Latest news with #Semma
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Viral: Tamil Nadu chef wins James Beard Award and his acceptance speech has the Internet in tears
Image credits: X/@supriyasahuias After hearing the phrase 'Dream Big' not many are able to open up their imagination to the world. Those who do and put all their hard work into those dreams, end up reaping the fruits of it. But when you achieve a big dream, the claps are loud and so are your own emotions on a journey whose hard work, struggles and success are only privy to you and yours. Chef Vijay Kumar, the Executive chef of Michelin-starred South Indian restaurant in NYC, Semma, recently won the Best Chef Award at the prestigious James Beard Awards. Originally from Tamil Nadu, he is now the recipient of one of the highest honours in the United States' culinary world. The win is even more special for the 44-year-old as it is his first nomination and win. In an emotional speech that is now going viral on social media, Kumar reflected on his journey towards success, 'When I started cooking, I never thought a dark-skinned boy from Tamil Nadu would make it to a room like this. But the food I grew up on food made with care, with fire, with soul, is now taking the main stage.' He also emphasised the connection between food and culture, reflecting how a culinary creation has the power to connect all. 'There's no such thing as a poor person's food or rich person's food. It's food. It's powerful. And the real luxury is to be able to connect with each other around the dinner table. Tonight, Indian cuisine stands tall, Tamil food stands tall, my own food and heritage stand tall, and it all matters. I stand here for everyone who never thought their story belonged to be on a stage like this,' he said. Netizens praise Chef Kumar's journey and Semma Image credits: X IAS Supriya Sahu took to X, to share a video of Chef Kumar's speech appreciating his culinary skills and efforts to bring Tamil cuisine into spotlight. 'Congratulations to Chef Vijay Kumar on winning the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef, New York. This recognition not only brings spotlight on his exceptional culinary skills but also brings much-deserved attention to Tamil Nadu's rich culinary heritage on the global stage. Chef Vijay from Dindigul has made a significant impact in New York City's dining scene with his restaurant, 'Semma' the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in NYC,' she wrote. Many others also took to the social media platform to appreciate and rejoice in the chef's win, writing, 'Proud Moment For Everyone In India And Specifically Tamil Nadu. Congratulations To Chef Vijay Kumar For Wining This Prestigious Award' 'I'm fortunate to have dined at Semma twice. Each delicious sitting was a lesson in how much of India's rural heritage cuisine is obscured by the dominant caste narratives of vegetarianism. Chef Vijay Kumar's team does stellar, loving work & deserves every laurel & more 👏🏽👏🏽' wrote another sharing their experience of dining at the acclaimed restaurant. Semma and Chef Vijay Kumar Image credits: X/@TnInvestment 'Semma' is a Tamil word which means 'awesome; in English. Located in New York, it is the only Indian restaurant in NYC to have a Michelin Star and to top The New York Times best restaurants list. Chef Vijay Kumar's culinary journey with the restaurant and in his life serves as a true inspiration for those who believe in their dreams. Hailing from Dindigul city in Tamil Nadu, Chef Kumar revealed how in childhood his grandparents used to take him foraging snails, hunting or fishing. He grew up with no electricity, buses or even proper roads and yet enjoyed that life. The restaurant, which is popular for its micro-regional dishes, serves Tamil delicacies such as dosa, nathai perattal, dindigul biryani and other Tamil cuisine dishes.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Chef Vijay Kumar of Semma wins New York's best chef at the James Beard award
'When I started cooking, I never thought a dark-skinned boy from Tamil Nadu could make it to a room like this.' Chef Vijay Kumar's poignant speech on winning the James Beard Awards, 2025, for best chef in New York State, is especially powerful because it celebrates a huge change in attitude towards Indians and Indian food, and more specifically South Indians and South Indian food — a change that has been tirelessly fought for in Indian, and foreign kitchens for decades. Semma, set in New York City's trendy Greenwich, is bright and buzzy, with a menu that embraces the food Vijay grew up eating in Natham, near Madurai, where his parents still live. For a long time, Indian cooking abroad was dismissed as spicy, greasy and generic, with curry houses serving an amalgamation of vaguely Punjab-inspired food: vivid bowls of butter chicken, spicy vindaloo and 'naan bread.' Growing up in Natham, Vijay's cooking and palate was moulded by his grandmother, with whom he spent his summer holidays. 'My grandparents lived in Arasampatti, where there wasn't even a bus. We would go there on school holidays, and we were not such a rich family, so they kept us busy with fishing, hunting and searching for snails,' he told me, in an earlier interview, when Semma first opened. After a stint at the Taj Connemara in Chennai, Vijay had moved to the US where he worked as a sous chef in Virginia, cooked at the popular Dosa in San Francisco, and then worked with Rasa, a contemporary Indian restaurant in California with one Michelin star. Backed by Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya, who run the popular restaurants Dhamaka and Adda in New York, Vijay was given the space to cook food that he really believed in, without making the once-mandatory adjustments for western palates. When Semma launched in 2021, his grandmother's nathai pirattal, snails spiked with ginger and tamarind, served with kal dosa helmed the menu — a dish that would be unfamiliar even in most mainstream Indian restaurants. New York loved it. The Indian community rallied around Vijay, and the restaurant, becoming its greatest flag bearers. Semma also became an inadvertent ambassador for South India in America. When I met him in New York, at Semma, where it is next to impossible to get a reservation now (the perks of hanging out with chefs!), the restaurant was buzzy with cheer, as Indians and Americans tucked into spicy gun powder dosas and slow cooked lamb curry with flavours deepened by black cardamom, mace and Telicherry pepper. In his acceptance speech at the James Beard Awards, Vijay said, 'The food I grew up on, the food made with care, with fire, with soul is now taking the mainstage. There is no such thing as a poor person's food, or a rich person's food. It's food. It's powerful. And the real luxury is to be able to connect with each other around the dinner table.' He walks the talk. At Semma, I watched him chat with diners, making genuine connections, between ducking into the kitchen to cook. When dinner ended, he joined us outside, chatting with newly made friends as they clambered into their cars, clutching takeaway bags of warm, fragrant Dindigul biryani. As the restaurant closed after yet another packed night, he looked tired, but happy. 'What I cook is unapologetically Indian,' he said, 'I won't tone down spice, I won't change anything.' It is a reassuring message for not just scores of Indians who have moved abroad and feel they need to change who they are, and what they eat to fit in, but really anyone who is fighting to be accepted. 'Tonight, Indian cuisine stands tall. Tamil food stands tall,' said Vijay, to a rousing round of applause and whistles, at the James Beard stage. He added, 'My own food and my heritage stand tall, and it all matters. I stand here for everyone who never thought their story belongs on a stage like this.'
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Never thought a dark-skinned boy…': Tamil Nadu chef Vijay Kumar wins James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York, his acceptance speech goes viral
In a proud moment for India, Chef Vijay Kumar of Semma bagged the Best Chef Award in New York State at the prestigious James Beard Awards, one of the highest honours in the United States' culinary world. Originally from Tamil Nadu, this was Kumar's first nomination and win. In an emotional acceptance speech – which is now winning hearts on social media – Kumar reflected on his journey. 'When I started cooking, I never thought a dark-skinned boy from Tamil Nadu would make it to a room like this. But the food I grew up on food made with care, with fire, with soul, is now taking the main stage,' Kumar said. He stressed on the connection between food and culture. 'There's no such thing as a poor person's food or rich person's food. It's food. It's powerful. And the real luxury is to be able to connect with each other around the dinner table. Tonight, Indian cuisine stands tall, Tamil food stands tall, my own food and heritage stand tall, and it all matters. I stand here for everyone who never thought their story belonged to be on a stage like this,' he said. Sharing the video, IAS Supriya Sahu wrote, 'This recognition not only brings spotlight on his exceptional culinary skills but also brings much-deserved attention to Tamil Nadu's rich culinary heritage on the global stage.' Watch here: Congratulations to Chef Vijay Kumar on winning the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef, New York. This recognition not only brings spotlight on his exceptional culinary skills but also brings much-deserved attention to Tamil Nadu's rich culinary heritage on the global… — Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) June 17, 2025 Several social media users hailed Kumar for his remarkable feat in the culinary world. 'Wow!! Amazing stuff this!! Many Congratulations to him and Wish many more follow him in taking Indian cuisine further!' a user wrote. 'Congratulations to chef Vijay Kumar on winning the prestigious James Beard award for the best chef,a great honour to Tamilnadus'rich culinary heritage,' another user commented. Semma, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant located in New York, is popular for its authentic South Indian cuisine. Other major winners at the 2025 James Beard Awards included Bucheron, a French-American restaurant in Minneapolis, which was awarded Best New Restaurant, and Jungsik Yim, chef at the acclaimed Korean restaurant Jungsik in New York, who received the Outstanding Chef award.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Tamil Nadu's Vijay Kumar wins James Beard Award: ‘Never thought a kid like me could make it to a place like this..'
Chefs and restaurants were honoured on Monday night with James Beard Awards, one of the US culinary community's highest accolades. And for the first time ever, an Indian restaurant has taken the top spot! Vijay Kumar of Semma, the Greenwich Village hotspot that serves unapologetic South Indian food, has been named Best Chef: New York State by the James Beard Foundation, often called the Oscars of the food world. Semma is part of the Unapologetic Foods group helmed by Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar. Since opening in 2021, it has redefined what Indian food looks like on fine dining menus. In addition to its No. 1 spot on The New York Times' 100 Best Restaurants list, Semma is also the only Indian restaurant in NYC currently holding a Michelin star — a feat it has maintained for three consecutive years. For Kumar, this win is personal. Accepting the award in a Veshti he said: 'When I started cooking, I never thought a kid like me from Tamil Nadu could make it to a room like this. But the food I grew up with — food made with care and fire, with soul — is now taking the main stage. There's no such thing as poor people's food or rich people's food. If it's true, it's powerful. The real luxury is to be able to connect with each other around a table.' A post shared by Vijaya Kumar (@ That 'true' food at Semma means dishes rarely seen outside homes in Tamil Nadu — think nathai pirattal (snails cooked in fiery gravy), eral thokku (spicy prawns), and foxtail millet khichdi, served in clay pots and banana leaves. Hands are encouraged over cutlery and nothing is softened for Western palates. Semma's soul stretches from New York City to Arasampatti near Madurai, where Vijay grew up surrounded by paddy fields, coconut trees, and his grandmother's cooking. 'Snail was a farmer's food,' he said. 'We used to hide it from classmates. Then in culinary school, I saw escargot on the menu — a delicacy in France. That's when I realised, maybe the world just hadn't tasted our food yet.' Vijay never planned to be a chef. He once dreamed of becoming an engineer, but when his family couldn't afford the fees, he turned to catering college — a decision that turned out to be fate. Now, with the James Beard medal in hand and his Veshti still proudly tied, Vijay isn't just making waves — he's making space. And with Semma's growing list of honours, one thing is clear: Tamil Nadu has officially arrived on NYC's most coveted plates.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Chef Vijay Kumar Wins James Beard Award For The Best Chef In New York State
James Beard Awards, one of the most coveted culinary awards in the US, has honoured Chef Vijay Kumar of Semma restaurant as the Best Chef in New York State. This was the first time the chef got nominated and also won the James Beard Award, which recognise exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system. In his acceptance speech, the chef said, "When I started cooking, I never thought a dark-skinned boy from Tamil Nadu would make it to a room like this," he said during his acceptance speech. But the food I grew up on, food made with care, with fire, with soul, is now taking the main stage." He continued, "There's no such thing as a poor person's food or rich person's food. It's food. It's powerful and the real luxury is to be able to connect with each other around the dinner table. Tonight, Indian cuisine stands tall, Tamil food stands tall, my own food and heritage stands tall and it all matters. I stand here for everyone who never thought their story belonged to be on a stage like this." Semma is a Michelin -starred Indian restaurant in New York that serves diverse South Indian delicacies. The restaurant spotlights lesser-known dishes from different parts of South India in order to celebrate its rich culinary heritage. Other chefs nominated in the 'Best Chef: New York State' category included Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh; Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction Barbecue; Eiji Ichimura, Sushi Ichimura; and Atsushi Kono, Kono. Along with Chef Vijay Kumar as the 'Best Chef: New York State', Bucheron, a French American restaurant in Minneapolis, was named 'Best New Restaurant' and the 'Outstanding Chef' award went to Jungsik Yim, who runs the Korean restaurant Jungsik in New York. Several other prestigious culinary accolades were presented during the ceremony held at the Lyric Opera in Chicago on June 16, 2025.
