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Who’s cooking for Mamdani? It could be you!
Vegan cooking is OUT at Gracie Mansion, South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine is IN.
Mamdani had beans and shortbread on the table for St. Patrick’s Day, but he’s looking for a chef with South Asian flair. Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is looking to add a new cook to his kitchen at Gracie Mansion. The job posting put online earlier this month requires applicants who have experience with “multiple cuisines, with a focus on South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine.” Mamdani is New York’s first Indian American mayor and lives in the Upper East Side mansion with his wife Rama Duwaji, the city’s first Syrian American first lady.
The position requires three years of professional cooking experience and the ability to “maintain strict confidentiality regarding the Mayor, Principals, guests, and household operations.” It pays $64,500, and the cook reports to the senior executive chef and executive sous chef. Beyond cooking Mamdani’s go-to breakfast of scrambled eggs, avocado and labneh, the mayor’s kitchen staff provides the food for all the events and official functions hosted at Gracie Mansion.
Before winning the Democratic primary, Mamdani told Bon Appetit magazine that despite not having time to cook, cooking with his wife was one of his favorite things to do. More recently, the foodie mayor and his wife have been spotted around the city eating at a diverse array of restaurants. While vacationing upstate, NY1 reported that Mamdani was spotted last night eating at Casa Susanna in Leeds.
Mayors asking for the Gracie Mansion kitchen staff to adhere to a specific diet is not new, as former mayor Eric Adams famously searched for a vegan chef to support his “plant based,” lifestyle. Mamdani has kept all of the staff that Adams had working at the mansion, according to a spokesperson for the mayor.
