most successful shows. The travel bug bit again when Maneet and her husband Vivek Deora's business partners convinced her to open a restaurant in Nashville in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood called The Gulch, situated between downtown and the city's iconic music row. Chauhan Ale & Masala House, which serves up Indian cuisine gussied up with a southern twist, soon garnered critical acclaim and a devoted local following. Maneet and Vivek's brewery Mantra Artisan Ales soon followed. It's a brewery unlike any other in the United States. Its extraordinary brews, dreamed up by celebrated brewmaster Derrick Morse, Vivek and Maneet working in tandem, are infused with spice notes from India that take imbibers on an exotic journey unlike any other they've experienced before. Between her regular appearances on Chopped, charitable work, running Chauhan Ale & Masala House and Mantra, and raising two young children, Maneet, in partnership with Vivek, also opened Tànsuŏ in early March 2017. It's a restaurant that means explore and brings together the flavors of Cantonese and Indian cuisine that has quickly become one of the most buzzed about new dining establishments in Nashville. Next up for Maneet is the restaurant Mockingbird, a modern diner with Indian influences that will open up alongside Tànsuŏ this spring. With her busy schedule and endless commitments, we are honored to welcome Maneet to Roots: Innovate 2017. We are cooking up several exciting projects with Maneet this year at Roots including an endeavor in partnership with her brewery Mantra that is sure to amaze and delight our attendees. Maneet will also participate in our Heal Yourself: Food As Medicine panel. It's a fitting conversation for Maneet to participate in since she has long been a devotee of India's ancient practice of Ayurvedic cooking, a practice focused on the power of ingredients and cooking techniques to heal the body and prevent disease and other ailments. It's going to be an invigorating and eye-opening panel that we know will leave an indelible mark upon the Roots audience. How could it not? Maneet leaves an indelible mark wherever she goes and we invite you to come meet this creative powerhouse for yourself at Roots: Innovate 2017!