The best chef of New York State

Chef Vijaya Kumar, won the highest recognition, the James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York State this year. His restaurant Semma also retained its Michelin star. And, to top it off, it was rated as the number one restaurant in New York City by New York Times. Here’s the man from Tamil Nadu who’s ruling the restaurant scene in NY telling us what makes Indian cuisine ‘haute’ affair.

What makes Indian cuisine stand out now versus before?

I think what’s changed is not the cuisine itself, but the lens through which people see it. For a long time, Indian food in the West was reduced to a handful of dishes, often stripped of their regional identity. Now, there’s a shift and guests are ready to go deeper, to understand the difference between Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Diners want that honesty, that story, that connection. It’s no longer about fitting in; it’s about standing tall in exactly who we are.

We have won awards recently that were limited to French and Japanese diners. How did that happen?

For years, there was an unspoken ceiling for Indian cuisine; you could be beloved, but not necessarily ‘refined’ by certain gatekeepers. What’s changed is a combination of persistence, storytelling, and uncompromising execution. We’re not diluting flavors or traditions, but instead showing the technique, discipline, and creativity that’s always been there. The awards are a sign that the definition of excellence is finally expanding.

What is the cuisine at Semma? How will you describe the experience?

Semma is the food of my home and Southern India, cooked the way it’s eaten there. It’s not a greatest-hits menu or a tourist’s introduction to India; it’s a very specific, very personal point of view. You’ll see dishes that rarely make it to restaurant tables in the U.S., like gunpowder dosa or fiery kuzhambu, made with the same techniques and ingredients I grew up with. The experience is meant to feel transportive, but not in a romanticized way, more like you’ve been invited into someone’s home kitchen. It’s loud, it’s full of spice and aroma, it’s unapologetic. Every bite has a sense of place, and every dish has a reason for being on the table.

What does being awarded the best chef of New York State mean personally to you?

It is not just my award, it belongs to my family, my mentors, my team, and the farmers and cooks back home who shaped how I see food. It tells me that the flavors and stories I carry from my childhood have a place on one of the world’s biggest culinary stages without needing to be altered or explained away. For me, that’s the real victory, showing that our cuisine, in its truest form, can stand shoulder to shoulder with any in the world.

This interview was published in India Today magazine