Chef K.N. Vinod

K.N. Vinod is a chef and restaurateur. He is co-owner of Indique in Washington DC, Bombay Bistro in Rockville, MD, and Indique Heights Catering in Gaithersburg, MD, and is the Culinary Director at RASA, an award-winning Indian fast casual restaurant also based in Washington, DC.

Chef Vinod has been pleasing the palates of Washingtonians for more than two decades with his acclaimed restaurants and unique cooking style. Over the years, his restaurants have served host to foreign dignitaries, presidents, and celebrities; his culinary approach has been celebrated by The Washington Post, Washingtonian, The New York Times, India Abroad, Style magazine, and Zagat, among others. Indique was recently featured in the Washington Post’s Fall Dining Guide and the Michelin Guide, and was nominated for both Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year and Cocktail Program of the Year awards by the Rammys, an annual industry awards ceremony. Chef Vinod has also cooked at the James Beard House in New York City.

Born in the south of India, trained in the north, and currently cooking in the Western World, Chef Vinod and his cooking experience have been impacted and enhanced by the many stops along his journey. A graduate of the Institute of Hotel Management in Madras, India, Chef Vinod continued to hone his craft in top hotels across India, and served as the first chef of Burgundy, an upscale fine dining restaurant serving classic French cuisine at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. While there, he trained with Chef Roger Moncourt, the French chef who introduced French cuisine to India, mastering classical French technique. A lifelong student, upon arriving in the United States Chef Vinod also attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Given his varied experiences and influences, Chef Vinod is one of the few Indian chefs globally who is able to execute and innovate on both Southern Indian and Northern Indian dishes.

A true culinary ambassador, Chef Vinod has represented India at Indian food festivals around the globe, including the one that brought him to the United States in 1985. He led a team of chefs to the Festival of India held in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, and has been serving authentic and innovative Indian cuisine in the States ever since. Chef Vinod’s restaurants have also had the honor of collaborating and participating in the prestigious Silk Road and Folklife Festivals organized by the Smithsonian, where they catered to more than 4,000 people a day on the National Mall. He has been a frequent guest at Smithsonian Resident Associate Programs, sharing his culinary knowledge.

Chef Vinod made his national TV debut on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay. He has also appeared doing cooking demonstrations on Fox TV, Channel 9 WUSA, Channel 7 WJLA, and TV Asia. He has been a judge at many cooking competitions. Chef Vinod was recently invited as a distinguished guest by the largest hospitality expo, (IHE), India International Hospitality Expo held in greater Noida, Delhi to teach a Masterclass. Chef Vinod recently joined the  DC Central Kitchen board of directors; he is also a member of the Chef Network at World Central Kitchen, founded by Chef José Andrés.

Chef Vinod lives in Gaithersburg, MD, with his wife, Nisha, his mother, Pushpavathy, and his two children, Rahul and Rathi.