'NO SUCH THING AS POOR MAN'S FOOD'

Indian chef Vijay Kumar, who grew up in a Tamil Nadu village, speaks to TMS after receiving the notable James Beard Award for unapologetically serving regional food and winning hearts in New York

- ANUSREE PV

AMES Beard Award for The Best Chef in New York! For Vijay Kumar, whose roots and heart lie in the land of his hometown Natham, in Dindigul district, and the green expanse of the paddy fields of his grandparents' place, Arukkampatti, a village in Madurai district, the win feels beyond incredible. It's an honour to the food he grew up eating, a tribute to his grandmother's hyperlocal dishes, his mother's kitchen tips and hacks; an award to his identity, to his unapologetic cooking.

Wearing a powder blue coloured kurta and a veshti, the executive chef of Semma speaks at the 2025 James Beard Awards, as excitement gushes through his veins. "I come from a small farming village in Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India, where food was a way to care for each other, it was a celebration, it was survival; and I never imagined the journey would lead me till here, to this stage receiving incredible honour," he says.