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Sharing an anecdote from 2004, Vikas Khanna said his sister stood beside him when he cooked his first-ever James Beard dinner and barely spoke English.
Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna has just been nominated for the James Beard Award aka the Oscars of the food world, and the one person he has to thank for it is his beloved late sister Radhika Khanna.
Khanna has been nominated as the Best Chef: New York State, for his restaurant Bungalow.
The star chef shared the update in a heartfelt Instagram post for his sister, whom he, on numerous occasions, said inspired him to dare to dream.
Sharing an anecdote from 2004, Khanna said his sister stood beside him when he cooked his first-ever James Beard dinner, and barely spoke English.
“On August 23, 2004, my sister changed my life—and gave me a dream. That night, I cooked my first-ever James Beard dinner: Taste of India. I was nervous. Overwhelmed. Grateful beyond words,” he wrote. “Radha came to help me—and stood beside me during the thank-you speech. I barely spoke English then.”
Radhika, who had full faith in her brother, arranged for an English tutor on their way back home from the event. “And she said something that quietly became the compass of my life: ‘Viku, one day you will represent India to the world. So let’s start preparing’.”
Vikas Khanna, who was also nominated for the same award in 2013, said, “Yesterday, when I was shortlisted for BEST CHEF: New York State (2026) - the only Indian on the list— it felt like life completing a perfect circle. James Beard Awards are known as the Oscars of the food World.”
‘This one is veryyyyyy special’: Vikas Khanna
Vikas Khanna has always talked about ‘Bungalow’ in reference to Radhika, who he said wanted it to be a “deeper restaurant.” Since this award nomination came for Bungalow, Khanna said, “Though I was nominated in 2013 before, but this one is veryyyyyy special.”
“I know she is smiling somewhere, watching her dream unfold,” he wrote in the post.
He wrote: “A few things that stayed with me from that day onward: 1. The last glass of champagne I ever drank was after that dinner. She said, ‘The next toast will be when you win a Michelin star’”
“2. My entrepreneurial journey in America—selling food, starting from nothing— rooted in one belief she gave me: Self-made people always begin at the bottom,” he added.
“3. My guardian angel. Always ahead of me. Always watching over me,” Khanna wrote in the post, adding that the list is never-ending. “Still unfolding. Still guided by her faith.”
English (US) ·