“I have always been the first one”: Chef Vikas Khanna on the launch of India’s first ‘phygital’ book

Michelin Star awarded Chef Vikas Khanna launched his 38th book Sacred Foods of India as an NFT (non-fungible token) in collaboration with the country’s first ‘phygital’ platform Akshaya.io on Thursday in Dubai. It is India’s first ‘phygital’ book which will enable fans to own original NFT along with the physical copy.

Speaking to Moneycontrol about his experience launching the work as an NFT, Chef Khanna said, “I’ve always been the first one in whatever I have done in my life. I want to maintain that because through your projects, you are also talking to millions of artists and telling them that 'your content is relevant' but it has to reach the audience too.”

“This is what working with Akshaya taught me," Khanna said. "Such collaborations secure you economically and keep your work relevant. We are not from the generation of Vincent Van Gogh, where you only sold one painting, right? We don’t want to be those artists. I feel this is creating those Van Gogh paintings and giving them life for generations.”

Sacred Foods of India is a limited edition book with recipes of prasad and food served at various holy places around the country. The first phygital unit of the sandalwood book was bought by Sanjeh Raja from ICCA (International Centre of Culinary) at $50,000 (over Rs 39.12 lakh today).

It can be ordered from the Akshaya website (www.akshaya.io), and the NFT of the book will be minted immediately along with its “digital twin”. This twin will be connected to the physical book itself and is unique to the owner of the physical copy. Users can make the purchase using their crypto wallet or any form of fiat currency.

Akshaya.io claims to be the country’s first-ever platform that brings Metaverse, NFT, and Digital Twin together to enable users to claim ownership of physical and digital assets with certified proof of authenticity.

Explaining the concept of ‘Phygital’, Ganesh Raju, chief executive officer of Akshaya.io, said, “A lot of times people relate NFTs to digital images, pictures of monkeys, right? You know, at the same time, this brings a question: 'Is there real value in it?' With ‘phygital’ collectables, we are giving a real thing which is going to be held on for generation and generation along with a digital certificate that you are the actual owner.”

“It also is an authentic product investment. You can carry that NFT that we have along with that as a digital twin, we make a 3D of this exact copy in a digital world. So you can take that in the future,” he added.

Raju said that the company is planning to create a metaverse where buyers can display the book.

An NFT is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain that can be sold or traded. Metaverse, NFT combined with other advanced tools is Web 3.0 transformation which the world has started to experience.

Sacred Foods of India is the 38th book in the series of 50 books that Chef Khanna had promised his father he would write in his lifetime when he was just a kid. It took him eight years to finally launch this book.

The book comes in creatively engineered Walnut and Maple wooden boxes or a limited edition of two pure Sandalwood boxes, acquired with official Indian Government Certifications.

The paper used is acquired from special sources from Italy, that will last for generations, which is also treated with embossed knurling to give that canvas painting feel. Vegetable ink sourced from Japan is used for printing the scripts. Even the glue used is vegetable glue, researched and developed in Germany.

Speaking about his book, Chef Khanna said, “The universal way of understanding India is through the kitchens of Gurudwaras and temples to Dargahs to Mother Teresa kitchens to synagogues to everything we do.”

The Michelin Star chef said that he used to visit Jagannath Puri temple in Odisha every year from 2011 to 2014, because he couldn’t get all the food in one trip.

“That is what we want most of the people who are reading this book to understand India through a whole different lens. And that is why this book is happening,” he said.

This is the first-ever collaboration for Chef Vikas Khanna with a Web 3.0 enterprise, and in the times ahead, there is a possibility he can create more augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) assets for his works and creations.

Speaking at the launch, Raju, said, “Web 3.0 will transform the way in which enthusiasts of unique collectables will engage with him (Chef Vikas Khanna).”

“In these fast-changing times, when the world of the internet is metamorphosing into the future rapidly, it is important we take the big leap forward. Sacred Foods of India is very dear to my heart,” Chef Khanna said. "I wish this will be a prized possession for those who are interested in buying or investing in works of passion."

Vikas Khanna is an internationally acclaimed Indian American chef, filmmaker, and author. He is a James Beard nominee and one of the first Indian chefs to be awarded a Michelin Star in the US.