Is Amritsar-born Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna on the road to becoming cooking's latest crossover star? A Cordon Bleu chef and executive chef at Junoon restaurant in New York, Mr. Khanna's main inspiration stems from the mustard fields of Punjab.
Currently the co-host of cooking program MasterChef India 2, Mr. Khanna spoke to India Real Time about returning to his roots, the evolving food landscape in India, and why Indians can never drift away from "Mummy Ka Khana" (Mom's dishes.) Edited excerpts:
At last count, there were more than 250 cooking shows on Indian TV. You yourself are co-hosting MasterChef India 2. What do you make of our sudden interest in cooking shows?
As Indians, we are deeply passionate about our cuisine. Now, when we have a stage to express that passion, there is an immense excitement about the different types of food we can showcase. It's like giving an instrument to a child who has been listening to music for several years. It's in his subconscious, but now he can express it.
What are the key ingredients to a successful cooking show? In India, do you get a sense that as we cook less in our own kitchens, we consume more culinary shows?
A cooking show can't just be about lectures and recipes. It has to be entertaining. As a culture, just like America, we love entertainment. The show must also have emotion something we can connect to as regular people. It should also be about inspiration and should have a factor of relatability: Viewers should be able to relate to the food, the contestants and the judges.
I don't agree that we are cooking less. Those people are in a minority. There are still people who cook three meals a day and these are the people to whom shows can be tailored to. People will watch shows they can relate to. My mother might say, "Oh this chef is cooking simple food, I like it," while you might say "Oh, this chef is really entertaining. I am going to watch him." There is a need for a lot of different types of shows and everyone will find a show to their liking.
Have you seen Indian palates change from the time of your cooking in Amritsar in the late-eighties to hosting a TV show now?
It's changed dramatically and it's not just because of global travel. The biggest part of the change is because of people eating out. The Internet too deserves a lot of credit. When we were growing up, we never knew what the cuisine in Brazil was like. But now, you can just Google that. You can look up what Seviche is, what sushi is, why we use certain ingredients. The Internet has been the biggest passport to exploring food.
The government is trying to approve foreign direct investment in retail. How do think that will alter the food landscape in India?
I am very excited. When I went to France, a lot of people looked down on me for not knowing the names of some of the ingredients. But I am proud that our kids will now know that and get to shop in gourmet stores. And any terminology you are unfamiliar with, you can always Google it.
Is the market ripe for gourmet magazines and niche food websites too?
There is a lot of change in that scene too.BBC GoodFood magazine was just launched in India. It's priced at 100 rupees ($1.95) and it's doing well in the market. It shows you people are buying such magazines. The U.S. market is saturated. India and Indians are more open. They're discovering new worlds. I have so much hope.
You first learned how to cook under your grandmother. What influences of hers do you still use in your food?
I have had the good fortune of training under the most influential chefs in London and in New York. But my grandmother was the fundamental core. Under the chefs, I learned technique and how to use certain ingredients but my grandmother taught me the power of food, how it has the strength to bring people together. She taught me that the highest honor a woman can have is to feed her child. That food is the pure divine expression of love which I shouldn't ever forget.
You started your own catering business when you were 17. Who were your first clients? Do they know who you are now?
(Laughs) When I started, it was just cooking for Punjabi ladies, for their kitty. It's funny now because the ladies watch me on the show [MasterChef India 2 on Star Plus] and they get all excited because I used to cook for them. MasterChef India bridged the gap between people who saw me then and people who see me now.
You moved to NYC and worked as a dishwasher. What did that experience, of being near food, but not cooking teach you?
When I moved to New York in 2000, in the winter, it was freezing. The restaurant I went to said they had no place for a cook but needed a dishwasher. Necessity is the foundation of imagination I was desperate, I needed to survive. I was ready to do anything with integrity. Even now, I love to do the dishes. When you see the shine and when you struggle to clean a hard spot it connects to me. A chef should not be shy to clean his dishes.
You were raised in Amritsar (Punjab) near the Golden Temple. What role does spirituality play in your food?
Anytime you were in Amritsar you ate. You ate to celebrate and if you were lonely you were always welcome at the Golden Temple. I could always go there and have a meal. That food was powerful. It made me think of the divinity that is inside everyone of us. It's very hard to sell packaged food in India because we want handmade food. We want our mother's hand. We want someone to use their hands to roll the bread. Food is the foundational thread and I feel that thread is based on sharing. And any situation that has that thread I was drawn to it. Food represents consciousness for me and to bring that to Western food was very powerful.
You're pretty well known in the West you were voted "Hottest Chef in NYC" by Eater, your restaurant Junoon has a Michelin star. But you're not quite as famous in India. MasterChef of course changes that but are you hoping to be cooking's next crossover star?
I am a very small part of the entire equation. I feel that you have to be honest to both India and the West to both cultures and countries. I was working 14 hours a day back in NYC and when I got a call to do the show, I wasn't sure. My mother asked me to do it and to give back something to India. She is the real crossover star.
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