Vikas Khanna (born 1971) is an Indian-American
Early life and education
Khanna was born in
Amritsar, India in a
Punjabis family.
He did his schooling at St. Francis School, Amritsar.
He was born with a leg deformity (
club foot) and wasn't able to run until he was 13 years old. He graduated from Manipal Academy of Higher Education in 1991 where he studied hotel management.
He then studied at Culinary Institute of America and New York University.
He received an honorary doctorate at GD Goenka University.
Career
While in India, Khanna worked for the
Taj Hotels, Oberoi group,
ITC Hotels, and Leela Group of Hotels. Khanna worked at Salaam Bombay and The Café at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York before he joined Junoon, an upscale Indian restaurant in Flatiron district of Manhattan.
In 2019, he opened a restaurant called Kinara in Dubai.
Television shows
From 2011, Khanna hosted seven seasons of
MasterChef India (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) a series based on the original British version. He has been hosting all the seasons of the show since then. Khanna was invited as a guest judge on
MasterChef Australia in Season 6.
He appeared as a Consultant chef to help a failing Indian restaurant named Purnima on the
Gordon Ramsay TV series
Kitchen Nightmares. Khanna appeared as a judge and an Indian-cuisine specialist on the two-part season finale of
Hell's Kitchen.
Film production
His documentary
Kitchens of Gratitude was featured at Marche du Film at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.
His directorial debut The Last Color is a film about the daily struggles for survival on the streets of Banaras, India.
Recognition
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Top 10 Chefs in the world by Deutsche Welle and Gazette Review.
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Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) Degree by the G D Goenka University.
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Doctorate in literature (Honoris causa) by D Y Patil University.
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James Beard Foundation Award nomination for his book Return to the Rivers in 2014.
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"Rising Star" Chef Award by Star Chefs for his role in shaping the future of American Cuisine(2011).
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GQ India Man of the year 2012 by GQ Magazine.
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The Shining Star Award from "Just One Break, Inc."
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Featured on the cover of Men's Health India Magazine in 2012.
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He was voted "New York's Hottest Chef" in a poll conducted by the New York Eater blog.
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His New York based restaurant “Bungalow” won Michelin 2024 Bib Gourmand award.
See also
-
Indians in the New York City metropolitan area
External links
