He found further fame as host and judge on India's popular Masterchef India television programme. India's Food and Nightlife magazine called him a ''gourmet guru''.
The Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship is a tribute to the special contribution made by the Mt Everest conqueror to New Zealand's relationships with India and Nepal.
The New Zealand Government selects an up-and-coming leader from their respective field in India or Nepal to visit New Zealand every year.
This year's fellowship will focus on promoting New Zealand's food and beverage and tourism sectors to the rapidly growing Indian consumer market.
''New Zealand's produce, whether dairy, lamb, seafood, fruits or vegetables, is among the best in the world, and using it to cook traditional Indian food will be terrific,'' Mr Kapur said.
''Best of all, I know it can all be found amongst the most beautiful scenery in the world.''
Mr Kapur and entourage are scheduled to enjoy such quintessentially Queenstown attractions as the Skyline Gondola and a Lake Wakatipu cruise on TSS Earnslaw, as well as a stop at the Queenstown Resort College tomorrow.
A visit to Cromwell and its farmers' market is earmarked for Sunday.
The chef will travel to Hawkes Bay on Tuesday, then Auckland to meet some of the country's leading food and beverages exporters.
A high point of Mr Kapur's visit will be a joint cooking demonstration with New Zealand Masterchef judge Simon Gault in Euro restaurant, Auckland, on January 25.
Minister for Primary Industries David Carter, who led a business delegation of New Zealand food and beverage and agritech companies to India, presented the fellowship to Mr Kapur on behalf of Prime Minister John Key in Delhi on November 30.
