Veteran journalist, author and columnist Vir Sanghvi is confident that Indian cuisine has arrived at the global stage. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026, along with Chef Himanshu Saini and restaurateur Samyukta Nair, Sanghvi noted that there were two key moments of this arrival.
"The first was when Gaggan (run by Gaggan Anand) was voted best restaurant in Asia (2015), and he's won that for 5 years, which is a record for Asia," Sanghvi noted.
"The second was last year, when Tresind Studio was the first Indian restaurant to get three Michelin stars," he added.
"But there have also been lesser-known success stories. For instance, we have different Indian restaurants in so many international cities. There is only one Indian restaurant abroad that has outlets in three different cities, and in each city, it has won a Michelin star, and that is Jamavar run by Samyukta," he continued.
Establishing his point, he said, "So there are many, many things happening all over the world, spontaneously; they are not necessarily connected, which suggests Indian food is finally a global cuisine."
When asked about who decided what is authentic food, the answer was both complicated and simple.
"Authenticity is practically a useless term when it comes to Indian food," Sanghvi noted. "Let's say what an authentic sambar is? In South India, the recipe for sambar changes every 20 miles. So, I don't think you need to be authentic in that sense."
However, Sanghvi knows where to draw the line. He explained, "On the other hand, this is going to be controversial; the good name of Indian food has been sullied in England over the years because of hundreds of Bangladeshis who opened really bad restaurants, serving dishes they've made up in London, which no Indian would dream of eating."
He concluded, "So authentic are dishes that are made in India or made with Indian flavours rather than dishes that were made for Brits."
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