Michelin-starred chef and filmmaker Vikas Khanna, who has cooked for the likes of the Obamas, Madonna and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claims he’s always over-cautious about his menu at his signature restaurants and never gets overconfident.
Khanna was in the Dubai on September 2 to oversee his restaurant opening of ‘Kinara’ at JA LakeView Hotel, scheduled for an opening later this month.
“It took us a long time to design this menu [at Kinara] … I make a dish at least forty times before it reaches my menu … If someone blindfolds you, even then you must be able to make the dish and know the garnishes with the blindfold on. You have to keep doing it till you get it right,” said Khanna in an exclusive interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
Khanna, who also directed Neena Gupta in his cinematic debut ‘The Last Color’ releasing in the UAE in November, heads a New York-based Indian restaurant, Junoon, which has been awarded a Michelin star for six consecutive years.
Khanna has also hosted several seasons of MasterChef India, Twist of Taste and National Geographic’s Mega Kitchens.
“I was one of the first people of colour to get a Michelin star. It was a lot of pressure… But you are always under-confident and vulnerable and that way you are alert, active … Kids like us we are not entitled,” said Khanna.
He was the paragon of warmth and hospitality as he served the local media a steaming cup of chai laced with ginger and lemon grass. He had us at ‘chai’.
Read the full interview in Gulf News tabloid! soon.
