George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright sums it up best – “There is no love sincerer, than the love of food.” And when the love of food is synthesized with the love of cooking, you can only expect an artist who has mastered the art of satisfying not just one’s appetite, but also the soul. And that is precisely what this celebrated chef strives to deliver with his scrumptious range of dishes.
Award-winning, Michelin-starred Chef Vikas Khanna is as much a celebrity as a movie star or professional athlete, not only because of his culinary accomplishments, but also because of the fit and healthy body this culinary expert forges. Even before this renowned chef rose to prominence in India, he was making appearances in television shows in the United States such as Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and The Martha Stewart Show. In 2011, when Khanna graced MasterChef India as a judge, he took the entire nation by storm and was instantly catapulted to fame with his grounded attitude, dose of humour and megawatt smile.
Based in New York, Khanna was born with misaligned legs, a condition where the leg bones are not aligned properly at the joint and can look as if they are turned sideways. Within two weeks after birth, Khanna had to undergo an operation for the prevailing condition of his feet and was left to wear shoes with braces, which he describes “sounded like thunderstorms.” The shoes hampered Khanna from playing with other kids, and instead, he spent the majority of his time in the kitchen within the company of his Biji (grandmother), who endowed him with the knowledge and intricacies of cooking. As a result, Khanna grew curious and attentive to cooking, and was involved with preparing family feasts and incorporating the seasonal, fresh produce from the fields of Punjab. “It is so true that your biggest disability becomes your greatest strength. Though I could not participate in most of the games as a child, I had already fallen in love with my Biji’s kitchen,” says Khanna. “It gave me true freedom from everything I was. It also showed me the power of family and persistence. Rolling bread in the Golden Temple or trying to make a poori bread perfectly was my target. Nothing else I wanted from life, I was even with it at that time.”
A memory he shares is of 1984 when a visit to the doctor liberated him from his encumbered shoe laces. The doctor told Khanna that you are “free,” and the very same day, Khanna’s mother took him to Company Bagh, a recreational park in Amritsar, and asked him to run. Every step running around the fountain and the huge statue of Gandhi was a wider and drastic leap towards Khanna's freedom.
By the time he reached his teenage years, cooking had cemented its roots in Khanna’s life. At the age of 17, he started his own banquet and catering business called Lawrence Gardens, named after the famous Lawrence Gardens in Lahore, which is now known as Bagh- e-Jinnah. The business was initiated from his house itself and delivered a very limited menu for kitty parties, a term popular in India, where women get together and enjoy one another’s company over gourmet cuisine.
Curious and attentive that he was towards cooking since a young age; Khanna was now reeling in deliberate steps towards a much expansive career. He enrolled himself in the Welcomegroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Karnataka and further pursued his interests under the guidance of prominent chefs in India and beyond. Training was more elaborate for this talented chef, who consummated further in prominent culinary institutes around the globe – Culinary Institute of America, Cornell University, New York University and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris – thus allowing Khanna to elevate his culinary skills in other cuisines.
Upon completing his education, Khanna continued to work at several different restaurants in New York. This was followed by constructing menus for uptown restaurants in New York.
Junoon, a lavish restaurant located in the heart of Manhattan, is an opulent space with a touch of Indian artistry set up by Khanna with Rajesh Bhardwaj, a restaurateur based in the US. As an Executive Chef at Junoon meaning passion, Khanna has escalated the popularity of this restaurant beyond the US border and geared this upscale restaurant to bag a Michelin star. Spread over 25,000-square-feet, this fine dining hot spot attracts individuals from America and abroad.
Being an executive chef at Junoon, and part of several shows and projects in India and the US, Khanna is constantly switching his time between the two countries. “India is my soul while I nurture my body in America. I keep full balance; it’s great to be a bridge between two great nations,” says Khanna. He adds, “My mother says that ‘You don’t visit India; India calls you when she wants to see you. She is your mother and you don’t need a reason to visit her.’ I take her word for my mantra. I travel and research in India and bring it all to the US to develop and execute it in projects, recipes, TV shows, books and documentaries.”
Khanna has further designed the menu for Café Serai at Rubin Museum of Art in New York with an inspiration from the Himalayas. Vikas Khanna Hospitality Group, another venture by Khanna, offers catering services ranging from intimate dinners to corporate events in the US.
Today this multi-talented chef is a successful restaurateur, food writer, filmmaker, humanitarian, host and judge to the popular reality cooking show MasterChef India. Based on the original British MasterChef series, the show completed three successful seasons in 2013. Khanna was taken on board in the MasterChef team in the second season and was instantly the talk of the town. As a host and judge, this chef was a favourite amongst the viewers specifically for his natural ease with the contestants. “MasterChef is a reality show format and I have loved and respected it always as a new revolution in my Motherland. I always tell the contestants that there are millions who are watching you and one day, one of them will get a Michelin Star and will say that he was inspired by that dish and contestant on MasterChef and follow you,” Khanna says excitedly.
But that is just one of the several shades this award-winning chef reflects. As a successful writer, Khanna has written a variety of books with the aim to be “read like an experience,” says Khanna. His popular books include The Cuisine of Gandhi – Based on the Beliefs of the Legend, The Spice Story of India, Khanna Sutra: Food Lessons in Love and his latest and one of the most influential pieces – Return to the Rivers.
Return to the Rivers: Recipes and Memories of the Himalayan River Valleys is an ardent endeavour by Khanna to represent the purity, honesty and simplicity of the Himalayan foodways and life. The book gives a platform of portrayal for recipes that were somewhere lost between the merging cultures and more significantly strive to go beyond just recipes. “In Return to the Rivers, I want my readers to flow with me and enjoy the abundance of love, hospitality and food of the Himalayan people. It’s a tribute to their culture and rituals,” says Khanna delightfully.
This incredible collection of recipes, photos and memories covers Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Northern India, Myanmar, Western China and Northern Pakistan. “If you can’t make a culinary trip to the roof of the world, through Return to the Rivers, I bring the glory to your kitchens.”
The vastness of memories weaved in this book is apparent considering the regions it covers. Khanna recalls one such memory in Tibet, where he left his laptop at a street-side café and a lady came running to return it. “I am actually a very forgetful person, or maybe I have ADD, but somehow it works for me,” jokes Khanna. He goes on to explain that he left the café in a rush to catch his bus, but forgot his laptop, which had years of research material, at the café. “Our bus had reached the foot of the hills and then suddenly a Tibetan woman stopped the bus and told the driver that she found this [my laptop]. I ran to her to thank her. She gently shrugged and said ‘anyone would have done it.’ She refused to take anything from me and when I looked up the steep hill, I could only imagine how fast she must have run. I can never thank her enough.”
What makes Returns to the Rivers even more unique is the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself has graced the foreword of this book. “When I told him about Return to the Rivers, he said ‘just do it, the world belongs to doers.’ And I did it for the love of it. Himalayas and the Rivers are an integral part of our mythology. I just wanted to explore new dimensions of it and bring it to the world.” Overall, this Michelin-starred chef has authored 14 books including Return to the Rivers.
As a filmmaker, Khanna’s documentary Holy Kitchens is an attempt to assimilate the meaning of food in religion while blending in the experience of sharing food in a spiritual context. Khanna says sharing food is as old as time itself and an inseparable part of the human experience. “When we share food in a spiritual setting we imbue it with meaning that draws us closer to our creator and closer to each other. A simple dish of lentils becomes much more than a simple bowl of food. It becomes spiritual sustenance that elevates our consciousness.”
Divided into seven different religions, the documentary is a collection of seven sections – True Business talks about Sikhism; Karma to Nirvana highlights Hinduism; The Moon of Eid stages Islam; The Lord’s Supper is an insight into Christianity; Celebrating Nowruz speaks about the Zoroastrianism; The Wheel of Dharma takes you through Buddhims; and The Passover talks about Jewish culture. These documentaries will be incorporated into the syllabus at the Harvard Divinity School “as a new way of approaching the universal religious experience which will supplement the current approaches.”
“At any given time somewhere on Earth, people are gathering to share food in the name of God. This is spiritual sustenance, meant to bring us closer together and closer to God. It brings the community together into a sense of shared identity and purpose. This is the story of The Holy Kitchens,” Khanna remarks.
In 2011, Hindu American Seva Charities invited Khanna to whip up a Satvikmeal at the White House.
At 42, this multi-faceted chef has acquired many accolades and honours spanning from India to USA. In 2011, Khanna was bestowed with the ‘New York’s Hottest Chef’ title in a poll conducted by Eater, a premium source for food enthusiasts. Eater stated on its website, “This dark, handsome, tall drink of water beat out runner up Paul Corsentino of The National and 28 other chefs for the title.”
People magazine engraved this personal- ity as the ‘Sexiest Man Alive 2011’ and this was of course one of the many compliments that came across Khanna’s way to which he modestly responds back saying “I just laugh it off. I am a very ordinary guy who loves food and people and I cook the sexiest cuisine in the world, rest is all transient.” This is just a fragment of the several noted honours Khanna has been instilled with which include Jazz for Peace Ambassador Award, Amar Jyoti Pride of India award and Star Chef of the Week award.
A series of efforts by Khanna have also been laid towards humanitarian causes in the form of SAKIV, a foundation that focuses on global issues that require crucial actions, solutions and attention. The organization works towards raising money for different foundations and works in collaboration with numerous government or non-governmental organizations and their partners to create ripple for change. “I think that being a channel and using food as a power or strength is phenomenal. We are working with several organizations everyday to work together to bring a social shift in some way.”
His latest venture Twist of Taste stations him as a host on the show that airs on Fox Traveller, where Khanna travels along the Indian coast, exploring the various cuisines and giving them his own personal twist of taste. “I think that getting inspired by traditional dishes and bringing them new shape-form is a great concept. I travelled all over Southern Coast to discover the recipes.”
With a humble, calm and at ease attitude, Khanna certainly differentiates his persona from the quintessential portrait of a chef. His passion for cooking and zeal to infuse his efforts towards humanitarian causes is evidently visible and is also reflected in the copious projects that he has been part of. Being a successful chef, author, filmmaker and humanitarian, Khanna not only inspires others to achieve the best but is also a perfect example of how one can turn their biggest challenge into their biggest strength.
Though fans across the globe are busy entertaining themselves with Khanna hosting Twist of Taste, there is good news for all the cookbook lovers out there. After penning a range of cookbooks, Khanna is planning to write a vegetarian book in the near future. “My nieces Ojasvi and Saumya were young and could not understand my books; so I wrote Young Chefs for them. But all my Gurus in kitchen and life are vegetarian and I want to write about that extensively.”
