The Indian Chef Who Brought Curry to America – Then Disappeared
Ranji “Joe” Smile may have opened the United States’ first Indian restaurant in 1901, but his later life remains a mystery.
Ranji Smile entered the American culinary scene at a time when New York diners had barely tasted masala.
From London to Ellis Island
In the summer of 1899 Smile sailed from London to New York. The source material admits that his real name, birthplace, and early life are unknown. The nickname “Ranji” likely references the cricket star KS Ranjitsinhji, while “Smile” may be an anglicised version of “Ismail.” After clearing Ellis Island he added the first name Joe, presenting himself as Joe Ranji Smile.
At Sherry’s Restaurant
Joe arrived in New York to work at Sherry’s Restaurant on Fifth Avenue, a glittering establishment that positioned itself as a rival to Delmonico’s and served the city’s elite, including the Astors. A 1899 profile in Harper’s noted that Louis Sherry, the owner, had invited Smile to bring his culinary skills across the Atlantic after noticing him as a curry cook at London’s Cecil and Savoy hotels.
Sherry’s was known for extravagant events—one soirée even had guests marching their horses into the ballroom to dine while mounted. Smile fit the showmanship required, dressing in a satin coat and blue silk turban, saluting diners and asking, “Will you have the curry hot or mild, sahib?” His dishes, such as Bombay duck and a creation called “Lettuce Ceylon,” attracted crowds, and newspapers ran headlines like “New York women go wild over him.”
Opening His Own Indian Restaurant
In 1901, capitalising on his growing fame, Smile left Sherry’s to open an establishment devoted exclusively to Indian cuisine. Financial backing came from Roland R. Conklin, a prominent financier and inventor of an early motorhome.
The Vanishing Act
Beyond the opening of his restaurant, the record goes cold. The source material provides no further details about Smile’s later ventures, personal life, or death, leaving his ultimate fate as an unanswered chapter in American food history.
Smile’s brief but flamboyant career illustrates how a single charismatic chef could introduce a foreign palate to Gilded‑Age New York, even if the man himself slipped into obscurity soon after.
