Meeting Saif Rahman, says Patrick Shanahan, local artist and co-owner of Raleigh cocktail bar Watts & Ward, “was like finding a long lost brother.”
The two bonded over stories of their grandmothers’ hospitality and found themselves surprised at the similarities they experienced, considering Shanahan grew up in Raleigh and Rahman in Bangladesh.
A partnership was born and the two will open restaurant Peregrine together in early 2025 in Raleigh’s new Midtown development The Exchange. Shanahan will focus on the beverage program while Rahman will serve as executive chef, keeping what they learned from their grandmothers close at hand.
“We wanted to bring that same care, love, and attention to detail [that our grandmothers showed] to our shared vision,“ says Shanahan. “Peregrine will be an exploration of what Southern hospitality can be in this evolving world.”
As for what to expect, food and flavor-wise, Rahman says he’s building a menu that reflects his global upbringing and travels. He grew up in a small village outside of Bangladesh and immigrated to Queens in New York City when he was ten before moving to North Carolina as a teenager.
“I’ve gathered countless experiences that have shaped who I am today,” Rahman says.”My cooking style reflects this journey—a blend of timeless flavors rooted in tradition, brought to life with the techniques of our generation. My food reflects everything I’ve experienced.”
Rahman grew up cooking alongside his grandmother, helping pass her ingredients for dishes like bhuna mangsho, a braised beef curry. He recounts how she never measured anything and that cooking for her almost seemed like a ritual, filled with care and an innate intuition for timing.
It was these sessions that sparked his passion for cooking, which only became stronger when he moved to the States. But it was one dinner at the Italian restaurant Marea in New York City that changed his life trajectory forever.
“Walking out of the restaurant that evening, I knew one thing for certain: this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he says. “My office job, despite its stability, was never going to bring me the joy or fulfillment that cooking did. Food had the power to connect, to nourish, and to bring people together, and I wanted to be part of that magic.”
Rahman attended culinary school in France and then staged for Grace, a 3 Michelin Star restaurant, in Chicago before finding his way back to the Triangle. As executive chef of Vidrio, Rahman was named North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Chef of the Year in 2021.
At Peregrine, he says he’ll try to create the same magic he experienced at that formative dinner in New York City for his guests. With one of those dishes, he’ll pay homage to his grandmother and his Bengali roots with a fish curry. The curry will also incorporate French techniques to reflect his culinary training.
“Every dish holds within it a narrative, a memory, a reflection of heritage,” he stresses. “This is a very personal menu, telling my story; these are dishes that have been meaningful to me, and I’ve made them my own, adapting them to my palate and perspective.”
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