Vikas Khanna: All I want is to die a chef and nothing else

We think hersquos being polite when celebrity chef Vikas Khanna invites us to a charity dinner that hersquos hosting for the Smile Foundation on June 3 at Andherirsquos Hyatt Regency The fundraising gala will see the chef cook in India after 20 years for the whorsquos who of the film and cricket fraternity Naturally scribes would be the last thing on his mind Sensing our hesitation over the phone lines from Delhi he asserts Even if the seating is full I will get you into the kitchen and make you taste the dishes That would be a bigger privilege for me I am calm in the kitchen even if Irsquom cooking for heads of stateAlso read I want my books to earn oil stains and dog ears says chef Vikas KhannaPic courtesyMichael SwamyItrsquos this disarming candour of the Michelinstarred chef that bowls us over In the last seven years he has stamped his culinary footprint globally with his awardwinning restaurant Junoon in NYC and Dubai a clutch of cookbooks and TV show appearances including guest judge for MasterChef Australia and dinner presentations for the likes of US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra ModiVikas Khanna with his mother Bindu and father Davinder in Amritsar in 2012 PicAFPStir the sentimentAt the gala Khanna will dish out a fivecourse menu featuring inspirations from his book Utsav a culinary epic of Indian festivals launched last year The menu will go beyond roti dal and paneer though I love it I wish to showcase the contemporary style of a chef working to represent the Indian culture Some of the grains will be sourced from the US too he reveals A copy of the 16kilo goldcrusted tome will be auctioned and the proceeds will go towards feeding underprivileged kids as part of his lsquomillion dollar for nutritionrsquo pledgeAlso read Mumbai taught me to keep it simple says chef Vikas KhannaIn a country that is so intellectual and rich in heritage therersquos no reason for a child to go hungry believes the globetrotting chef recalling an incident in 2012 that triggered the pledge I was asked to cook at a fundraiser hosted for President Obama In a briefing I was told that every plate would cost 38500 approx 25 lakh For inspiration I visited India Seeing the lesser fortunate here I realised I needed to talk about hunger first he recounts Of course he returned with Himalayan inspirations to whip up a memorable dinner Since then I have added a line to my restaurant notice board They tried to bury us they forgot we were seeds When they call me a poster boy for Indian cuisine it should be attached to a cause he admitsThe Cannes connectRecently Khanna was the toast at the French Riviera when he premiered the documentary Kitchens Of Gratitude at the Cannes Film Festival It is based on his ideology that sharing food unites people Itrsquos common in India but abroad even a family will order separate dishes in a restaurant I was taken aback by the positive reactions from the global audience Last week we received screening offers from three major film festivals I have also received an opportunity to speak at seven Ivy League universities in America on Indiarsquos food culture and how itrsquos a window into understanding the country he gushes adding that he also received a few acting offers but declined them stating All I want is to die a chef and nothing else To cook Indian food is the biggest opportunity I had and thatrsquos what has brought me so farFrom Amritsar to AmericaAnd far he has come indeed Born with a clubfoot in Amritsar Khanna turned to his grandmother for early culinary inspirations and later worked under renowned chefs at the Taj and Oberoi before getting professional training from Cornell and Le Cordon Blue However things turned bleak in 2006 when three of his ventures shut down and he had to return to India I was bankrupt and tagged as a loser I happened to attend a lecture of Dalai Lama He said lsquoThere is nothing like an end it is a metamorphosis to a new formrsquo He saved me that day admits Khanna who paid a tribute to the worldfamous spiritual leader in the book Timeless Legacy His Holiness the Dalai LamaThe trying times taught him a lesson thatrsquos stayed with him till today You have to be yourself You may attempt modern styles and molecular gastronomy which I love but you need to know the fundamentals first You should master the art of making the best chana before stuffing it into a roomali roti and baking it I want to cook like a mother but also a Michelinstarred chef mdash thatrsquos a combination I strive for he signs off