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Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli have been married for nearly a decade now and the actor and the cricketer have often credited each other for many positive influences in their life. Their vocal support for a vegetarian and later, a vegan lifestyle, surely seems like one of those things that has changed their life for the better. But their love for food, is still the same.
Anushka first turned vegetarian in 2015 and even though she admitted that it was “difficult” for her to do so, she embraced the vegetarian lifestyle because of her love for animals. A few years later, Virat followed, and shared that after facing some health issues, he felt that being vegetarian was the smarter choice.
Virat can’t eat meat because of Anushka’s love for animals
In a 2020 interview with Vogue, Virat credited Anushka in the sweetest way when he said, “Anushka has given me a new lease on life. I was not the most understanding or balanced person before I met her. She has inspired me to be a better human being and I feel blessed to spend my life with the most amazing woman I know.”
Virat and Anushka have been married since 2018. (Photo: Anushka Sharma/Instagram)
He also said that he can never eat meat again because of Anushka’s love for animals. “Anushka has been vegetarian for four years, while I turned to it two years ago for health reasons. I can never eat meat again because of her love for animals—it made me look at things differently,” he said.
A few years ago, Virat, in an Instagram live, revealed that he turned vegetarian because of health reasons and since then, he has believed that it was the “best decision” he ever made. “It made me feel why I didn’t do it before,” he said.
Anushka turned vegetarian for ‘spiritual reasons’
Before that, in a 2017 chat with Elle India, Anushka had revealed her reasons for turning vegetarian. “It was difficult for me to turn vegetarian, but it was a conscious choice I made,” she said and added, “My love for animals and spiritual reasons brought on this lifestyle change.”
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Anushka was always a health conscious person and turning vegetarian helped her in that journey. “I’ve noticed that since I’ve switched to vegetarianism, I don’t fall sick as often. Also, I’ve become more conscious about the environment. I want to set the right kind of example as a human being,” she said.
Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli visit their guru Premanand Ji Maharaj in Vrindavan (Photo: Youtube/ Bhajan Marg)
Despite living a lifestyle that needs them to travel around the globe, Virat and Anushka have maintained their vegetarianism. In fact, when they visit restaurants in foreign countries, chefs are delighted to present them with dishes that work for them.
When they ate ‘snakes’ in a vegetarian dish
In 2023, a profile in Vogue suggested that the couple loves to visit the restaurant Tendril in London, and had dined at the place five times. The restaurant revealed that their favourite dishes included Chinatown purple potatoes, carrot with tahini and pomegranate salad, Nduja squash tostada, and cauliflower moilee with pita bread.
Chef Harsh Dixit, in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India, revealed that for their anniversary dinner, he made them pho, but with a twist. Since the dish is often prepared with meat, Harsh made sure that this was altered to suit Virat and Anushka’s lifestyle. “There’s chicken and beef in the broth. But they were eating gluten-free at the time, so we went with rice noodles, which are traditional in Pho and gluten-free,” he said.
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Chef Harsh with Virat and Anushka. (Photo: Chef Harsh/Instagram)
This is when he made them try ‘snakes’. “Vietnamese cuisine includes a lot of snake – snake wine, even snake meat. So, how about serving ‘snakes’ to vegans?” He came up with the idea of serving snake gourd. “The idea was to have fun while staying within the dietary boundaries. That’s what being a private chef is about,” he said.
When Anushka found the perfect Chole Bhature for Virat in Mumbai
While they love enjoying international delicacies, Virat, who is from Delhi, and would often express his love for Chole Bhature earlier, loves to eat food that reminds him of home. In 2022, Anushka, in fact, found the perfect spot for him in Mumbai, a restaurant named Delhi Se. “Those who know him, know his love for Chole Bhature,” she shared in an Instagram Story. In the same post, she also shared that Virat loved watching Chole Bhature videos in his spare time. The restaurant owners, in a chat with The Indian Express, revealed that their restaurant was on the verge of shutting down but after they got an endorsement from the power couple, the restaurant got a new lease of life.
Their love for smaller eateries is quite evident, as was recently shared by the Bengaluru restaurant CTR. In a chat with Pinkvilla Biz, they recalled the couple’s visit in 2023 and shared that within minutes, the road outside the restaurant was jampacked with fans. “At that moment, outside the restaurant, the entire road was blocked, no vehicles could pass and there were people madly waiting for the couple to exit. When we opened the doors, they couldn’t even get inside the car,” they shared. Anushka grew up in Bengaluru and this was one of her favourite joint during her college days, and Virat too, loved the delicacies they had to offer.
Virat and Anushka got married in 2017. They are parents to daughter Vamika and son Akaay.
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