A crunch of a curry leaf, a strong aroma of smoked chili, and a dash of gunpowder combines the vibrancy of the walls of the Semma restaurant in New York. Here, curries are not just hot, they are depth individual.

In a crisp white-button jacket and wide smile, Chef Vijay Kumar plays the right South Indian hosts for his customers. Today, he is not just another talented chef, but the recipient of the James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York! It is a prestigious title that is considered a ‘Oscar’ in the world of Gastronomy.

For Chef Kumar, this restaurant is not just a place where you serve food, but a culture. “This is a restaurant that fulfills my life story. A South Indian life story. A food culture,” Kumar shares in a special conversation Today India.

India is known for its diversity, rich heritage-culture and even rich dishes. In the west, for a very long time, Indian food has been spicy and all about gravy – usually butter chicken, naan, or biryani. South Indian food? The menu mostly stop with Idlis, Dosa and Sambar. It is the belief that Chef Vijay Kumar wants to challenge and how.

In a Michelin-Star Restaurant, Sema, he is serving bold Tamilian tastes in his most authentic form.

Tamil Nadu to New York

Chef Vijay Kumar’s Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho from Natham in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. Engineering was once a dream, but revealed, luck was equipped with spices and gunpowder for him. He completed his Pakistani school education in India, worked for a few years, and, in his words, “for a better opportunity, like the rest of the immigrants,” he moved to the USA.

Some things are not always pre -planned, but it is the beauty of spontaneity. For Kumar, it was a chance conversation with his friends with unexpected foods, about how South Indian restaurants are not enough in New York, causing Sema to be born. Unapolgetic food is a US-based restaurant group founded by Ronnie Mano Mano and Chintan Pandya.

SEMMA opened its doors to customers in 2021 and earned 13th position the new York Times“Top 100” list. In 2024, it climbed the first place.

Inaccurate taste of South India

When Kumar landed in the USA, he was surprised to see how Indian food was defined by Butter Chicken and Naan. The menu was so limited that it did not do justice to the width of Indian cuisine. Kumar was disappointed. But the irony is that he himself worked with contemporary cuisine.

He believes, “I was younger and just came to the country. I just came back to survive and could not do anything about it because you do not want to put everything in danger by speaking very loudly.”

Cut after a decade, now he is the owner of a restaurant, where he serves South Indian cuisine without reducing his spicy tastes or essence.

Not only the taste, but the chefs are also very proud of their culture. His menu indicates that. He has retained the original names of his cuisine. “It was a risk, but we did not want to commercialize it or just wanted to earn money from it. We did not want to make western people happy or did not fit someone else’s shoes. We just want to be what we are. We just wanted to tell them who we are,” he says.

It is unexpectedly bold and charming.

Creation of a community through food

Kumar did not manufacture a restaurant serving food only from his motherland; He created a place that shook apathy for Indians living in the US.

“A few days ago, a woman was sitting alone in the bar. She was eating, and she was getting so emotional. I was worried that if she found it very spicy. When I asked her if I could find something to cool her palette, she refused, she said, ‘These are happy tears. I don’t eat home in such a long time.

Food for politics: challenges of a chef

It is not easy to establish a culture on foreign soil. This was certainly not easy a decade ago, compared to now. A chef puts their heart and soul in cooking every dish, and every component is like a holy grave. For Kumar, the challenge began with finding the right curry leaves – and now, alphonso mango.

Says Kumar, “It was difficult to get curry leaves in America like 10 years ago. It is impossible to get all the components easily at all times as it is due to the rules of all these USDAs (United States Department of Agriculture) in India. However, it is now easy.”

But he still struggles to find the right kind of alphons mango. “I have to make many calls, find the right seller, because many people do not understand how alphonso tastes.”

Political turmoil in the United States

Conflict and stress are not limited to food only. Being an immigrant in the United States is currently not without its concerns. With increasing political tensions in the country, the feeling of uncertainty becomes larger. But Kumar believes in taking life as it comes.

“It’s a matter of time. It will go away. Life is about everyone and about the bottom, okay? I think we will just go through it. For me, just focus on what you do. You can’t control anything that is happening around you. One thing I want to do is that you are doing what you are doing.”

What to cook next?

SEMMA represents a part of the Tamilian Food Heritage. Now, he wants to bring Chennai’s street food on the menu. “Who doesn’t like street food? It is the most tasty! It’s just funny that it has not taken the center step yet,” he said.

He transforms his menu in about three to four months so that many customers are able to taste the food. Now, he plans to bring that road style to a plate.

Asked if he has a plan to return to India, Kumar says that he is not at least for now. While he expects to make something interesting there in the future, it will not be a replica of Semma.

Only one thing seems to be a thunder about dinner? Kumar says with a smile, “It is so difficult to get reservation.”

But when your food comes into apathy, curiosity and headlines – which really expects an empty table on Monday?