Vidrio

Chef Saif Rahman

Chef Saif Rahman developed a passion for cooking at a young age and brings that passion to exploring all the regions of the Mediterranean for Vidrio’s menu and special events. Saif’s curiosity in the kitchen was piqued watching his grandmother cook during his childhood in Sylhet, Bangladesh. His grandmother Amina would create the most flavorful dishes from the simplest ingredients from her own garden, filled with fruit trees bearing litchi, mango, guava, pomelo and jackfruit, and from the surrounding rice fields, pastures and the nearby Surma river.

Saif came with his family to the United States when he was 10-years-old and eventually ended up in Raleigh. He again became captivated by the kitchen while working at a Mexican restaurant during high school when he tagged along with the cooks on trips to the State Farmers’ Market. Saif didn’t pursue his passion for cooking at first; instead he pursued a career in finance in New York City. But one meal at the legendary restaurant, Marea, and a brief conversation with chef Michael White made him quit his job with J.P. Morgan Chase, head home and save money for a three-month culinary training program at the Paul Bocuse Institute in Lyon, France. He went on to work with James Beard award-winning chef Ricky Moore at Giorgio restaurant in Cary, N.C.; chef Josh Munchel at the Counting House at the 21c Hotel in Durham, N.C.; and to spend a year working for Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen at the inception of that renown non-profit organization during its forays into Haiti after the devastating earthquake.

This is not Saif’s first time working at Vidrio. He worked as a chef de cuisine from 2017 to 2018 under opening executive chef Ian Sullivan. Saif returned as executive chef in 2020. A year later, Saif won the NC Restaurant & Lodging Association’s North Carolina Chef of the Year. Saif competed against 13 of the state’s best savory chefs in the association’s annual Chef Showdown. He created two unique, locally-sourced dishes in three rounds of the chef showdown to ultimately win the title. Saif was also named one of six culinary ambassadors for the N.C. Department of Agriculture. In November 2021, Saif also had the honor of traveling to Qatar to cook at the Qatar International Food Festival on behalf of the U.S. State Department. The trip was for the Arts Envoy Program, a partnership between American Voices and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration and demonstrate shared values and aspirations.

At Vidrio, Saif works closely with N.C. producers and farmers to showcase local ingredients for Vidrio’s seasonally-evolving menu. He brings his rustic, yet refined, culinary style to create dishes from not only the classic canon of Mediterranean cuisine but also the overlooked culinary destinations along that coastline, including Morocco, Portugal, Egypt and more. His vision helps create a true Mediterranean escape in the heart of downtown Raleigh.