Chef Harsh Dixit, a well-known name in the entertainment industry, recently revealed details about cooking for Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma's anniversary in December 2019. The celebrity couple, known for their strict vegan diet for almost a decade, presented a unique challenge for the chef.
Dixit recounted that he prepared Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup, for their anniversary dinner, but with a vegan twist. Traditional Pho typically includes chicken or beef broth, which was obviously not an option for the vegan couple. Dixit creatively worked around this limitation by making snake gourd the star ingredient of the dish.
Despite Pho often containing snake wine and snake meat, Dixit found a way to serve "snakes" to the vegan couple by using snake gourd. He stuffed the snake gourd with peanuts, coconut, tofu, and coriander and then smoked it. The dish also featured water chestnut, enoki mushrooms, and chilies, all in a lemongrass-ginger-coriander root broth, and a chili oil on the side.
Furthermore, Dixit shared that Anushka and Virat were eating gluten-free at the time, so he used rice noodles, which are traditional in Pho and gluten-free. He emphasized that the idea was to have fun while staying within the dietary boundaries, which is what being a private chef is all about.
Dixit mentioned that he only received confirmation for the anniversary dinner on Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 PM, while their anniversary was on Thursday. It was a five-course vegan dinner, an entirely private dining experience in their home. Dixit viewed the opportunity as not just a win professionally, but also underscoring the importance of providing personalized, private dining for athletes who can't enjoy the same restaurant freedom as others.