The boy from Madurai who conquered the restaurant world

Vijaya Kumar is perhaps the most successful Indian chef you’ve never heard of. At least that was the case until earlier this week when Kumar, dressed in a powder-blue bandhgala and a crisp white veshti, stood on stage at an awards ceremony in Chicago. “I never thought a dark-skinned boy from Tamil Nadu would make it to a room like this,” said a tearful Kumar, as he accepted the James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York State, and America’s most celebrated chefs rose to applaud him.

But this wasn’t just a victory for Indian cuisine. It was also the story of a man who quietly and defiantly rose to the top and came to be recognised as the best chef in New York, across cuisines, across cultures, and in one of the most competitive dining cities in the world.

Kumar’s story doesn’t follow the usual arc of immigrant success. He has stayed out of the spotlight by choice, rarely giving interviews or courting media attention. Even as Semma earned critical acclaim and national awards, he remained in the kitchen, head down and focused.

Accidental chef

Born near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Kumar grew up in a modest home. His father worked a government job while his mother farmed her parents’ land to support the family. Bright and hardworking, Kumar dreamed of becoming an engineer. He topped his class and secured college admission, but his family couldn’t afford the fees.

He was forced to pivot to catering school, even as his classmates mocked him. “You came first in school just to become a cook?” they joked. But the decision turned out to be a defining one. After working in hotels and on cruise ships, which allowed him to send money home, Kumar was offered a culinary position in the United States. He accepted and moved to San Francisco, where he taught himself English and quietly endured the racism that marked the early days of his career.

Everything changed when he met restaurateur Roni Mazumdar and chef Chintan Pandya, co-founders of Unapologetic Foods, the powerhouse group behind successful Manhattan restaurants such as Dhamaka, Adda, and Rowdy Rooster. Known for their bold and uncompromising presentation of Indian food, they were reshaping how Indian cuisine was perceived in New York by championing deeply regional, home-style dishes that were rarely seen in restaurants.

When they decided to open a South Indian restaurant, they approached Kumar. He agreed on one condition: complete control. The food would be his and he would cook an honest, authentic, and unapologetic Tamilian menu. “There’s no such thing as poor man’s food or rich man’s food,” Kumar said in his acceptance speech, “It’s just food.”

Chintan suggested the name Semma, a Tamil word that means ‘awesome’. The name stuck. The vision was clear. The trio was ready to take on America. “If chef Chintan and Roni hadn’t gone all in, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Kumar told me on the phone a day after his James Beard Award win.

Tamil table

When Semma opened in October 2021, it exploded onto New York’s culinary scene with dishes that defied convention and demanded attention. Plates like the kudal varuval (goat intestine fry) and valiya chemmeen moilee (lobster curry) stood out for their intensity, complexity and refusal to bend to the Western palate. Unlike other Indian chefs who polish and prettify their plates to align with Michelin sensibilities, Kumar remained firmly rooted in the flavours and textures of home. His food was bold, messy, and deeply soulful—just the way it was meant to be.

One standout dish was the nathai pirattal, a spicy snail preparation inspired by his childhood. As a boy, Kumar foraged snails with his grandparents in the fields. His grandmother would light a wood fire and cook them in a mud pot with ginger, tamarind, coconut, and local spices. At Semma, this ancestral recipe returns to the table with mini kal dosas to soak up every last bite.

In October 2022, just a year after opening, Semma earned a Michelin star, becoming the only Indian restaurant in the United States to hold the distinction at the time. It has since retained the star for three consecutive years. Earlier this year, The New York Times named Semma the number one restaurant in New York City, outranking heavyweights like Le Bernardin, Eleven Madison Park and Per Se.

But none of it has changed Kumar. Media-shy and grounded, he still prefers the safe haven of his kitchen and doesn’t like being photographed. “I just want to cook,” he said. And even now, with the spotlight firmly on him, his humility remains intact. “It’s one thing to win awards, but it’s another to do it on your own terms,” he tells me. 

From caviar to curry leaves 

When I first visited Semma in 2023, the line outside snaked through the heart of Greenwich Village. What stood out wasn’t just the buzz but the crowd. The restaurant was packed almost entirely with non-Indian diners: elderly American couples, yuppies on date night, and Wall Street titans, all waiting to get a taste of Tamil food.

Without exception, every table began their meal with the Gunpowder Dosa, a thick, crisp, benne-style dosa served with chutney and sambar. “It’s the dosa I grew up eating,” Kumar told me. “My mom made it. My grandmom made it. Now, I serve it to New York.”

There are no luxury ingredients on the menu: no truffle, foie gras or caviar. He jokes the most expensive item he sources are curry leaves, because fresh ones are nearly impossible to find in New York. I watched diners dig in with their hands, unfazed by the spice.

Kumar’s success is part of a larger wave putting Indian cuisine firmly on the global stage. In May, Gaggan Anand’s eponymous Bangkok restaurant reclaimed the number one spot on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list after a seven-year hiatus, having previously topped the ranking four consecutive times from 2015 to 2018. His return signalled not just a personal comeback, but a broader resurgence in how Indian food is seen and celebrated internationally.

Meanwhile, last month in Dubai, Himanshu Saini made culinary history when his 18-seater Trèsind Studio was awarded three Michelin stars. It marked the first time an Indian restaurant had received the French guide’s highest honour. The moment was about more than one restaurant’s success. It was a powerful reminder that Indian cuisine has arrived. It has earned its place, confidently and convincingly, in the global culinary pyramid.

It's taken long but Indian food is finally getting its comeuppance. “For a long time, cooking this food in America felt like being a guest in someone else’s kitchen. Now, I see chefs who look like me, speak like me, and cook the food I grew up on. Indian cuisine has always been worthy. The recognition is just catching up,” Kumar says, reflecting on this shift.

And he has added to that momentum, by bringing the flavours of Tamil Nadu into the global conversation. “Tonight, Indian cuisine stands tall. Tamil food stands tall. My food stands tall,” he said on stage at the James Beard Awards. “And I stand here for everyone who never believed their story could belong on a stage like this.”

And just like that, the boy from Madurai had done the unthinkable: he’d conquered New York and the restaurant world.