Overview

• In August 2025 interviews, Chef Harsh Dixit recounted transforming traditional Vietnamese Pho into a fully vegan, gluten-free five-course anniversary dinner for Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli.
• He recreated the broth using plant-based ingredients and chose rice noodles to preserve Pho’s authenticity while meeting gluten-free requirements.
• To reference traditional uses of snake in Vietnamese cuisine, he made smoked snake gourd the star, stuffing it with peanuts, coconut, tofu, and spices in a lemongrass-ginger-coriander broth with mushrooms and chilli oil.
• The menu was finalized just hours before the dinner after a last-minute confirmation, underscoring Dixit’s ability to deliver complex private-dining solutions on tight notice.
• The retrospective accounts clarified that no animal-derived ingredients were used, correcting earlier impressions of snake meat or conventional broths.