Chai Pani

Sahar Siddiqi is the Chef de Cuisine of Chai Pani Decatur, the Indian street food restaurant known for changing the perception of Indian food in America. She is a first-generation Pakistani-American (or American-Pakistani, as her father insists) who grew up outside New York City, attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and worked her way through renowned kitchens including State Bird Provisions in San Francisco and Atlas in Atlanta. Sahar came to the Chai Pani Restaurant Group in 2019 and two years later she was promoted to lead the kitchen as CDC. In 2023, the James Beard Foundation recognized Sahar as a semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast. She currently lives in Atlanta's EAV neighborhood with her spouse and two daughters.