India on a Plate: Consulate General of India in Atlanta Hosts Vikas Khanna
On Monday, August 10, the Consulate General of India in Atlanta hosted a special food-tasting event honoring celebrity chef, restaurateur, humanitarian, author, and filmmaker Vikas Khanna for his achievements in the culinary arts and commitment to humanitarian causes. The event, “India on a Plate,” celebrated the diversity of regional Indian cuisine, with a spread ranging from chole kulche of Punjab to kuzhi paniyaram of Tamil Nadu, and from puran poli of Maharashtra to dahibara aloodum of Odisha.
Held at the Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel and attended by members of the media and culinary aficionados, the event opened with a welcome by Consul General Ramesh Babu Lakshmanan. He spoke about the long-standing connection between India’s rich cultural heritage and its diverse culinary traditions, as well as Khanna’s personal journey and contributions to showcasing Indian cuisine on the global stage.
Following Lakshmanan’s remarks, Khanna joined Atlanta cookbook author and food journalist Nandita Godbole for a Q&A and reminisced about the beauty of “barkat” in Indian cuisine. He advised young chefs to steer clear of a “Pinterest-y” approach to food and instead embrace its abundant, blessed, generous, and equalizing spirit. For him, nothing epitomizes this inclusive and dignified essence more powerfully than the Sikh tradition of “langar.”
When asked where he would go for just one last meal, Khanna answered without hesitation: the langar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where food is an equalizer, a CEO and a farmer can sit next to each other while being treated with the same dignity, and one learns the quiet, grounding value of having just “enough.”
Khanna also discussed the success of his fine-dining restaurant, Bungalow, and the complexities of retaining the authenticity of regional Indian dishes while appealing to a discerning global audience in New York, where even Michelin-starred chefs have struggled. Despite the challenges of a Michelin ecosystem that he said often excludes regional and traditional dishes, Khanna expressed confidence that Indian food will continue to thrive in the U.S. and beyond. As people become increasingly willing to embrace diverse gastronomic experiences, he said, India’s abundant culinary heritage is enough to fuel its own demand.
An Evening With Vikas Khanna: Leap to Shine Fundraiser
Later that evening, more than 200 guests gathered at Phase Events in Alpharetta for “An Evening with Vikas Khanna,” a Leap to Shine fundraiser supporting education for underserved children in India. Khanna, an eight-time Michelin-starred chef, author of 40 books, filmmaker, and longtime member of Leap to Shine’s advisory board, was also honored with the organization’s Global Humanitarian Icon Award.
The program opened with remarks from Leap to Shine co-founder and chairman Durgesh Das, who recalled growing up in a small town in Chhattisgarh and attending a government school before eventually helping build an organization that now serves thousands of children.
Das outlined the evening’s two fundraising priorities. The Higher Education Scholarship Program in Mumbai, run in partnership with CORP India, supports 17 recent high school graduates, many of them young women, with college and coaching fees and mentorship. The Girls’ Education Program in Vadodara, Gujarat, developed with the Trust for Reaching the Unreached, provides 95 girls from remote villages with safe hostel housing, meals, healthcare, and uninterrupted schooling. Both programs will also provide digital devices to participating students.
Leap to Shine has empowered 3,210 students and distributed 661 tablets and laptops across eight Indian states, helping bridge the digital divide by placing digital access directly in the hands of children.
The evening included a three-course meal and drinks, with guests mingling over chicken galouti kebabs, shakarkandi chaat, angoori dahi bhalle, paneer tacos, and daulat ki chaat.
Milaap: A Musical Convergence
Music followed with “Milaap,” a 20-minute fusion performance blending Hindi film music with Indian classical traditions. The quartet featured Gurinder Negi on guitar, Sai Ravishankar on flute, Amol Khanapurkar on tabla and vocals, and Niraj Sharma on percussion. Khanapurkar’s rendition of “Albela Sajan Ghar Aayo Re” served as a musical welcome to Khanna in Atlanta. Sharma also introduced a video presentation of Leap to Shine’s original theme song, inviting guests to raise their phone flashlights during the screening.
A Conversation With Vikas Khanna
Leap to Shine co-founder Keyur Shah welcomed Khanna to the stage, introducing him as his “Veerjee,” or big brother. Shah said their bond was forged during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Khanna fed thousands, supplied oxygen cylinders, mobilized the Indian Task Force, and raised money for those in need.
A roughly 40-minute fireside conversation followed, led by Vindali Vartak, a fellow Leap to Shine advisory board member and one of the event’s lead organizers. Khanna reflected on his childhood, his early struggles before becoming one of the first Indian American chefs to earn a Michelin star, his humanitarian work, and the people who shaped his life.
He spoke about how India’s plurality shaped him: born into a Hindu family, raised in the kitchens of Sikhs, rescued by a Muslim woman during the 1992 Mumbai riots, and mentored by a Jewish teacher. He also credited the women in his life, particularly his grandmother, mother, late sister Radhika, and collaborator Mysha, with giving him the confidence to pursue his dreams at a time when being a chef was not considered a “real job.”
Khanna spoke particularly movingly about Radhika and their dream for Bungalow. His biggest achievement, he said, was creating a restaurant that felt like a home for everyone who walked through its doors, as Radhika had wished. On opening day, when he saw thousands of people lined up outside in pouring rain shouting, “Happy Birthday Radhika” and “Happy Birthday, Bungalow,” he felt he had fulfilled his promise to his sister.
The conversation also touched on Khanna’s humanitarian initiative Feed India, which served more than 25 million meals during the Covid-19 pandemic, and his work as a filmmaker on three features, “The Last Color,” “Barefoot Empress,” and “Imaginary Rain,” each centered on women navigating social and economic barriers.
On a lighter note, Khanna reflected on his on-screen chemistry with fellow “MasterChef India” judge Ranveer Brar and recalled actor Shah Rukh Khan describing dining at Bungalow as feeling “like I had entered someone’s temple.” An audience Q&A followed.
Khanna also spoke about inclusion through his work, including Mysha, a neurodivergent member of his restaurant team, and about encouraging younger generations to view cooking as a viable profession. His work has brought regional Indian flavors to international palates while seeking to preserve the authenticity of local cuisines.
Recognizing Supporters and Service
Following the conversation, Leap to Shine leaders Das, Shah, and Vartak recognized individuals who have supported the organization’s work.
The Milaap artists and members of the Octaves Artists group, including Dr. Asmita Joshi, Sri Saigonkar, and Pavitra Shetty, were recognized for making Leap to Shine their nonprofit of choice for the past three years. Together with Milaap performers Khanapurkar, Ravishankar, and Negi, they have raised more than $50,000 through community concerts, including Gul-e-Gulzar in 2026 and an R.D. Burman tribute in 2024.
Longtime supporters Raj and Nita Sardana received the Beacon of Impact Award for their sustained commitment to the organization. Raj Sardana is founder, chairman, and CEO of Atlanta-based technology and workforce solutions company Innova Solutions, which he grew from a small staffing company founded in 1998 into a global organization with more than 50,000 employees. He was named one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2023 and has been recognized by Forbes as one of the country’s successful immigrant entrepreneurs. Raj and Nita Sardana also co-founded the Innova Foundation, which has supported organizations including the YWCA’s Teen Girls in Technology program and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and his wife, Dr. Madhu Sheth, were also recognized. Jagdish Sheth has been on the Emory faculty for more than three decades following earlier appointments at MIT, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 papers and books, including “The Theory of Buyer Behavior” and his autobiography, “The Accidental Scholar,” and received India’s Padma Bhushan in 2020. Emory established the Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth Endowed Professorship in his name in 2025.
Through the Sheth Family Foundation and the Madhuri and Jagdish Sheth Foundation, Jagdish and Madhu Sheth have supported more than 50 community, academic, and healthcare organizations in Atlanta and beyond. The couple received the Global Luminary Leader Award for their vision, leadership, and belief in education’s power to change lives. Jagdish Sheth spoke about giving back to the community and society and praised Khanna for his humility and social impact.
Khanna received Leap to Shine’s Global Humanitarian Icon Award, with Das, Shah, and Vartak thanking him for his humanitarian work and commitment to the organization.
In another recognition, Leap to Shine presented Das with its Lifetime Impact Award, honoring nearly two decades of leadership and service, including building partnerships, mobilizing people, and raising funds for the organization’s work. The award was presented by Mayur Kapani, chief technology officer of Intercontinental Exchange and a longtime mentor to Das, and Khanna.
Leap to Shine also recognized the volunteers who organized the evening: Gauri Vyawahare, Reetika Datta, Prasanth Masina, Rohit Sawant, Arvind Malhotra, Archit Patel, Amit Vyawahare, Arin Patil, Akansha, Dipali, Komal Patel, Gaurav Bhatia, Mini Brown, Mamta Khairajani, Rosie Das, and Suparna.
The evening concluded with table-by-table photographs with Khanna and a group photograph of Leap to Shine leaders, honorees, and volunteers. Earlier in the program, Das had urged the audience “to never forget your roots, and to remember what a little support can do.”
By Deepa Agrawal and Leap to Shine Team
Photo credits for Leap to Shine event: Aubrey Photography and Sumis Photography