"Food is a major, big, important way to communicate with people," Vij, now an 18-year-old freshman at the University of California, Irvine, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "Food helps connect us." ...

In 2012 Vij lauched his mobile food truck, Vij's Railway Express, and last spring launched My Shanti in Surrey. Vij has also recently expanded sales of his curried foods at new concession stands ...