Chef Vikas Khanna Schools BBC Host On Stereotypes About Hunger In India, Clip From 2021 Goes Viral

A video of Chef Vikas Khanna’s sharp rebuke to a BBC presenter from a 2021 interview has gone viral. In the interview, Khanna was questioned about his COVID-19 food distribution campaign, with the BBC presenter assuming that his “sense of hunger” in India was the driving force behind the project.

Khanna hit back, saying that his “sense of hunger came from New York.” The interviewer had initially praised Khanna for his remarkable achievements, including cooking for the Obamas, before delving into his roots in Punjab’s Amritsar.

The interviewer implied that Chef Vikas Khanna’s modest background gave him a unique understanding of India’s challenges, saying he “understands how precarious it can be in India.” The interviewer also suggested that growing up in a small Indian city must have exposed him to hunger and poverty. This assumption hinted that anyone from a less affluent background in India is familiar with starvation and hardship.

Chef Vikas Khanna appeared visibly frustrated by the interviewer’s cliched assumption. He pointed out that he is from Amritsar, the city of the Golden Temple, which boasts the world’s largest community kitchen or langar. Therefore, there is no hunger in the city.

Khanna then shared that his personal experience with hunger came from his challenging period in New York after 9/11, when finding employment was difficult for people of colour.

The chef even recounted sleeping at Grand Central Station during that tough time.

Watch the clip here:

The online community praised Khanna’s dignified reply.

A user said, “People from Punjab are the best in this matter, as I’ve travelled at many locations in Punjab, especially in Gurudwaras everyone gets fed. so “Vikas Khanna with the perfect clapback! In India, we know how to feed our people and our souls. Proud of our culture and the strength it gives us!”

Another user said, “My sense of hunger came from New York!..savage.”

“A subtle way to teach a lesson to an ignorant bigot racist masquerading as a journalist,” read a comment.

An individual noted, “Vikas Khanna schooling the anchor with that perfect response! Not all stories of success start with poverty—sometimes it’s the grind in unexpected places that shapes you. Respect.”

The video has garnered almost 2 million views till now.