Anthony Bourdain was my hero: Masterchef Vikas Khanna

We worked together many times. I’m so heartbroken. Anthony was my hero. I looked up to him and was privileged to have bonded with him. He hated veg food. I told him until he visits India he wouldn’t know the pleasures of vegetarian cuisine. I had first met him when I was doing a tasting menu with mangoes at my midtown restaurant Purnima in New York. I did not get a chance to talk to him then. The second time we met I cooked for him at the Rubin Museum. I told him that I was researching extensively on Himalayan foods, Utsav and creating Holy Kitchens documentaries. He just said one thing: keep pushing the limits.

Later, he was hosting CNN’s Parts Unknown in India and wanted me to travel in Punjab with him to show him my hometown. I could not travel to India at that time. But I was so happy that he started loving Indian veg food and asked me for recipes which were eventually used on the show. There are many pressures in a chef’s life that  could have killed Anthony. There is a lot of drug usage… Time management issues. Small spaces to cook in. Michelin pressure. Fire hazards. Customer service issues. Health and mental hygiene issues. Nepotism. Demanding critics. Labour issues. Emotional distress and breakdowns. Standard consistency. Long  hours… oh being a chef is not an easy job. People only see the  food on the table, not the  fire in the kitchen. I have seen individuals of great skill go down in  a jiffy. It’s  the curse of those who are in the quest  of perfection. Sorry if I’ve said too much. I idolised Anthony. I can’t believe he’s gone.