Vikram Vij was born in India in December 1964 and lived in New Delhi and Bombay until 1984. He studied Hotel Management in Austria and worked and lived in Salzburg and Vienna until 1989, when he moved to Canada to work at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta. In September 1994, Vikram opened the Vij’s Restaurant in Vancouver, BC. In early 1995, his wife, Meeru Dhalwala, joined him. In 2002, Vikram and Meeru opened up a second restaurant and market called Rangoli. Together, they manage a staff of over 70 employees.

In addition to working with Meeru on menu planning for both restaurants, Vikram runs the “front of the house” at both Vij’s and Rangoli. Vikram’s big focus in 2010 has been the setting up of a production facility in Surrey, BC to prepare Vij’s packaged gourmet curries, which are cooked by hand and are original popular recipes from Vij’s restaurant. Vij’s curries will be available throughout Canada by winter 2011.

Vikram is past president and active member of the Chef’s Table Society of British Columbia, which is dedicated to supporting innovative and sustainable food programs involving chefs, producers and others working in the local food industry. With the help of many members of the Chef’s Table Society, Vikram and fellow BC chef Robert Clark spearheaded the 2nd Canadian Chefs’ Congress in Vancouver Island, BC. The Chefs’ Congress is an annual two-day gathering for intense cooking, eating and learning and the 2010 focus is “Oceans for Tomorrow.”

Vikram is a certified Sommelier and is passionate about encouraging people to enjoy wine as they do food and to engage in learning about the growing of grapes and the production of wine as they would any other food source. With Meeru, Vikram has penned two cookbooks: Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine, which won Cuisine Canada’s 2007 Gold Award for Best Cookbook, and Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey. They live in Vancouver with their two daughters.