‘The Hottest Chef of America’, Michelin starred Indian chef, restaurateur, judge, cookbook writer turned poet and one of the ‘Sexiest Men Alive (2011)’, Chef Vikas Khanna recently became a ‘Secret Santa’ to many happy hearts in Pune.
We spoke to him on the times and tides of his magnificent culinary journey.
“I think Smile gave me a much greater reason to come back to India. It is like the gravity that attracts me towards India that too for a noble cause,” says Chef Vikas, Goodwill Ambassador, Smile Foundation.
“I have been associated for seven years with Smile Foundation. My guilt of leaving my home India, leads me to think about it so much. I want to connect and do as much as I can from my life experiences. I want to be a part of children while they are growing up,” he adds.
Literature and him..
“Literature is changing a lot of things. By reading any written piece, it gives hope and courage to many and becomes an instrument to change someone’s life.
“One of my books titled, A Tree Named Ganga is a story of a seed that flourishes into a huge tree by the love and care of others. But one day, arrogance takes over and he is left in isolation. The pigeon who planted him there, takes another seed and transports it to a different place. That is when he learns the biggest lesson of his life that everything is a part of an eco-cycle. We need the help of others as well to grow and flourish.”
“My war is not in my country, but with other places. I have to make them understand the cuisines and give relevant links that can transport them to the idea of the food. It is difficult for them to understand our culture. It is only through literature that we can tell them about our vast culinary history and culture,” he said.
The only ambition..
“I never knew what a chef was or what he does. I didn’t have any other ambition then that of opening a street side shop of ‘Choley Bhaturey’, but without anyone knowing it. This was because, back then in 1990, no one knew what a chef did. They knew about the cooks in the locality and for them both were at par. When I took admission in the culinary school, I didn’t know how to speak basic English. The trail towards being a professional was really tough.”
He also unveiled the cover of his 29th book titled ‘Poeatry’ at Phoenix Marketcity, which will be officially launched today at the Times Lit Fest, Mumbai.
He is soon to launch India’s first living culinary museum that will display over 10,000 objects as a witness to Indian culture.
Reliving the olden days. His first food experiment..
“During my early days at Manipal University, Karnataka, for the first time I tasted food apart from Punjabi cuisine. I liked it so much that I carried four coconuts with me back home to Punjab. When I reached, no one could associate those coconuts with any dish. They thought we were buying a new vehicle so I got them for ‘puja’.
“I started preparing the dish with some grated coconut and coconut milk. That was my first experiment with food at which I terribly failed as no one knew how to eat the dish that had coconut as the main ingredient.”
Chef turned Poet with ‘Poeatry’..
His 29th book contains 100 poems related to food, cooking, life and not recipes. “Each piece of Poeatry is an ode to farms, kitchens and cooking traditions across the globe. It is a poetic expression that tells the readers about the journey of any ingredient right from its sowing to being served on a plate. I believe that it takes a million hands to feed one child and this is what is expressed in the book.”
Signing off he says,”Whenever I am at Pune, I always try the ‘Sabudana Khichdi’, ‘Poha’ and ‘Shengdana Laddu’, the taste of which is inimitable. This culturally rich city always has something new to tell at each of my visits.”
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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