Indian chef and restaurateur, Vikas Khanna recently launched his book ‘Sacred Foods of India’ in NFT in collaboration with Ganesh Raju, CEO Akshaya.io. The Michelin star chef speaks to us about his phygital cover, NFTs, his love for Indian food and his advice to the younger generation.
1.Tell us a bit about your book “Sacred Foods of India.”
Sacred Foods of India is a coffee table book in honour of the people who have carried on the tradition of cooking. Food is an integral part of India. It is not just about restaurants, home cooked or street food. We talk about food from temples, gurudwaras and dargas. In the post pandemic world, it is very difficult to push coffee table books. We wanted to push avenues and reach out to people from across the globe, especially, to our next generation in diaspora. In the US, kids do not have the literature that celebrates India. We wanted to reach out to each and every person and bring Indian culture to the world.2. What are the advantages of converting this book into NFTs?
NFT is the new language and culture of the world. Bringing the book to metaverse is an opportunity to spread Indian recipes, history and culture beyond borders. Digital is the new way of consuming content and we wanted to be at par with what’s happening. We wanted to celebrate Indian culture with a much bigger audience.
3. How will NFTs revolutionize the food industry?
Our generation is between digital and the physical. In the past, we had to travel to different cities and meet chefs to learn how to cook. I remember a European chef wanting to shoot a recipe on video and I was shocked. But now I see how it has been revolutionized. Most of the content is consumed online. Books have become very difficult to sell as the market is shrinking and evolving in a digital way. In a similar way, blockchains and NFTs are going to revolutionize the food world. In Metaverse, it’s almost as if you are cooking along with someone in your kitchen. This experience is truly amazing.