A celebrity East Coast chef is coming to Saanich to do a rare pop-up at Kinu, an Indian-inspired tapas restaurant in Uptown. 

Chef Devan Rajkumar aka "Chef Dev" has a massive following of 200,000 on Instagram and is author of the cookbook Mad Love, which he'll be signing at the event. He was also previously listed as one of Air Canada's Top New Restaurant panelists.

While most chefs of this calibre typically host pop-ups in larger cities like Vancouver or Calgary, Chef Dev was "drawn to Kinu's unique concept, which aligns with his Guyanese-Indian heritage," says Kirn Bawa, owner-operator of Kinu.

"Kirn is so passionate about celebrating culinary talent and innovation, and one of her big-picture goals is to develop the culinary scene and create unique dining experiences in Victoria," said Raj Thandhi of Pink Chai Media.

"Kirn has also created a third-culture food-forward menu at Kinu, with unique dishes that fuse her family's Canadian and Punjabi cultures. So it was like finding a kindred spirit in culinary adventure," Thandhi said.

The pop-up menu will be a la carte and have unique offerings blending Chef Dev's Guyanese-Canadian flair with Kinu's Indian flavours. Some of the colourful items on the menu include pakora gnocci, fish tacos, and Kinu chicken, an Indo-Chinese-inspired take on orange chicken.

The pop-up runs one night only on Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 6-9:30 p.m. Spaces are limited and can be booked through 778-265-7775.

Kinu opened in March 2024 and is part of the Sizzling Tandoor group of restaurants, which is family-owned.

Learn more about Kinu at .