Michelin star chef Vikas Khanna’s first business was ‘total failure’. What he learned from it

Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna says his first business was a total failure. (Image: vikaskhannagroup/Instagram)

From his humble beginnings in Amritsar to hosting international celebrities and world leaders at his high-profile restaurants, Vikas Khanna has indeed come a long way. The Michelin star chef opened up about his extraordinary journey at the Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit on December 14.

New York-based Vikas Khanna said he started Lawrence Gardens Banquets in Amritsar to host weddings and functions when he was just a teenager. At the Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit, he revealed that he put Rs 10,000 into opening the banquet in 1990 – money he earned by hand-knitting sweaters.

“As a boy, during summer vacations in 10th grade, I figured out how to knit a sweater from my grandmother, and I hand knit. I'm very proud of it, not ashamed,” he said.

“I made almost 10,000 rupees in 1990. I invested in buying 24 chairs and two patilas,” he continued. With a tandoor donated by his father, Khanna put the small space behind his family house to use – and soon he was in business. “There is no big names behind me. I did most of it myself with my mom and my grand mom standing behind me,” he said.

His Lawrence Gardens Banquet was a “total failure,” but Khanna says he is very proud of it. “That was one of the biggest trainings I ever had in my entire life. I figured out that there's no investment without a consumer,” he said.

Vikas Khanna went on to study hotel management in Mumbai and returned to his hometown to once again focus on the banquet. In time, the business grew to be a success, but the man behind it was dissatisfied. Khanna realised that he, as a brand, had no value.

“So I decided to move to US in 2000 and I've been there since then.

“But I do form a bridge between India and American culture, being one of the few people in this world who has hosted four American presidents and almost every relevant world leader except for Putin,” he said.

The celebrity chef said the investment training he received at home stood him in good stead abroad. He learned to take risks and invest in himself, all of which went on to make him one of the most recognisable Indian faces in the culinary world.

“For anyone who is aspiring investor, a talent and artists, you need to first invest in yourself. All the money I made in America in the first few years, beginning years, I invested it all for my education,” said Khanna.

Vikas Khanna has studied at the Culinary Institute of America, Cornell University and New York University, besides training with top chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Bobby Flay and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.