Chef Vikas Khanna dedicates Bungalow’s Michelin win to sister Radhika

Vikas Khanna, one of India’s most famous chefs and a MasterChef judge, opened a restaurant called Bungalow in New York last year. Now one of the most popular eateries in the city, Bungalow has recently received the prestigious Michelin 2024 Bib Gourmand award. Speaking to , Vikas Khanna dedicated the honor to his late sister Radhika Khanna, who passed away three years ago. Radhika, a fashion designer, author and entrepreneur, became a victim of lupus. Vikas Khanna revealed that she fondly called him “my lion” and he was instrumental in shaping the bungalow by getting artworks commissioned for the restaurant from his death bed. He shared, “I was unsure whether Bungalow should be a successful restaurant or a big one. She (Radhika) wanted it to be a deep restaurant.”

When the interviewer called the bungalow Vikas Khanna’s “baby”, he corrected him by calling the restaurant his “daughter”. Vikas Khanna explained, “I have a very clear definition of the gender of this restaurant. This restaurant was born as a woman, it will remain as a woman,” adding that the essence, or “power”, of the establishment is: Is a woman.

Vikas Khanna also shared a heartfelt memory of his late sister, whom he described as his “only friend” and “soulmate”. Recalling an incident in 2003, he said that Radhika had taken him to a fine dining restaurant for his birthday. After the delicious meal, she wanted to meet the chef, but the manager informed her that only customers who ordered a “tasting menu” could do so.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Vikas Khanna tried to console his sister and said that it was her best birthday. However, she responded, “I failed.” On her death bed, she asked him to promise that she would never behave like that cook. Vikas Khanna quoted his words as saying, “We ate very good food in that restaurant, but we were made to feel less than ‘un-restaurant’ ourselves.”