Our Story

Karma Tenzing Bhotia and his wife, Kumari Jyamu Bhotia, was born in a remote farming community in the Mount Makalu region of Nepal which borders Tibet. Many of the people who live in that area find it difficult to achieve a comfortable existence. They are mostly subsistence farmers, struggling week to week under very harsh conditions to provide the basic provisions for themselves, their family and often, their extended families.

Through a very rare set of circumstances Karma and his family were given the opportunity as children to attend school and advance to the level that allowed them to graduate from high school. Karma was the fourth person to achieve this academic status in his region in his generation. Jyamu was the first woman to graduate high school from that region and became a Teacher. Knowing the mountains so well, it was natural for Karma to serve as a mountain guide. He led and fed trekkers from all around the world for 25 years and along the way learned professional photography.

A life changing turn of event opened a door of opportunity to work in Austria. Karma served for seven years at an Austrian mountain resort as head chef. He learned to fuse the bold flavors of Nepal, Tibet and India with the subtleties of European cuisine.

Karma immigrated to the United States and established the award winning Tibet Nepal House in Pasadena, California. He now brings his unique and authentic cuisine to Durango, Colorado.

Karma and Jyamu established the “Karma & Jyamu Bhotia Foundation” in 2015. The goal of the foundation is to fund  projects such as building a new school, public library, access to internet, provide day care services and free lunch program.