Chef Vikas Khanna Launches Indian Cultural Centre in New York

Indian chef Vikas Khanna launched his Binder Indian cultural centre with an announcement on Twitter, on what would have been his father’s 75th birthday.

The Indian chef has created a hub for Indian culture in the heart of Manhattan, which will promote Indian heritage, arts, cinema, music, literature and cuisine. The project means a lot to Khanna, who is one of India’s hardest-working ambassadors in the US, and the name of the centre, ‘Binder’, is a combination of the names of his parents: Bindu and Devinder.

While New York is called home by a huge diaspora of Indian people, Indian culture has been, until now underrepresented. Khanna, certainly flies the flag of Indian cuisine at his Michelin-starred NYC restaurant Junoon and his regular appearances on US network television. However, the chef is a cultural polymath – chef, writer, director and humanitarian.

Khanna has spearheaded an effort to feed millions of hungry people in the chef’s native India during the coronavirus pandemic. His humanitarian efforts saw him win the Asia Game Changer Award and the Mother Theresa Memorial Award last year.

The chef’s directorial feature film debut, adapted by Khanna himself from his own book, The Last Color, won critical acclaim.