He has been voted as one of the top global chefs and one of the sexiest chefs, and he is an Indian.
Meet Vikas Khanna, from Amritsar. The boy who is making India proud in the US.
In an Exclusive interview to NewsMobile from New York, Khanna spoke about his life, his upcoming film and his inspiration.
Excerpts from the interview:
INDIAN FOOD IS SEXY
We started off by asking him, now that you are nominated not only amongst the top 10 chefs but also one of the sexiest chefs alive, how does it feel?
Khanna attributes his success to Indian food. He says “ it is the Indian food which is sexy.” It is the simplicity of the Indian food that makes it sexy.” We come from a foodie country.” The word sexy is for the food and the country and the city. Eating is a full-time job in India. And being nominated among the top 10 has not been easy it has been part of the long and continuous journey.
Khanna has finished shooting for his very first documentary “Buried Seeds” which will be premiered at the film festival in Cannes. This in itself is an achievement. We could not help but ask a little more about his debut documentary. To this Khanna says that the documentary is about immigrants who come to America full of energy adaptability, and diversity, It features on issues like how these people start their journey from scratch.
“Passionate” is what he feels about his Buried Seeds.
I FELT PROUD TO COOK A ‘SATVIK’ MEAL FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA
We could not resist asking about his favourite accomplishment or to put it differently “What he is most proud of ?”
Though he is engaged in various pursuits but his most favourite accomplishment is when he hosted an event for Mr Obama in the white house. His dad’s heart filled with pride that day.
He fondly remembers that his father often said that a lot of people make money but doing something this unique for the country really filled his heart with joy and pride. That moment when he cooked ‘satvik’ food for the president got etched in his heart. This image got refreshed again when he cooked a seven-course meal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
That moment when he cooked ‘satvik’ food for the president got etched in his heart. This image got refreshed again when he cooked a seven-course meal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I CRIED WHEN MY DAD TOLD ME HE WAS REALLY PROUD
Khanna fondly remembers how he cried like a baby that night when his dad felt that his son has really made him a proud father. Now we came to our favourite question which was” what does Vikas Khanna the chef like to eat home”
Now we came to our favourite question which was” what does Vikas Khanna the chef like to eat home”
His humble reply really touched our heart, on hearing that in spite of being a master chef his favourite food is DAL. And there would never be a day without DAL being in his fridge.
We are obviously not surprised on hearing that he stays away from sugar and carbs and once in while might eat brown rice. DAHI is something he cannot do without. Apart from this, he binges on fruits and a lot of granolas.
ON HUNGER PROJECT
Where does Khanna see himself 5 years from now?
“I am very emotional about hunger,” says Khanna. Hunger projects are most close to his heart and he wants to work majorly on those. “Real life hunger challenges are much bigger than the ones he faces in the kitchen”, says Khanna.
“Where do you get your inspiration from and what is the most challenging thing in his job?”
I HAVE LEARNT FROM MY FAILURES
His failures are what inspires him the most. Failure according to him is an “artistic expression. “It’s neither a stigma nor a shame ” My failures have made me the man I am today. It’s only his failures that made him work harder and reach to the top where is truly deserves to be
It’s only his failures that made him work harder and reach to the top where is truly deserves to be.
We have fallen in love with you once again
“The Sexy Chef”. Keep rising and shining is all we can say to this bright star.