Meet Chef Niven Patel
October 8, 2024Restaurant Group: Feal Hospitality, Miami, Fl
2024 Hog Farmer Appreciation Dinner Dish: Smoked Iberian Duroc pork shoulder biryani
Chef Niven Patel holds a pursuit for knowledge as the driving force behind his career.
Working closely with farmers and purveyors, he developed a deeper appreciation for the life cycle of produce and herbs. This led him to buy his own two-acre farm in Homestead, FL known as Rancho Patel, where he cultivates greens, fruits and vegetables. Rancho Patel is the main inspiration for all Chef Niven’s concepts: Ghee Indian Kitchen; Erba, an Italian-inspired restaurant and homage to his time in Florence; and NiMo Coastal Mediterranean.
While his restaurants serve a variety of cuisines from various regions, his focus is on showcasing fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients. The result is that Chef Niven has been honored by Michelin and is a four-time James Beard Award semi-finalist, in addition to several other awards.
“More people are aware of what’s going into their bodies, and it helps position chefs and restaurants like us,” he says. “People are seeking out quality over quantity.”
Why does he use Niman Ranch products? “For me, it’s consistency and quality,” he says. “And that’s what Niman offers—that quality year-round, and in quantity. That’s usually the hardest part about working with small farms.”
Chef Niven partnered with restaurateur Mohamed Alkassar to launch Feal Hospitality, a restaurant group with a goal to enhance the community of South Florida. The group has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation as a semi-finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur.
