Photographs: Kind courtesy Chef Vikas Khanna/facebook

Vikas Khanna has been named in TIME magazine's list of the 100 most influential people for 2026, marking global recognition of his culinary journey and cultural impact.

The celebrated chef's inclusion in the prestigious TIME 100 roster underscores his role in taking Indian cuisine to the world stage and redefining it as an art form.

"There are so many powerful people who must have voted in my favour, who must have said, 'He has done something worth celebrating'," Vikas Khanna tells Subhash K Jha.

Key Points

• 'Not a single word of congratulations from any of the chefs. I don't understand this.'
• 'My success in taking our food abroad is something I share with all my chef brothers. Maine jo bhi kiya woh sirf mere liye nahin hai.'
• 'I don't see my success as my own. It is the success of my team.'

Vikas, you've again made India proud. How do you feel?

Thank you, Meri Jaan. Sorry we are in different time zones. How does it feel? It is still to sink in.

I am just trying understand the process that put me there in that list. It is such an honour! The elimination of possible names in the list...

There are so many powerful people who must have voted in my favour, who must have said, 'He has done something worth celebrating.'

On the other hand, there must have been so many who must have said, 'What has he achieved? What is there to celebrate in a chef whipping up dishes?' I have been facing these naysayers all my life.

How does it feel when people say there is no great art involved in cooking?

I say everything that a man or woman creates, whether it is a flower planted in a pot or a housewife in the kitchen preparing food for her family is a work of art.

When I decided to be a cook I was ridiculed, heckled, bullied back home. My mother believed in me.

Today when I heard about my name in the TIME list, I tried to explain to her what it meant to be in that list, how many people must have been shortlisted and eliminated.

She must be so proud of you. We all are.

She doesn't really understand what it means. But she knows her son has achieved something which makes her happy. She can hear the happiness in my voice.

I can hear it too.

Can you? I feel very blessed. The congratulatory messages are pouring in from all quarters.

Everyone from the Obamas to my close friends have congratulated me. But you know what makes me sad?

Tell me.

Not a single word of congratulations from any of the chefs. I don't understand this.

My success in taking our food abroad is something I share with all my chef brothers.

Maine jo bhi kiya woh sirf mere liye nahin hai.

'It is the success of my team'

I suppose we Indians suffer from an inbuilt sense of the crab mentality.

I am happy that I got a chance to represent our country on a global platform. I don't see my success as my own. It is the success of my team.

IMAGE: Chef Vikas Khanna attends to guests at his Bungalow restaurant.

We started our restaurant Bungalow in March 2024. Today we planted one flower for each day since then.

Where do you go from here?

Wherever my destiny takes me. Wherever my mother's blessings take me.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff