Vikas Khanna's Utsav: A taste of a thousand stories

When Vikas Khanna walks into a room, there’s a quiet kind of gravity about him. Maybe it’s the calm of a man who’s fed presidents and popes. Maybe it’s the warmth of someone who’s spent his life turning memories into meals. At Kinara in Dubai, where he unveiled Utsav – Festivals of India, the first chapter of his new quarterly fine-dining series, that mix of composure and emotion takes centre stage.

A Michelin-acclaimed chef, author, film-maker and humanitarian, Khanna has built a career on translating memory into experience, from the flavours of his Amritsar childhood to menus that have travelled from New York to the UAE. With Utsav, he returns to what he calls the emotional core of Indian food.

“Festivals have always been the soul of India for me,” he said. “They’re not just days on a calendar; they’re about laughter in the kitchen, colours everywhere, and people coming together over food. Utsav is our way of celebrating that emotion. It’s a tribute to the joy I grew up with, where food wasn’t just eaten; it was shared, blessed, and remembered.”

The concept is simple in intention, intricate in execution, a menu that channels the generosity and spirit of India’s festivals into the structure of fine dining. “It’s about reliving those moments that connect people, families, and generations,” he said.

Amritsar to the world

Khanna’s understanding of food was shaped early. “I started cooking in Amritsar, surrounded by flavours that were deeply personal — ghee, cardamom, smoke from the tandoor,” he said. “Over the years, I realised Indian food isn’t one story, it’s millions. Every region, every home adds its own poetry.” Those early influences remain central to his work. “At Kinara, we try to stay true to those roots and present them in a way that speaks to today’s world,” he said. “The essence remains the same, and it’s still food that carries emotion, memory, and identity.”

The idea of storytelling runs through everything he does. “When I’m cooking, I’m telling a story through ingredients. When I’m writing, I’m tasting words,” he said. “The kitchen will always be my home. It’s where I first learned patience, humility, and the joy of serving others.”

Even after decades of global recognition, Khanna speaks about food as though he’s still discovering it. “Every time I travel or meet someone new, I learn something — a forgotten spice, a local technique, a grandmother’s secret recipe,” he said. “That’s what pushes me to keep exploring. Success, in my opinion, means you finally have the platform to learn more deeply.”

That search for understanding shaped Utsav. “It started with a simple thought — how do you taste happiness?” he said. “Festivals have dishes that instantly make you feel like you’re home, no matter where you are. I wanted to bring that emotion to the table. Utsav is about reliving those moments, the first bite of something that reminds you of family, of stories, of belonging.”

He paused to recall one dish that carried a personal memory. “For me, it’s kadha prasad from the gurdwara,” he said. “It’s just flour, ghee, and sugar, but it’s so full of love. I remember standing barefoot as a child, holding that warm bowl and feeling complete peace. We’ve reimagined it for this menu, but the heart of it, that feeling of gratitude, stays exactly the same.”

The dish, he explained, is more than a dessert. It’s a reminder of faith, humility, and the communal spirit that defines Indian festivals.

Balancing abundance and precision

Creating a fine-dining interpretation of India’s festivals meant preserving warmth while achieving technical refinement. “That balance was everything,” he said. “Festivals are about big emotions, sharing, excess, and joy, and fine dining is about detail. So we plated it like a celebration in control. Every dish looks refined, and it still tastes like someone cooked it with love, not a stopwatch. The warmth had to stay.”

That phrase — a celebration in control — captured the spirit of the evening. Every element of the menu, from the ingredients to the pacing of the courses, carried traces of familiarity wrapped in restraint. “The food still needed to taste like home,” he said. “Technique means nothing if the emotion isn’t there.”

Khanna’s approach, both disciplined and deeply personal, echoed his larger philosophy: that cooking is as much an act of remembrance as of creation.

Why Dubai

Dubai, Khanna said, was the natural choice for the launch of Utsav. “Dubai is one of the cities where the world meets India with such openness,” he said. “People here are adventurous. They want to understand the story behind the dish, not just taste it. It’s also a place that respects craft.”

That openness allowed him to introduce Forgotten Flavours, a concept within Utsav that revisits ingredients that shaped India’s culinary traditions. “It’s a tribute to the ingredients that have shaped India’s culinary history,” he said. “We’re reviving them on a modern platform where tradition meets innovation.”

Khanna said the goal wasn’t nostalgia but rediscovery, finding new ways to honour the ingredients that have sustained generations. “We wanted to show that tradition and innovation aren’t opposites,” he said. “They’re part of the same story.”

Collaboration of equals

Partnerships, Khanna added, are central to Utsav’s philosophy. “Our collaboration with Sula Wines really stood out,” he said. “Pairing Indian food with Indian wine isn’t something that happens often, and we wanted to change that perception. Working with their sommelier was fascinating. It opened our eyes to how our spices and their grapes could actually tell the same story.”

The process, he said, reinforced what he values most about collaboration. “It was a wonderful reminder that food and wine, like people, connect best when there’s respect,” he said.

For Khanna, such partnerships reflect how Indian cuisine continues to evolve while remaining grounded in its roots. “When there’s respect, tradition and creativity can exist in the same space,” he said.

When asked what he hopes diners will take away from Utsav, Khanna’s answer was clear. “I hope they leave feeling something, maybe nostalgia, pride, or just warmth,” he said. “The story isn’t about India alone; it’s about connection. Food has that rare power to make strangers feel like family. If guests leave feeling more connected to a culture, to each other, to a memory, then we’ve done something right.”

That sense of connection, he explained, is what drives him. “You remember a meal not only for how it tastes but for how it makes you feel,” he said. “That’s what food should do — remind you of who you are, or where you came from.”

The story continues

Utsav – Festivals of India is only the first in a four-part series. “Every chapter will open a new window into India,” Khanna said. “It’s not just about menus; it’s about rediscovery. We want people to see how timeless our food truly is and how much of our future still lives in our past.”

The next instalment, The Royal Kitchens of India, will explore recipes once prepared in India’s royal courts. “The next chapter continues that journey, exploring the roots of dishes that still shape how we cook and eat today,” he said. “Each chapter will show a different side of Indian cuisine — its history, its people, its stories.”

As the evening came to an end, Khanna reflected on what continues to drive his work. “Cooking isn’t just about feeding someone,” he said. “It’s about giving them a piece of your story.”

Every element of Utsav, from the ingredients to the presentation, returns to that principle. For Khanna, food remains the most direct way to express gratitude, a form of storytelling that never needs translation.