By Sumita Sheth

The Living Pyramids with Vikas Khanna’s World Chefs “Cooking for Life”

A group of world class master chefs gather to immortalize the unique experience of dining under the shadow of the great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt.

Sometimes you come across an event that is not just all hype and glory for the chosen few, where the mission is truly noble and the people involved truly sympathetic to their cause. The Living Pyramids, to be held in Egypt next to the great Pyramids, and organized by Master Chef Vikas Khanna and his World Chefs “Cooking for Life”, promises to be just such an event.

The first in a unique series, The Living Pyramids is Vikas Khanna’s brainchild. He hopes to raise awareness along with monies for SATH (Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality) in order to promote accessibility for the disabled to places historically considered the Wonders of the World.

I first heard of Vikas and his thoroughly inspirational life story just a few months ago. It was riveting to read about the hurdles in his life, how he overcame them, and how it has resulted in making him appreciate every living moment as a gift that should be used for others’ good. Born with misaligned legs, he spent the first thirteen years of his life in a leg brace, spending time indoors and learning to cook from his grandmother instead of learning the usual outdoor yard games. Thoroughly immersed in the world of food, he was chosen to attend the prestigious WelcomGroup, becoming one of only thirty-four candidates chosen from almost twenty thousand. Even here fate tested him via a number of bizarre occurrences - he almost missed the oral portion of his examination, a piece of lead got lodged in his eye the day he was to have his final interview, but he had faith in himself, believed in God and he persevered. Today he is a world renowkned, much feted and awarded Master Chef, spearheading an amazing number of iniatives to help the world around him.

Advertised as “The Most Extravagant Culinary Gala in History” The Living Pyramids is to be a glorious evening “in the shadow of the Pyramids” with Egyptian music, dance and sumptuous dining. Twenty of the world’s most famous chefs will have painstakingly prepared each dish with authentic Egyptian ingredients, promising the diners an unparalleled culinary experience.

The ‘Venue’ for The Living Pyramids:
Mena House Oberoi
Pyramids' Road
Giza, Cairo
Telephone: +20 2 377 3222, 377 3444
Facsimile: +20 2 376 7777

The ‘Date’:
Thursday July 20th, 2006, 7pm to 11pm

For more information, please visit World of Chefs.

And the next event in this series is to be The Soul of Taj, to be hosted at the Taj Mahal in 2007.

More about the organizations mentioned:
The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH), founded in 1976, is an educational nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the United States and abroad. Members include travel professionals, consumers with disabilities and other individuals and corporations who support our mission.

Egypt Has it All, a Canadian Travel Company which has a specialized traveling program for people with disabilities. Their slogan is unique and simple; "your disability will never be a constraint anymore, as long as your mind tunes up with our adventure and exploration spirits". Their motive is based on a very simple principal "regardless of your disability, you are not different but you are special, you can do what others can do, and even more".

World Chefs “Cooking for Life” is a non-profit foundation founded by New York City, Chef Vikas Khanna to raise awareness and money for various causes around the world.
“Food is the sacred binding force of humanity” believes Chef Khanna.

Images courtesy Vikas Khanna & Mena House Oberoi

Published June 11, 2006