Mangesh K. Chinthamaneni
Founder, President & CEO
Mangesh K. Chinthamaneni
Founder, President & CEO
Mangesh K. Chinthamaneni is the Founder, President & CEO of Samudhra Inc. He is an Information Technology entrepreneur turned restaurateur who entered the hospitality business with Samudhra, Premium Restaurant & Lounge as its sole owner.
Mangesh is a cuisine connoisseur. His love for traditional Indian food and realization of need for an upscale restaurant showcasing authentic Indian cuisine in New Jersey has driven him to incept Samudhra. An epicurean with an eye for detail and solid business acumen started his hospitality journey last year with his dream project.
The dream of Samudhra was nurtured for two years. From the idea to interiors, all aspects of Samudhra are conceptualized, designed, and executed by himself. He worked on meticulous details and concepts to craft a perfect fine dining experience and authentic Indian flavors for the guests. Samudhra officially opened on 1st August 2019 and within a year received extraordinary appreciation from guests.
He strongly believes fine dining is an amalgamation of great food, extravagant ambience, and impeccable customer service. And it is through experience, you get to be able to express all your love and passion for food and the person who will be at your table. His love for freshly made and all-natural ingredients, everything from condiments and marinades to amazing spice blends reflects in our food philosophy. He envisions spreading the Indian food culture globally by opening more locations of Samudhra across the United States, Canada, London, Dubai, and India in the coming years.
Dheeraj Tomar
Executive Chef
Dheeraj Tomar
Executive Chef
Dheeraj Tomar is our Executive Chef with vast experience of working in kitchens of renowned star hotels & restaurants. A versatile chef whose culinary endeavors have amazed and delighted Indian food lovers in the US and India.
He is a native of India who received his early lessons from acclaimed chefs of India. His professional journey started in 2000 when he graduated in the culinary management training program from the reputed ITDC Hotel. He has worked for renowned 5-star hotels in India including the Intercontinental in New Delhi. Later he joined Dubai’s well- known Marco Polo Hotel where he proved his culinary expertise with his famous buffet display of 525 dishes that became the talk of the town and was awarded as the Best Indian restaurant by Time Out.
Having worked with big names in India he moved to the US in 2011 in the pursuit to understand different palates and culinary culture of New York. He achieved recognition even in the US having associated with Michelin Star restaurants like Devi, NYC & Junoon, NYC before joining Samudhra.
Rakesh Naik
Sous Chef
Rakesh Naik
Sous Chef
Rakesh is a seasoned chef and part of our kitchen team as a Sous Chef. A native of Maharashtra who started his culinary career graduating from ITC Maratha in 2006 and continued learning for the years that followed.
He has experience with varied kitchens that includes Carnival Cruise, Miami, Karma Café, Hoboken, New Jersey and long associations with Indeblue, Philadelphia PA and Urban Spice, Edison, NJ prior to joining Samudhra.
Before discovering cooking, he worked in a different field and that cooking just happened to him with no conscious decision made before diving in. Also, he believes that he has inherited the flair for cooking from his mother who was appreciated for her culinary skills in their community
His favorite culinary technique is especially Lucknowi and Mughlai and his recent favorite is the art of “dum” or slow cooking of Dum Biryani. And modern plating techniques is his specialty and something he really enjoys is food photography.
Swarna Latha
Sous Chef
Swarna Latha
Sous Chef
Swarna is a South Indian Cuisine specialist who can make people crave for south Indian delicacies. Although she started her career from humble origins, with over almost 14-15 years of experience she created an identity of her own in the culinary landscape of New Jersey.
She moved to the US after marriage and initially did medical billing and soon realized her true calling lies in cooking. That led her to start fresh packaged South Indian staples Idli, Dosa from home and within short span of time her food was in every Indian store. Her custom offerings “Spot Dosa & Dosa Parties” became a hit instantly. Later she worked with Gagan Mahal as South Indian Chef briefly. Her career went to next level as she introduced South Indian cuisine through her own restaurant “Coriander Restaurant” in Edison and successfully ran it for 10 years. And later in 2019 she started a new journey with Samudhra as a Sous Chef.
Home cooking, simple rituals, and the sanctity of south Indian cuisine has always inspired her. She says we all start off as cooks at home out of passion for cooking or food and later to become chefs.