1981-1985
Teena began her culinary journey as an apprentice at her
family’s owned and operated restaurant in St. Paul,
Minnesota’s Phalen Shopping Center: ‘The Best
Steak House’. Satirical indeed, as Indian’s
typically do not eat beef in reverence to the Sacred Cow.
Beginning in late 1984, Teena’s parents began to
introduce and test authentic Indian cuisine among the ‘regular’
customers on the weekends, with the hopes of promoting an
all-Indian restaurant. (Click
on this link to see the 1984-1985 Indian menu)
This vision came to fruition and whose roots began with
‘Delites of India’.
1985-1999
The authentic Indian family restaurant opens in the heart
of Uptown Minneapolis, MN. (Click
on this link to see photos) Delites of India
operates for 14 years, of which the last 5 years consist
of an all vegetarian menu. Celebrity’s like Prince
and Def Leppard’s ‘Phil’ Collen and his
wife are among the fans for Indian cookery. (Click
on this link to see photos)
Teena was given a tremendous ground-floor opportunity to
learn all facets of operating a restaurant establishment.
From hiring, training & supervising to food preparation
& product development, to vendor relationship building
& sales of retail products to test marketing new food
introductions & to surveying changing palatable trends/tendencies.
1988
Teena lands her first job at Davanni’s Hoagies in
Uptown, MN as a Station/Prep Cook. In this role, she was
responsible for preparing soups, pizza and hoagie sauces,
prepping veggies for salads & sandwiches, and she also
assisted in cashiering and serving.
1988-1990
Shortly after working at Davanni’s, Teena was offered
a position at ‘Spudster’s Restaurant thru customary
Delites of India patrons, Josh & Susan. This Assistant
Supervisor/Team Lead position with Spudster’s allowed
Teena to demonstrate her managerial side while being integrally
involved in food preparation and presentation.
1991-1992
The Holiday Inn hotel on the University of MN campus hires
Teena to be a part of their Banquet & Catering team.
This position involved planning and logistics of banquet
and catering functions.
1993
Summer break!! Teena worked at a server at the posh and
classy, Calhoun Beach Club.
1999
Delites of India family restaurant is sold.
1999-2001
This year marks the beginning of the shift of focus and
dedication of Teena’s wealth of culinary experience
into sharing and teaching the wonderful cuisine of India.
Lake Harriet Community Education Adult School offers demonstration
Indian cooking classes by Teena. Emphasis is on Vegetarian
cuisine, to include Asian, Mexican, Middle-Eastern and Italian
specialties with the introduction of new, healthy and tasty
ways of cooking vegetables. (Click
here to read letter of recommendation by events coordinator,
Gary Wineman) Whole Foods Market also offers
Teena the opportunity to give demo classes at their facility
in Minneapolis, MN.
2002
Teena moves to the Bay Area, CA.
2003
Stanford University’s Avanti Dining Society, Chef
Anton “Tony” Dietz retains Teena for consulting/culinary
education and training services as Chef Instructor for vegetarian
Indian cuisine. In this role, Teena assisted in broadening
the culinary repertoire with delightful vegetarian menu
choices for the health-conscious students. Teena developed
creative and exotic dishes in the realm of Indian vegetarian/vegan
cookery. She also helped to create the weekly Wednesday
chalk-board specials for this dining society. (Click
here to read letter of recommendation by Chef de Cuisine,
Tony Dietz )
2004-2009 – Present
Whole Foods Salud Cooking and Lifestyles School in San Mateo,
CA presents Vegetarian Northern Indian Cuisine with Teena
Arora!
Chef Teena has been professionally teaching demo and hands-on
classes at Whole Foods in the Bay Area since 2004. This
is the highlight of Teena’s cooking endeavors! The
experience is different and enjoyable every time. Whole
Foods Market offers a contemporary, lively atmosphere with
the freshest produce around!
2008
Currysutra classes will also be offered in Minneapolis,
MN - beginning spring of 2008. Teena is also working towards
offering cooking classes in the near future at Whole Foods
Markets in Cupertino, in addition to Sur La Table in Los
Gatos, CA in Summer 2008.
2009
Teena meets Chef Martin Yan! Her first cookbook will most likely be released at the end of this year. When Teena is not busy writing her cookbook series, she continues to teach monthly classes at Whole Foods in San Mateo and privately.
Delights of India reopens in Minneapolis. Teena's parents operate the 45-seating establishment and provide Uptown Minneapolis locals with wonderful Indian Vegetarian alternatives to the boring 'rabbit food' that we typically are offered at mainstream restaurants. The ambiance is casual, friendly and cozy. The food is innovative, rich, and intriguing. Please stop by and try something new & scrumptious! You won't be disappointed!
Teena had the honor and pleasure to meet with Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Anne Burrel and Jeffrey Saad at the Great American Food & Music Fest in Mountain View, California on June 13, 2009. To view pictures, please visit the wall photos on Currysutra BayArea's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/currysutra
