---
title: "Maneet Chauhan: The Immigrant Immersion and Financial Discipline That Built A Restaurant Empire"
url: "https://authoritymag.co/articles/maneet-chauhan-the-immigrant-immersion-and-financial-discipline-that-built-a-restaurant-empire"
publisher: "Authority Magazine"
author: "Sara Connell"
authorUrl: "https://authoritymag.co/authors/sara-connell"
interviewee: "Maneet Chauhan"
company: "Morph Hospitality Group"
category: "Business"
datePublished: "2022-02-15T02:25:39.121Z"
dateModified: "2026-11-12T17:08:03.892Z"
tags: "Business"
---

# Maneet Chauhan: The Immigrant Immersion and Financial Discipline That Built A Restaurant Empire

*The James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur explains how growing up with strict money consciousness and overcoming immigrant hurdles fueled her entrepreneurial success.*

> If you want to go ahead and indulge your passion, then go ahead. You can start charity work, right. But if you are thinking of your business, I need you to start thinking along the lines that you’re getting into business to make money.

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S*ome people were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth. Even then, becoming a millionaire is still quite an accomplishment. But people who start from nothing, and especially women who start from nothing, who make it to the top to become millionaires, despite the pay inequalities based on gender, the confidence gap, with nothing but grit, hustle, resilience, and “stick-to-itness”, are on a whole new level. We want to share those stories and inspire other women. In this interview series, we’re talking to “Self-Made” women leaders who started with nothing (i.e. started without investors or trust fund or capital or even people believing in them) and have become millionaires.*

*As a part of our series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maneet Chauhan. James Beard Award-winning chef, TV personality, restaurateur, and author Maneet Chauhan, who recently launched her latest cookbook Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India (Amazon Best Seller), is an Indian-American chef and an inspiration for females everywhere. Born in Pubjab, India, chef Chauhan worked in some of the country’s finest hotels before moving to the U.S. to study at the Culinary Institute of America. She went on to work as executive chef in some of New York City and Chicago’s top restaurants, which received national acclaim under her leadership. Maneet now resides in Nashville and has become an influential leader in creating a more diverse culinary landscape in the South. As a founding partner and the president of Morph Hospitality Group, Maneet has paved the way in expanding culinary options in Nashville with her restaurants Chauhan Ale & Masala House, The Mockingbird, Tansuo and Chaatable. Maneet does it all: she’s a mother of two young kids, a resident judge on Food Network’s chopped, a restauranteur, author, and entrepreneur. Her story is inspiring to little girls and women everywhere.*

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**Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory” and how you grew up? Growing up, what were your early experiences and perspectives about money? Or we could say, what was the “money consciousness” in which you were raised? Can you please give an example of what you mean?**

We grew up in a very middle-class family in India, where the value of money was taught to us very early on. My dad was the person who had a diary in which everything that was spent in the day was written down. And that was something which very early on taught us the value of money. And the one thing which they told us was, we’re not going to leave behind money for you. What we want you to learn from us is the value of money and the value of good education because that is what is going to be your foundation for your success.

**In terms of money consciousness in which you were raised. Was that both with your family and culture and society, or was that just kind of your family?**

It was a combination of both. It definitely was because we grew up in a community where the people were working people. They were engineers. The society did not have great economic disparity between two families. It was pretty much the same. And then when we went to school, of course, there were people who came from a different economic strata. But it never, it never played into it because it was a convent school and we all had our uniforms, and everything was very standard.

**Awesome! Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s talk about what you are doing now, and how you achieved the success that you currently enjoy. Can you tell our readers about the business you’ve created that helped you become a millionaire? What was your vision when you started this business? What’s the WHY behind the work that you do?**

Well, there were a couple of thought processes behind it. Recently I was having a conversation with one of my fellow chefs and she’s like, I want to open a business. I’m like, why? She’s like, it’s my passion of life. Why? Because I love doing it. Why? I went. She’s like, what answer do you want? I said, the answer is to make money. If you want to go ahead and indulge your passion, then go ahead. You can start charity work, right. But if you are thinking of your business, I need you to start thinking along the lines that you’re getting into business to make money. And so when we started it, there were a couple of reasons, a couple of thought processes behind it. One was definitely that you’ll make exponentially more money than when you are working for someone.

The second is it’s something that you own.

The third is you have the freedom to make the decisions and to steward the rudder of your Ship the way you want.

Fourth is the fact that if you love what you are doing, then you’re going to put more passion and more effort into it.

**We’d love to explore the traits that help you achieve your success. What were the mindset obstacles that you had to overcome in order to reach the place of consistently earning a million dollars a year and more? Can you tell us what you did to overcome them?**

I think one of the biggest things was growing up in a household where there is that dependency on the check coming regularly. There is that constant that only grows by a very small minuscule value over the years. I think that was one of my biggest things. Suddenly there’s a big check and then there is nothing. Then there is a big check again. Those kinds of things you had to make the adjustment for. The fact is that my husband and I, are business partners, and he definitely is the one who is bolder in the moves that he makes and then I have to kind of balance that. That equation, that combination of the yin and the yang is very important. You need somebody who will be constantly pushing you and then pulling you, and we do that with each other.

**What were the external obstacles that you had to overcome in reaching these milestones? And how specifically did you overcome them?**

I think one of the biggest obstacles was the fact that we came here as immigrants. The process of becoming a citizen is a long process and it’s an expensive process. And that is a foundation to get. If you are a citizen, you get a lot more in terms of facilities. So I think that was one of the biggest obstacles. I think that that elongated the time for us to start making money. I think we started off as minus 10 As opposed to zero. And for us to get from minus 10 to zero took a longer time and more expenses. It was much more of an emotional journey than from zero to where we are right now. So I do think that that was the biggest. There were other external obstacles which you’ve got to play right. Like being a woman in an industry where you didn’t see many women. Or your ethnic background. But I think the biggest was the fact that we were immigrants.

**Was there ever a point where you wanted to give up on your journey to becoming a multimillionaire? How did you work through that panic point? Please share a story.**

I mean, everybody has that low point, but I don’t think that it ever was at that stage where I’m like, Oh, my God, this is it. I just want to get a job. I don’t think that’s ever happened only because, I mean, that’s my personality. To me. It’s like, I get up and I’m like, Yes. What do we have to do today? And I think that is what keeps me going. There are moments where you are…where you definitely are disillusioned, I mean, for example, COVID last year, or year before last right? The fact that we had to lay off 250 people, I mean, that really scared us, right? It really, really, it really affected us. It really, you know, made us wonder what direction we are going in, but it didn’t stop us. Right. It just inspired us to pivot. Right and I think that is what it is. To be a business person. You have to be constantly ready to pivot, because you never know what it is. I mean, there was a day that we had, you know, one of the restaurants there was, there were thunderstorms, and there was big flooding and our entire restaurant got flooded. And we had to shut down for a week. Or last week there was a snowstorm and we had to shut down. So the idea is always to be ready on your toes and be ready to pivot. That I think is one of the biggest things.

**What were the most important resources, tools, affirmations, mindset strategies or practices that you used to build your business to where it is today?**

I think the underlying thing is never getting comfortable. Okay, never get comfortable no matter what. You think that you’ve reached, you know, you’ve reached a place where you’re comfortable. No, don’t get comfortable because what you have to do is you have to keep on pushing yourself. Right? And the only person who is going to push you to the next level is you yourself. Right? To me, one of the biggest fears that I have is stagnation. The time you start to stagnate you’re digressing. You’re going back. So the only way to move is forward. And that is what you got to do. You know when I got my first email address in 1998 the signature line was “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” And I don’t know why I wrote that. I had just come from India. I was doing my undergrad. I didn’t know anybody in the university I was the only Indian on campus for the majority of the time I was there. So there was that feeling of being the only person, being lonely. But to me that phrase, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, is something that to this day I have on my Hotmail. That’s the one thing that I refuse to change.

I’ve given a couple of TEDx talks about it where it is jump in the deep end survival kicks in you will learn how to swim right. If you do not have that, if you do not have that will to survive, then you will sink.

**Are there any books, podcasts, apps, tech, or other types of products that helped you reach your goals? Are these still used today? Please share specifically and why.**

Not really, I am the kind of person who will read everything. And the kind of person who spends a lot of time you know, like, like, I think inspiration is something where…I think a wise person is a person who will find inspiration anywhere, right? Be it glancing through your Instagram, be it learning…know, reading through Forbes or Wall Street Journal, be it be putting on television and watching something which is completely brainless. If you are the kind of person who is inspired. You will find inspiration everywhere. I find a lot of inspiration talking to people, right because I travel so much I get to meet so many people. I get the most from talking to my dishwashers, talking to people who are hosting large events at the restaurant. I will get inspiration from each and every person because I want to be that sponge. Right? I want to be that sponge who is absorbing all the information and the education which is freely available in the world for you to absorb. And if there is one day that you spend without learning something then it’s a waste.

**Out of all of the things you listed earlier, if you only had one resource that would help you grow your business and reach your next financial milestone, which would it be and why?**

Wow, just one. That’s a tough one. I’m usually very rarely at a loss for answers. I think one of the biggest things is really good investors who are not afraid and who see the vision and also the hard work.

**What do you think is the greatest challenge for women and creating wealth/abundance? What advice would you have for someone that is feeling blocked by that obstacle?**

I think one of the biggest things that I tell everybody is that we as women because of generations and generations of the way we’ve been conditioned, is that we always pause? We always impose this question on ourselves. If there is a challenge that comes in front of us, immediately the first thing we think is can we do this? You get an opportunity in front of you. It could be a big business deal and you’re like, Can I do it? Can we do it? And the only thing I tell everybody is to switch those two words. Just switch it around to, I can. Right? And that’s what I have seen, especially with men. Even if they think that they can do 0.05% of it, they are like of course we can do it! Right? And a woman. She’s like 99%, she’ll know that she can do it. And she’s like, like a 1% is going to weigh heavy. Right? And I think that is what needs to be changed.

We can do it. There’s no question about that.

And then the second thing also is that I have met a lot of people, especially women, who think that family is something which will put a pause or a full stop to who they are or what they can do because they think that they can’t multitask. Come on. We as moms are the world’s biggest, most amazing multitaskers right. You can do so much. And just to take that ability and put it on to your business is incredible. I started my business when my daughter was born. And to me, it wasn’t a comma. It wasn’t a full stop. It was fast forward. Like move! And you know, it’s worth it. The trick is, the moment that you find yourself and give it your 100%. Don’t spend time thinking that oh, this is what I didn’t do yesterday, or this is what I have to do tomorrow. Right now. I’m having a conversation with you. This is getting 100% of me. Once I’m done with the conversation, we’re done. Over. Forgotten. Okay, my next event is exactly in 30 minutes. This is what I need to do. That’s how you’ve got to operate.

**What would you say to or how would you coach your younger self? That was just setting out with your dream or an idea?**

Ah, what I would tell my younger self is not to get so easily frustrated when things are not going your way. I think that’s one of the biggest things when you’re young and things are not going your way. You get really, really frustrated and that frustration seeps into your productivity. Right now, in hindsight, each and every thing which didn’t work in my way actually did. I think I would have been a lot more effective and productive if I hadn’t been as frustrated when things didn’t go the way I perceived that they should have gone.

**What do you wish you’d known five years ago that would have helped you accelerate your progress and scale your business even faster. And if you have any specifics or a story to share? That would be helpful.**

I wish I had known COVID was coming. I would have gone ahead and definitely restructured the entire business accordingly.

**We are sure that you are not done. What comes next? What’s your next big goal and why? What plan have you put in place to achieve it?**

I think the immediate goal right now is to make sure that the businesses which we have right now are very strong, very stable. Because literally when we opened back, it was starting from ground

zero. So I think that is the most important thing right now. The immediate goal is to make sure that the businesses are thriving, and the foundation is strong because the foundation is what we are going to be building on. There are a lot of other projects on the horizon, which we are working on. We’re definitely working on expansion. And we’re also working on diversification. Not having all eggs in the same basket.

**Do you feel like your next big goal is a big stretch for you? Why is it a stretch for you?**

Absolutely. No questions about that. If I am comfortable doing something that means I’m doing something wrong. There has to be that little tinge of, oh my God, because when you operate outside in your comfort zone, you are more alert. And that’s what it’s all about. It is a fact. I mean, think about it, if you think of the girl who grew up in this small community in India. At that time, it was a stretch of my imagination to even think of coming to America. And then when I was in school in America, it was a stretch to be getting a job in America and then to open a restaurant and then not one but four, and a brewery on 83 acres of land. So it is like you have to stretch your imagination to think of the “what do you think is attainable?” And then work your frickin backside off to go ahead and achieve the unattainable. That’s what it’s all about.

**What will achieving it represent for you and for others?**

I think more success would mean that other people can see and figure out that you can break the mold and follow your dreams. You might not fit the mold of what people think of as a successful business person is. And you don’t have to fit a mold but you still can succeed. And I think that is what is very important.

**Perfect. Well, that is all the questions that I have. Are there any other words of wisdom you’d like to share?**

I think one of my biggest things is that everybody has their own journey. You’ve got to embrace that journey. You can definitely learn from other people’s journeys. One of the biggest things that you’re going to learn is from your mistakes, so embrace your mistakes. Don’t be hard on yourself or your mistakes. Learn from them because my biggest learning tool has been from my failures, as opposed to my successes because I know exactly what not to do next time. So embrace that.

**Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and our readers. We know that it will make a tremendous difference and impact thousands of lives. We are excited to connect further and we wish you so much joy in your next success.**

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Source: https://authoritymag.co/articles/maneet-chauhan-the-immigrant-immersion-and-financial-discipline-that-built-a-restaurant-empire (Authority Magazine, Business). Interviewee answers are first-person statements of the guest. Index of all pages: https://authoritymag.co/llms.txt