In 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts I had my first taste of Indian food. The person who introduced me to this cuisine was a native of Bombay. I married him 5 years later. Indian food has expanded my tastes, enhanced my palate, and continually inspires me to recreate its signature dishes with room for creativity.

I was on a mission. Here I am examining cookware on the streets of Mumbai.

I was born in the mid-fifties in New York. I grew up in home that would now be considered a "foodie house." My mom, who is now in her eighties, is still a very good cook. She taught me never to skimp on quality. We always had fresh fruit and vegetables and good cuts of meat. She never used prepared or boxed foods, even during the height of Swanson’s popularity for their frozen dinners. She was an adventurous cook for the times. She experimented with Chinese, Greek, and Italian specialties, and the many dishes of her eastern European soul. Mom’s love of cooking did rub off on my sisters and me but not because we helped her in the kitchen — Mom was a bit territorial there.

I left home in the mid-70’s for college. and could barely cook to survive. I would occasionally call home and ask Mom how to make this or that — chicken soup, pasta sauce — but I felt pretty hopeless. After college, I moved to Boston and met Pradeep (my husband) the day I moved in. Pradeep told me he had not been back to India for seven years and therefore he had not had his mother’s home cooking for seven years. Somehow, I got the crazy notion that I would learn to cook the food of his childhood and win his heart. I didn’t even know what Indian food tasted like. And I could barely cook the foods of my own childhood.

I was on a mission. I read, experimented with exotic spices in every color and texture, and talked to the owner of the local Indian store, who found me to be an interesting case. Two of Pradeep’s sisters, who had recently moved to the US, helped me to develop the right techniques, and I just kept practicing. By the time I met my mother-in-law to-be I had perfected more than a couple of her family recipes. Needless to say, she loved me.

Over the last 29 years I have continued to learn traditional Indian cooking from all over the Indian subcontinent. I have walked humbly into numerous kitchens throughout India and asked for lessons from masters, lessons from mothers, and lessons from grandmothers, aunts and cousins. I always carry around a little notebook and jot down even the tiniest details of techniques and ingredients — Indian food has become my passion.

I nurtured the idea that I wanted to feed a lot of people with what I’d learned from my husband’s culture and my own travels. The concept for World Flavor Café has been my constant daydream for more than 20 years. It took on many faces in my dreams, a food truck (think Mr. Softee for food), a New York style diner or deli, and a gourmet take-out. In the end, the location and the physical space helped the concept of our restaurant take shape. World Flavor Café is a casual sit down/takeout restaurant serving global fare.

Opened in August 2008, World Flavor Café is located at 205 N. Signal Street in beautiful Ojai, CA, a town in which my family and I are so happy to be able to both live and work. If you are in the neighborhood please stop by and say hi, and I sincerely hope that you will take as much comfort and delight in our food as I do.