Vikas Khanna is an award winning __________ starred Indian chef known internationally for his fine dining restaurant in New York; which word correctly fills the blank to describe the type of star rating he has received?

Introduction / Context:
Vikas Khanna is a globally recognised Indian chef who became famous for his fine dining restaurant Junoon in New York. In the world of food and hospitality, restaurants are often judged by independent rating guides. The most prestigious of these rating systems is the Michelin star system, which is awarded by the Michelin Guide. This question checks whether you connect the phrase Michelin starred with the chef mentioned in the stem and whether you can avoid being distracted by other brand names that sound similar but have nothing to do with restaurant ratings.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The chef mentioned is Vikas Khanna, an Indian celebrity chef known internationally.
- The sentence refers to him as an award winning blank starred Indian chef.
- The options are Apollo, Michelin, Goodyear, Viking, and Zagat.
- We assume the question refers to the common expression Michelin starred chef used in food media and exam general knowledge.

Concept / Approach:
The key concept here is awareness of famous global rating systems. Michelin stars are awarded by the Michelin Guide to restaurants that meet very high standards of food, service, and consistency. Chefs whose restaurants receive one or more Michelin stars are often called Michelin starred chefs. The exam expects you to recall that Vikas Khanna is widely cited as a Michelin starred Indian chef and to link this information to the blank in the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the stem carefully and identify the main clue, which is the name Vikas Khanna and the phrase award winning starred Indian chef.
Step 2: Recall that Vikas Khanna ran the restaurant Junoon in New York and that it received a Michelin star, giving him the description Michelin starred chef.
Step 3: Look at the options and pick the brand that actually operates a formal restaurant star rating system, which is Michelin.
Step 4: Confirm that other options like Apollo, Goodyear, Viking, and Zagat do not match the usual expression blank starred chef.
Step 5: Conclude that the correct word to fill the blank is Michelin, giving the phrase Michelin starred Indian chef.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick mental check is to remember headlines from food and lifestyle magazines that describe him as a Michelin starred Indian chef from New York. Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants, but chefs are popularly described using the same term. None of the other options are used in this way in standard English. Therefore, the answer that fits common usage and standard general knowledge is Michelin.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Apollo is a brand name mainly associated with tyres and hospitals in India and has no global restaurant rating system linked to it.
Goodyear is a tyre manufacturer known for tyres and blimps, not for evaluating restaurants or chefs.
Viking is usually associated with historical seafarers or a brand of kitchen appliances, but not with star ratings for restaurants.
Zagat is a restaurant survey and guide brand, but people are not described as Zagat starred chefs, so it does not match the specific blank starred wording used in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to assume any famous brand connected to food or lifestyle might fit the blank and to ignore the exact phrase starred chef. Another pitfall is mixing up general restaurant guides like Zagat with the specific star rating system run by Michelin. Some learners also guess randomly among the options without recalling the specific connection between Vikas Khanna and the Michelin Guide.

Final Answer:
The correct completion of the sentence is that Vikas Khanna is an award winning Michelin starred Indian chef.