Aneesa Waheed (2022)

2022 Outstanding Graduate Award Winner

From a 6 year old selling jars of pickles in Bombay, India to co-owner of Tara Kitchen, Chef Aneesa Waheed is an inspirational entrepreneur. A 1994 graduate of Schenectady High School, she went on to college followed by a career in printing and publishing in NYC. After several years in the corporate world, she realized that a desk job was not her calling.

Taking a fateful trip to Morocco, Aneesa met her husband and fell in love with him, the country and the food. Returning to Schenectady, Aneesa opened an import shop which led to selling her unique food as a vendor at Schenectady’s Green Market.

The tremendous response she received led to the opening of Tara Kitchen with her husband Muntasim Shoaib on Liberty St. in 2012. Awarded best restaurant by Capital Region Living, Tara Kitchen now has 4 locations, including most recently in Wildwood, NJ. Additionally, Aneesa has an award-winning line of Moroccan sauces and is working on opening a Moroccan themed spa. Her business success has led to various awards: 40 Under 40; Rising Star Chef; and Women Who Mean Business. Aneesa has also been featured in several Food TV Network shows such as Beat Bobby Flay.

With all this business success, Aneesa still finds time to give back. She has supplied meals for Ellis Hospital workers during the COVID crisis; raised funds and traveled to Sudan for the Save the Smile Project providing surgeries to children; and launched Tara Incubator, a free mentoring program for minority entrepreneurs. Aneesa and her husband are parents to two young daughters, Soya and Suha.

**The 2021 Gala was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.