The stigma around men cooking is decreasing: Chef Vikas Khanna

Vikas Khanna might be India’s most recognised celebrity chef right now and for good reason too! Quite simply one of the most charming judges of the MasterChef India franchise, Vikas graduated from Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in 1991. He went on to receive an honorary doctorate at the GD Goenka University and has also studied at the Culinary Institute of America and New York University. In 2019, he opened Kinara in Dubai and in 2020, he opened another restaurant called Ellora in Dubai and is currently working on his dream restaurant in New York. Based in NYC, Vikas has now hosted five seasons of MasterChef India and four seasons of the show Twist of Taste on Fox Life and was a guest judge on MasterChef Australia in Season 6. He was also featured as a consultant chef to help a failing Indian restaurant named Purnima on the Gordon Ramsay TV series Kitchen Nightmares and appeared as a judge and an Indian-cuisine specialist on a two-part season finalé of Hell’s Kitchen. He just returned to the new season of MasterChef India last week and we caught up with the multi-talented chef to find out more about the new season, his take on local and global food trends and what excites him about food in 2023.

Could you give us a sneak peek into what we can look forward to in the new season of MasterChef India?
It’s really tough for me to give you a sneak peek because the show is so huge this time. Bigger than any season we’ve done so far. The show has multiple layers. Even the way we conducted our auditions was very different. It wasn’t like every year, where the contestants just came to us and auditioned. Through the power of social media, we were also able to learn quite a bit about each contestant before they came in front of us. I personally went to take these auditions and I think that’s just where the differences begin. Because, whether we like it or not, there’s still a lot of stigma attached to men cooking and you’ll get to see how some of our contestants overcame that or struggled with it. You also get to see a changing world and the acceptance given by a changing world. I think, this season shows you how the world woke up to cooking being a therapy of sorts, thanks to the COVID-19 lockdowns, and so a lot more people are openly and more proudly showcasing their culinary talents without the fear of being ridiculed for their passionate love for cooking.

How has the show changed over the years? What have you tried to bring to the table?
I think the show has brought a huge change to the way we view cooking in the country. I must reiterate — the lockdowns elevated cooking to a therapy of sorts and a lot more boys and men are now proudly admitting that they cook and are taking to cooking, quite proudly. So, yes, I see a lot more men auditioning for us and a many of them even being selected. That aside, I think I bring a very strong learning in international entrepreneurship to the show and I am a living example of how far Indian cooking and cuisine can go. I have ensured that many future chefs can look at a career in this field, without the need to have a backup plan — that wasn’t the case when I was starting out. I have got people to understand that one can be an Indian chef and be globally successful. I have proven that chefs are also ambassadors for our country — cultural ambassadors who can also be poets, writers, scientists or whatever else.

How do you decide who is the best and most deserving amateur chef on the show?
This is a very difficult question to answer and an even more difficult task to perform during the contest. You know, there’s a saying: you are only as good as the last dish you cooked. So, what happens is that sometimes, a contestant will do really well in a challenge — everything will work out for them, and then, in the very next challenge, they won’t be able to perform. So, it’s super tough to say. We try, however, to gauge looking at performances across a few challenges and that helps us decide.

On a personal level, what are you planning for 2023? Anything that we can look forward to?
Lots! I have four books planned for release in 2023. My movie with Shabana Azmi will finally hit screens. I can promise you a story you’ve never heard before and needless to say, Shabana has outperformed herself and is an absolute treat to watch. I also have a new restaurant in New York that will open soon — my dream project. We’ve been planning it for seven years now!

We know you are very fond of South Indian cuisines. So, any plans of exploring something with these cuisines in mind, maybe a pop-up?
I can never do a pop-up, because I need years to set up a kitchen before I would be comfortable producing and serving food from it. I can’t even do catering any more as I feel like without full control, I would not be able to serve something that I would be comfortable with. That said, every time I am planning a menu, my South Indian influences definitely come in. And when I say South Indian cuisines, I want people to understand that it’s not just the basics. Instead my culinary journeys with South Indian food travel from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, through Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka — because I literally became a chef and picked up all my cooking skills in the South and so, you will always see these vivid regional cuisines represented in whatever I do.

Personally, what do you think will be the biggest thing in food for India in 2023?
Comfort food and tapas menus are trending the world over and I think it will also make its way into India soon enough. With people now heading out of their homes post the COVID-19 lockdowns, they want to taste a lot more and in much less time. A tapas menu with bite-sized food works perfectly for this.

Are there any cuisines you’d like to discover in the coming year?
I am always travelling and tasting new things and right now my focus is on the North East of India. I feel that cultures, cuisines and ingredients from the North East are still relatively less known across the country and the world at large; and therefore I really want to explore these food experiences. Last year, I was obsessed with the cuisine of North Bihar, which kind of overlaps with Nepal, and I managed to document a lot of those recipes which you will get to see in my upcoming books and menus.

What is the one dish you tasted for the first time recently that is now a favourite?
Bamboo is something that has recently caught my attention and exotic ingredients like bamboo rice, that is available only once in ten years, have captured my imagination fully. I live for these hidden rare ingredients from across India. They are my personal gems. I recently came across a recipe that cooks bamboo rice like a khichdi and I was mind-blown!

What would you recommend to anyone visiting India?
I always recommend our street food in all its glorious avatars. It’s just the best we have on offer summarised into a deliciously informal cuisine. I was shooting in Kerala recently and the food offered in the local restaurants far surpassed what we were getting in our hotels.

Finally, globally, what’s exciting you most about food and food culture, right now?
Globally right now, Korean food is really exploding everywhere and has also piqued my interest. I also have a big project coming up that hopes to help people discover other lesser known cuisines from Asia — From Burma and Cambodia to Sri Lanka and Afghanistan — countries and cuisines that somehow seem to have been forgotten on international culinary maps. So, that’s pretty exciting too!

MasterChef India airs on Sony Entertainment Television and is streaming on SonyLIV.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal