A kitchen with no back of house.
Four decades of American kitchens, two countries, and the same pair of hands now working the pass at Golf Link Market.
“I want you to feel like you walked into a friend’s house and he happened to be cooking.”
In his own words
My name is Devinder S. Mahal. I was born in New Jersey in 1965, to an Indian father and an American mother. After my parents divorced, I attended Woodstock School in Mussoorie from 1979 to 1981, and later graduated with the Class of 1983.
My culinary journey began that same year, as a dishwasher at my uncle's restaurant in Beverly Hills. What started as an entry-level job became the foundation of a lifelong career. In 1984 I joined the Bobby McGee's restaurant group, a company that invested heavily in its people. Under an exceptional mentor, and through years of hard work, I rose from dishwasher to Executive Chef within five years — the company also sponsored leadership and self-development training that shaped me as much as any kitchen did.
The years after that took me through delicatessens, seafood restaurants and fine dining rooms — Denny's, The Boathouse, Rusty Pelican, Chart House — training teams, controlling food costs, and running kitchens.
In 1996 I moved to India for an arranged marriage. It became both a personal and a cultural adventure — Hindi, Punjabi, and the traditions of a country I grew to love enough to stay in. For a time I worked our family farm near Mustafabad, in Haryana.
In 2005 I was invited to join the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California — a stage associated with Jay Leno, Robin Williams, George Carlin and many others. I joined as a Sous Chef and was Executive Chef within months. Some of the dishes I wrote there stayed on the menu long after I left.
When my father passed away, I returned to India to manage our twenty-eight-acre farm. As a dual citizen of the United States and India, I chose to make India my permanent home.
In 2009 I helped establish S4 Restaurant in Chandigarh — the recipes, the menus, the operating systems, the training manuals, all built from scratch. It became known for one of Chandigarh's first true salad bars. I went on to consult for other hospitality ventures, always with the same philosophy: commit completely to the client's success, and deliver far beyond what they expect.
In 2015, a project in Dharampur inspired me to open a small café of my own in Dagshai, Himachal Pradesh. It gave me the confidence to call myself an entrepreneur, and it led me back to Chandigarh.
In 2016 I opened Dev's American Cafe, while also running the canteen at The British School. I relocated the cafe to Mohali in 2019, and kept building it into the kind of place people came back to — not for the menu alone, but for the welcome.
I still run it the same way. I cook live in front of my guests, I oversee every part of the experience myself, and I want a table here to feel like turning up at a friend's house while he happens to be cooking. The café walls carry photographs from four decades on the road — American faces, Indian faces, the people I've cooked for and cooked beside. Every recipe on the menu is mine.
In 2026, Dev's American Cafe moved to a larger home at Golf Link Market — more seats, a wider menu, and the same kitchen philosophy that's carried me for over forty years.
Devinder S. Mahal
1965
Born in New Jersey, to an Indian father and an American mother
1983
First job — dishwasher at his uncle's restaurant, Beverly Hills
1988
Executive Chef, five years after picking up a scrubber
1996
Moves to India; works the family farm in Haryana
2005
Executive Chef, Comedy & Magic Club, Hermosa Beach
2009
Helps build S4 Restaurant, Chandigarh
2016
Opens Dev's American Cafe
2026
A bigger room at Golf Link Market, Mohali
