A year after dining with Biden, Naples chef makes dinner for vice president

Naples Chef Asif Syed, the owner and executive chef of contemporary Indian cuisine restaurant 21 Spices, can check another big-time dinner off his menu: He recently prepared dinner for Vice President Kamala Harris; her husband, Douglas Emhoff; and guests.

The milestone event comes a little more than a year after Syed was invited to a White House event marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr. Syed attend that event May 2, 2022, saying at the time it was “an extraordinary privilege and honor to be part of the Eid al-Fitr reception.”

The most recent dinner, according to a statement, took place July 11 at the vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C. It was in celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid-Al-Adha, also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, “which is one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar,” the release adds.