Vikas Khanna on His Journey

His culinary artistry is influenced by the hyphenation of Indian delicacies with comparatively well-liked and celebrated cuisines. “Folks would inform us, ‘Once you serve, it’s your responsibility since you had been born to serve the Western world. I needed to change that narrative. From being known as a ‘third-world cockroach’ to every thing else I’ve skilled, the challenges have solely made me extra resilient to globalise Indian meals.” That is the place it began. One imaginative and prescient, one dream, and a coronary heart filled with hope.

After finishing his bachelor’s in lodge administration from Manipal Academy of Larger Training, Karnataka, he had a profitable stint at a number of the most prestigious resorts, from Taj to Leela. However he at all times envisioned his profession path past the Indian kitchen.

Enter 2010, and every thing modified. He moved to New York to pursue his interior calling and present the world what Indian delicacies was able to. From working at small eating places to showing as an Indian-cuisine marketing consultant on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Khanna’s journey was a collection of breakthroughs. His look on the present grew to become a doorway for many Indians to enter American kitchens and hearts.

Khanna’s years of toil had been lastly translating into one thing maybe no Indian chef had skilled earlier than. His journey as a working chef at Junoon, a widely known Indian restaurant that he reportedly additionally helped arrange, made him a world superstar. His culinary experience earned the restaurant the distinguished Michelin star shortly after its opening, establishing him as one of many very first Indian cooks to attain this worldwide acknowledgement.

Chef Vikas Khanna outdoors Bungalow, New York (Photograph: vikaskhannagroup/Instagram)

Then got here Bungalow into the image. Opening its doorways in 2024, the restaurant is greater than a bodily area for Khanna. It’s an ode to his sister Radhika Khanna, who handed away in 2022. “With Bungalow, I dwell her dream. I preserve her alive by my work.”

From what he likes to name an institution “born out of ache”, in the present day Bungalow is making strides. The New York-based restaurant has develop into a world phenomenon, popularising Indian delicacies like by no means earlier than. Its dahi kebab, pineapple curry, and anarkali hen are extremely beneficial. To not neglect, these well-liked dishes have additionally received the extremely acclaimed three-star ranking from The New York Occasions, a milestone achievement for any Indian restaurant in almost 25 years.

However is it simply meals that makes it stand out from the remainder? For Jeff Bezos, Bungalow is “a spot of pilgrimage”. “He mentioned individuals don’t merely go to the restaurant; they make a pilgrimage to it as a result of it brings again the sensation of residence they left behind. That was an extremely significant praise,” says Khanna.

Divine intervention

Talking from US on a late Friday night, Khanna excitedly panned his digicam, exhibiting Bungalow’s achaar counter. He went on to clarify his 4 am ritual, from adorning the restaurant’s entrance with flowers to providing a prayer to the Tulsi plant at his doorstep.

For him, Bungalow is just not a enterprise transaction, however a temple the place he sows the seeds of heat and inclusivity. It’s in these small but harmonising components that Indians dwelling overseas discover a residence away from residence. “That’s our Desk of Festivals,” says Khanna, showcasing the a number of Indian components that add as much as the cultural aesthetics of Bungalow.
A fast take a look at his Instagram will validate Khanna’s tribute to his Indian roots. From gifting a Ganpati and gajra to celebrating Carnatic espresso, Bungalow’s social media presence is a vibrant reflection of India.

“When you look carefully, you’ll see that the restaurant isn’t nearly meals; it’s nearly like a divine intervention. We wished to go deep into India’s cultural values, ancestral properties, and the spirit of hospitality. You’ll be able to spend tens of millions on gold, extravagant décor, and dazzling lights, however nothing compares to the consolation of your grandmother’s residence. That’s the sensation we wished to recreate,” he says.

The ladies

Khanna owes his success to his mom, sister, and beeji. After being born as a baby with a situation that made strolling and working extraordinarily troublesome for him, it was his mom’s “by no means hand over” strategy that saved him going.

“I used to be extremely lucky to be born to a woman who was far ahead of her time in the way in which she thought. She believed everybody needs to be unbiased—males, ladies, everybody. Everybody ought to know prepare dinner, clear, and care for themselves. However above every thing else, she believed in dedication. She would at all times say that the one type of individuals she couldn’t stand had been those that weren’t dedicated to their work.”

Then there may be beeji, who taught him the nuances of enterprise. His greatest takeaway occurred when Hum Aapke Hai Koun launched. “The film grew to become a unifying pressure, a second that each technology needs to share with their dad and mom and grandparents. It’s a celebration of our heritage and the enjoyment of being collectively as a household.” And beeji cashed in on the film’s bigger message so fantastically, recollects Khanna.

She taught him the facility of storytelling and the “economics behind it”. He carries ahead the identical values inculcated by his grandmother even at Bungalow. In his phrases, “Right now, getting a desk at Bungalow is sort of as troublesome as successful the lottery in New York. Why? As a result of we didn’t simply create a restaurant, we instructed individuals a narrative about household. We confirmed them that this can be a place the place celebrations occur with family members, the place tradition is skilled by togetherness. That’s what individuals come for.”

Apparently, Khanna himself hasn’t been in a position to ebook tables at his restaurant as they promote out in seconds. No marvel why the restaurant’s web site cautions you to ebook “20 days prematurely,”

Growth in retail

Khanna’s story continues to be “a piece in progress”. With a reported internet price of $12.21 million (INR 1,165 crores), he’s in the present day one of many richest cooks on the earth, alongside Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. He has expanded into retail, along with his sauces dominating the premium cabinets of Walmart and Costco. His current tie-up with Kolkata Chai Firm is yet one more feat for any Indian chef, making South Asian meals advance into the West-influenced market.

Each day, greater than 10 provides from worldwide manufacturers knock on his doorstep. “Let’s go world, they inform me,” says Khanna. However the thought doesn’t fascinate him. “When individuals come and say we are able to take this to the world. I’m like, no, we are able to take it to the world. We have now the facility and the shoulders to hold on with humility and with grace.”

Previous to beginning Bungalow, Khanna based Kinara and Ellora in Dubai. Bungalow is anticipated to associate with Punjab Meat Home in New Jersey within the coming weeks.

“So sure, it’s a rising portfolio, and I oversee all of it. However I’m nonetheless a working chef. I’m not somebody who sits behind a desk or solely appears at spreadsheets. You’ll discover me at Bungalow each single evening as a result of that’s my first precedence,” he says.

Chef Vikas Khanna making use of nailpaint on Maisha’s fingers (Photograph: vikaskhannagroup/Instagram)

Why not India?

When requested why he hasn’t but opened a restaurant right here in India, Khanna offered a thought-provoking rationalization. “When a baby is able to competing for an Olympic gold medal, what would you need them to do? Keep inside the consolation of competing with classmates, or step onto the worldwide stage and battle for the very best honour?”

That’s how he sees Indian delicacies. “For me, the reply has at all times been New York. If I can construct a profitable Indian restaurant right here, it raises the worth of Indian delicacies globally. It attracts consideration, funding and respect for our meals tradition. It’s one of many wealthiest and most demanding cities on the planet. Working a restaurant in Manhattan is way tougher than working one nearly wherever else. I might cost $10,000 for a dish tomorrow, however provided that I can justify it by excellence, as a result of that’s the usual the town calls for. So the place ought to I make investments my power?”

Reaffirming that “there isn’t a metropolis fairly like Manhattan”, Khanna reiterated why there isn’t a substitute for New York, and the way even a number of the world’s prime cooks have struggled to discover a everlasting place right here.

“From Alain Ducasse to Gordon Ramsay, many globally celebrated names discovered that New York wouldn’t merely settle for them…” In accordance with a 2012 report by The New York Occasions, Chef Alain Ducasse not has a Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant in New York Metropolis. His final such restaurant, Adour Alain Ducasse, closed in 2012 after his flagship Alain Ducasse at Essex Home shut in 2006. Right now, his solely restaurant within the metropolis is Benoit New York.

Likewise, Gordon Ramsay’s flagship fine-dining restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at The London, closed in 2014. Despite the fact that Ramsay opened fast-casual shops in New York, together with Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips in Occasions Sq., that has additionally completely closed.

“Historical past has proven that even famend French cooks like Joël Robuchon couldn’t simply construct lasting success on this metropolis.” His L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, a two-Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant in New York Metropolis, is completely closed.

“That’s why succeeding in New York means a lot. If Indian delicacies can thrive right here, it may thrive wherever,” Khanna reiterates, emphasising the rising affect of Indian delicacies within the metropolis.

‘Bungalow is my daughter’

“One factor I’ve realised in any case these years is that many fine-dining eating places undertaking a really masculine power. They typically have a good time energy, extra and wealth. I felt that this typically takes away from the heat and nurturing qualities that make an area actually welcoming,” shares Khanna.

With Bungalow, he wished to create a restaurant that embodies female power. “In some ways, I imagined it taking the type of my daughter. That’s why rituals, prayers, and a way of heat are woven into our on a regular basis life on the restaurant.”
The restaurant was designed by a lady. “You’ll be able to see it within the pure gentle, the music, the softness of the areas and the general sense of calm. Each element displays that femininity.”

And Maisha, his enterprise associate’s daughter, inclusively represents this femininity. The 18-year-old’s innocence, as she can be a social media star now, fills Khanna with a lot pleasure each time he speaks of her.

Each day when she reaches the restaurant, Khanna has to make sure that her nail-paint and hair are in place. “Folks come to the restaurant simply to fulfill her. Watching her develop into this exceptional younger girl makes me emotional each single day,” he says.

She is just not filling any void however including life to Radhika’s legacy in Bungalow, which shall be closing on March 23, 2034, marking a decade for the reason that latter’s demise.

“If it was not a promise to my sister, I might not be doing this,” Khanna pauses. That’s how Bungalow occurred for him. And that’s how Radhika’s legacy will dwell on!