Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Born with a club foot and bullied in school, Vikas Khanna found his sanctuary in a smoky kitchen beside his grandmother—where dough replaced shame and food became language.
At Lawrence Garden, their family’s modest banquet hall, Vikas didn’t just cook—he cleaned drains, peeled sacks of potatoes, and watched his mother treat every chore like sacred duty.
In Manipal, he struggled with English and empty pockets. Yet inside cramped dorm kitchens, Vikas experimented relentlessly—chasing mastery while others chased grades.
Star hotels rejected him. Clients judged his accent. To survive, he cooked at weddings, washed dishes, and sometimes skipped meals—but never skipped a chance to learn.
He arrived in New York broke, unknown, and fluent only in grit. By day, he delivered food. By night, he crashed on floors. Through it all, one dream simmered: his own kitchen.
“Black hands don’t cook.” The insult stung like fire in a Parisian kitchen. Vikas quit—but that racism lit the fire that would eventually feed Michelin judges in New York.
He built Junoon from scratch in Manhattan. No investors, no celebrity push. Just relentless focus, refined flavors—and soon, a Michelin Star that silenced every doubter.
During COVID-19, while chefs shuttered doors, Vikas opened kitchens across India. His “Feed India” campaign served millions—proof that real chefs feed more than critics.
From cooking barefoot in Amritsar to hosting global heads of state, Vikas never forgot the woman who unclogged drains or the kitchen that healed him. Fame never replaced foundation.