Sanjay Thumma (born 26 April 1970) popularly known as Vah-Chef is an Indian chef and founder of the cooking website, vahrehvah.com. He is especially popular among the Indian expatriate communities in mainland Europe, Australia and North America. He became known for his online recipe channel on YouTube, which he started in 2007, with over 100 million hits.
Thumma was born in Hyderabad. His interest in the kitchen began when he was just 7 years old. His mother would engage him in the kitchen so that he would not annoy his siblings. His first dishes were dosa and scrambled eggs. His desire to cook increased when his mother was bedridden with a temporary illness and he had to cook for himself. He eventually went on to get his diploma in Hotel Management from IHM Hyderabad. He is married to Ragini, who is also a chef, with whom he has a son.
Thumma opened his first restaurant Sizzle India in Chicago in 1998. Over the next seven years, he had opened three more. He eventually sold his restaurants as he felt as a chef, he hardly got a chance to cook.