Most people have never heard of Ranji Smile. Yet he was possibly America's first celebrity chef. Born in Karachi, Smile arrived in New York in 1899. He was hired to cook at Sherry's, a famous restaurant on Fifth Avenue. Dressed in silk and a blue turban, he charmed wealthy diners with his curries.
In 1901, Smile opened his own restaurant called Omar Khayyam. It was located on Fifth Avenue, near the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The restaurant featured Indian curtains and hanging lanterns. Waiters wore large turbans, and Indian musicians played for guests. It was almost certainly the first Indian restaurant in America.
Sadly, the restaurant closed within a year. Newspapers claimed that Americans had simply grown tired of Indian food. After this failure, Smile reinvented himself as a fake prince. He said he was the son of the emir of Baluchistan. He even recruited staff from India, which led to serious legal trouble.
Smile was denied American citizenship because the law only allowed white men to apply. He eventually left New York in 1929 and disappeared from history. Today, thousands of Indian restaurants thrive across the United States. If Smile could see this, he would know that his forgotten legacy truly mattered.
