Year of Semma: Know all about the boys who have taken eggplant curry to NYC

In the small town of Natham in Tamil Nadu Vijay Kumar grew up in a modest home without electricity or buses mdash just the rhythms of rural life Summers were about foraging for snails fishing in ponds and watching his grandmother cook over a wood fire Those early memories mdash snail curry in clay pots handground spices mdash continue to shape the food he cooks todayAlthough he once aspired to be an engineer financial constraints led him to attend a hotel management school From Chennairsquos Taj Connemara to cruise ships and eventually the US Vijay climbed the culinary ladder mdash training at Dosa in San Francisco and earning a Michelin star for Rasa in 2016Kanyakumari Nandu MasalaStill he longed to return to his roots That came with Semma launched in 2021 with Unapologetic Foods in Manhattanrsquos West Village Here Vijay cooks without compromise serving bold deeply personal dishes from rural Tamil Nadu snail curry nathai pirattal goat intestines deer shank and moreWithin a year Semma earned a Michelin star mdash the only Indian restaurant in the US to hold one 2022ndash2024 In June 2025 it was named The New York Timesrsquo No 1 restaurant and just weeks later Vijay became the first Tamilborn chef to win Best Chef New York State at the James Beard AwardsDindigul Biriyani PicsPaul McdonoughSemma mdash Tamil slang for fantastic superb excellent mdash lives up to its name in every waySunday midday spoke to the men behind the brand mdash Roni Mazumdar Founder and CEO Unapologetic Foods Chintan Pandya Executive Chef and Partner Unapologetic Foods and Vijay Kumar Executive Chef SemmaGutti Vankaya aka eggplant curryExcerpts from an interviewWhat strategic decisions have you taken mdash in terms of location or positioning mdash that contributed to Semmarsquos successRoni Mazumdar I wish I could say it was all strategy mdash but Semma wasnrsquot born from spreadsheets or business models It came from something more profound the soul of the cuisine and the authenticity of the chef There was no precedent for what we were doing mdash no consultant would have advised us to lead with unapologetically regional Indian food It wasnrsquot about picking the correct location or maximising revenue It was about leaning into who we are even when the world told us our food wasnrsquot worthy of the world stage I grew up internalising those stigmas mdash that village food wasnrsquot ldquofine diningrdquo and that our cuisine had to be adapted to be accepted But with each step mdash first Adda then Dhamaka mdash we gained confidence And when we met Chef Vijay we knew his food wasnrsquot just delicious mdash it was honest Semmarsquos success wasnrsquot about strategy It was about breaking the rules reclaiming our story and being the truest version of ourselvesThe interiors of Semma in NYC PicWill EllisWhat sets Semma apart in terms of culinary executionmdashfrom sourcing to techniquemdashthat resonates with both diners and award juriesChintan Pandya What sets Semma apart is one word honesty The food Chef Vijay creates stems from a place of deep integrity mdash of ingredients technique and memory Hersquos not recreating someone elsersquos cuisine hersquos cooking what he grew up with That authenticity is impossible to fakeYou can find chefs who are more technically skilled but not many who bring the same emotions to the plate Every dish at Semma reflects Vijayrsquos lived experience mdash dishes that shaped his childhood Thatrsquos why it resonatesChef Vijay Kumar The freedom Irsquove had here is everything Many restaurants are built for business but Roni and Chintan gave me the space mdash and the guts mdash to cook food from my past intestines snails dishes from small villages Without that trust and encouragement Semma wouldnrsquot exist They say itrsquos me but really itrsquos all of us togetherWhat have been your biggest challenges in staying authentic while appealing to a diverse NYC audienceChef Vijay Kumar The biggest challenge especially early on was perceptionmdashmany people including Indians think South Indian food begins and ends with idli and dosa When they saw snails or goat intestines on the menu there was pushback even confusion Some wondered if we were trying to impress Western diners with shock valueBut I had to explain this isnrsquot a gimmickmdashthis is the food I grew up eating in rural Tamil Nadu Many Indians here and even in India have only experienced urban food cultures They havenrsquot seen the richness of rural food traditions that still thrive across villages Once people understood thatmdashand tasted the foodmdashthey saw the soul in it It opened their eyes to a part of India they hadnrsquot encountered It took time but now they recognise it for what it is honest rooted and realHow does the recent recognition of Semma and Chef Vijay Kumar influence your internal benchmarks for future projects under Unapologetic FoodsChintan Pandya It was never about setting external benchmarks mdash itrsquos always been about outdoing ourselves What Vijay has achieved with Semma is unprecedented but more importantly itrsquos become a source of belief mdash not just within our team but across the industryWersquove had people from other restaurants reach out and say ldquoThis gives us hoperdquo Itrsquos no longer seen as a fluke or a oneoff moment Vijay has proven that authentic rooted ethnic food can stand shoulder to shoulder with any global fine dining That changes everything The impact is bigger than awardsmdashitrsquos empowerment Over the next decade I believe wersquoll see a decisive shift where more chefs lean into their heritage and Vijayrsquos journey will be the spark that inspires many to believe it is possibleMany chefs struggle with translating hyperlocal traditions into a fine dining context How did you navigate that at Semma mdash especially with lesserknown ingredients or dishesChef Vijay Kumar Chintan paved the way With Dhamaka he showed us that bold rooted food has a place on the big stage At first sourcing was a challenge mdash especially with ingredients that arenrsquot widely available here For instance we made numerous calls to obtain the right Alphonso mangoes from India for a seasonal dessert But when diners tasted it and said ldquoThis took me straight back to homerdquo we knew the effort was worth itChintan Pandya To support that level of integrity wersquove built a system within our companymdashthere are people whose sole job is ingredient sourcing Whether itrsquos a specific cut of meat a rare spice or something like feni for the bar menu wersquoll go the extra mile to get itRoni Mazumdar People think dishes like snails or goat intestines are there to shock But at Semma theyrsquore not statements mdash theyrsquore stories And quality is nonnegotiable The snails for instance come from Peconic mdash among the best in the country Itrsquos not about being provocative itrsquos about serving life on a plate with care and integrityHow does Semmarsquos recognition impact your larger vision for Indian cuisine in the US restaurant scene especially in terms of investor confidence and expansion potentialRoni Mazumdar Itrsquos like rocket fuel Until now no one believed Indian restaurants could draw lines around the block We were used to walking in on a Friday night with no wait Semma changes thatmdashit shifts how people view the economics of Indian foodThink of it like going from indie film to blockbuster Investors used to cap expectations Now Semma shows that regional Indian cuisine can drive demand and shape cultureIt also reframes the narrative For too long ldquoIndian foodrdquo meant a narrow often inauthentic version of North Indian fare But India isnrsquot one cuisine South Indian Gujarati Bengali Northeastmdashit all belongs Semma proves those stories not only mattermdashthey can leadChintan Pandya Wersquore finally getting a seat at the tablemdashand for one of the worldrsquos oldest cuisines thatrsquos long overdue Semmarsquos recognition and Vijayrsquos doesnrsquot just spotlight us mdash it honours those before us who never got the chance Indian food didnrsquot arrive yesterday So why did it take this longWhatrsquos changed is confidence Thatrsquos the real currency mdash not money or fame And that belief is spreading Chefs from other underrepresented cuisines mdash Vietnamese Thai and more mdash now say ldquoMaybe I can do this toordquoIn an industry where trends come and go how do you see Semmarsquos intensely regional rooted approach reshaping perceptions of Indian food among chefs and peersChintan Pandya Letrsquos be clear mdash Semma isnrsquot a trend What Chef Vijay is cooking isnrsquot new or experimental These are timehonoured dishes passed down through generations and cooked the same way in villages across Tamil Nadu This is rooted foodmdashnot a reinvention or gimmickTrends come and gomdashboba tea today sushi tacos tomorrow Semma brings class As they say in cricket ldquoForm is temporary class is permanentrdquoThis isnrsquot about chasing whatrsquos cool Itrsquos about integrity tradition and excellence Semma is here to staymdashand as it grows itrsquos changing how Indian food is seen both in kitchens and at the tableYour outfit was praised for its cultural pride Do you see it as a statement beyond the culinaryChef Vijay Kumar For me it was all about representation Wersquore already representing our food mdash so why not represent our culture too Everyone wears a tuxedo to these events but thatrsquos not who I am This is our traditional dress what we wear for special occasions back home It felt only right to wear it on a stage like thatWearing it gave me a sense of dignity and pride mdash this is my food my story my identity Why should I have to dress a certain way just to fit in I didnrsquot want to wear something for someone else I wanted to wear what meant something to meRoni Mazumdar Wersquore done trying to fit in