E-Paper
Personal Agenda: Vikas Khanna
Vikas Khanna, a celebrity chef and author talks to us about his love for food, music and dishes that he can't ever make.
If you weren’t a chef, you would have been...
A farmer.
One aspect about your body you dislike?
I feel my nose is too long while my legs are too thin!
Your greatest extravagance?
Flying to Kerala or Morocco to get spices.
The one thing you love about Indian food?
Indian food has a lot of emotions in it. There is a strong sense of connection, which the rest of the world misses out on.
Your strategy in a crisis?
To always remember that however long the night is, it is always followed by the day.
What would we find in your fridge right now?
Soy milk and eggs for sure.
The song that always lifts your spirits?
Chinna Chinna Aasai (Dil Hai Chota Sa from the film Roja). I can sing in Tamil.
If you were an ice cream, what flavour would you be?
Saffron and cardamom – truly Indian at heart.
One thing about you that isn’t generally known?
I’m a very shy person.
The dish you can never cook?
Methi aloo.
Have you got lucky with women because of your skills in the kitchen?
Women love it when men cook. They feel secure when they know that a man can cook.
One recipe every man must know?
How to boil an egg – they can do so much with it.
The day you realised you loved being in the kitchen?
When I was about 10, I decided to make dinner for everyone.
Your favourite book?
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.
The last line of your autobiography would read…
...peace of bread.
One thing you can never eat.
Endangered species.
You de-stress with?
Meditation and music.
If i could...
I would Be able to fly a plane perfectly. I’m currently learning to fly.
Spend my whole life in Amritsar
Feed the whole world
Sun sign: Scorpio
Birthday: November 14
Hometown: New York
School/college: I graduated from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal.
Place of birth: Amritsar
First break: Opened Lawrence Gardens Banquets when I was 17.
High point of your life: When I felt confident to cook for my grandmother.
Low point of your life: When I reached America, I felt I was at the bottom of the line and wasn’t sure whether I would even get a job as a dishwasher.
Curently doing: Just released Flavors First, my sixth book and the first one in India by Om Books International.
Interviewed by Veenu Singh
From HT Brunch, May 27
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