Celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna to Launch New Restaurant in New York City as Tribute to His Late Sister Radhika
- Bungalow, which opens on March 23, also honors kitchens, chefs, cookbook writers, street vendors, home cooks and mothers.
Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna is all set to launch his new restaurant Bungalow in New York next month. The March 23 opening coincides on the day his late sister Radhika Khanna would have turned 50, he said, announcing his new project on social media. “We open Bungalow on an auspicious day as a tribute to her life,” he wrote in a Instagram post.
Radhika Khanna died on Feb. 28, 202 due to multiple organ failure at 48. She had been battling Lupus, renal failure, and aHUS (atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare disease that causes tiny blood clots in the small blood vessels of the body for years.
In the post, the Michelin-star chef and filmmaker also mention that his new restaurant will “honor millions of kitchens, chefs, cookbook writers, street vendors, and home cooks across India — and most importantly to our mothers, who have nurtured our souls forever.”
The restaurants website describes Bungalow as “a premier restaurant and cocktail bar in New York that will showcase the food and culture of India’s bygone era.”
One of the first Indian chefs to receive international acclaim, Khanna started his first restaurant, Junoon, in New York City in 2010 which got its first Michelin star the following year and went on to acquire many more. He has hosted events for former president Barack Obama, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Narendra Modi, and many other world leaders and celebrities. He is the goodwill ambassador for the Smile Foundation and supports the cause of fighting malnutrition in India.
When India underwent a strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the New York City-based chef took it upon himself to help the needy and poor in India through his Feed India initiative which was a success.
In 2015, he became the first chef to launch his book “Utsav: A Culinary Epic of Indian Festivals” at Cannes. He also directed a documentary called “Kitchens of Gratitude” at the renowned film festival and produced a documentary series “Holy Kitchens,” which explores the bond between faith and food. In his latest book titled “Barkat,” he shares his personal journey, from spending his childhood days in Amritsar to becoming one of the most beloved Indian chefs in the world.
In 2020, Khanna made his directorial debut “The Last Color.” Set in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi, the film follows the life of a 70-year-old widow Noor, played by actor Neena Gupta, and her special bond with 9-year old Chhoti (Aqsa Siddiqui), a homeless girl who aspires to go to school and makes ends meet by performing stunts as tight-rope walking and selling flowers. He then directed “Barefoot Empress,” about a 96-year-old woman in a Kerala village, who pursued her dreams of going to school.
He is also executive producer of the Oscar-qualified animated short “American Sikh.” The film tells the true story of an American-born, turban-wearing Vishavjit Singh, “who after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt, and violence, finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume,” according to the film’s website. Based in New York City, Singh is an illustrator, writer, performance artist, diversity speaker, and creator of Sikhtoons.com. He is publicly known for his Captain America persona armed with a turban, beard, and humor to tackle fear, anxiety, bigotry, and intolerance.