Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral
Students and faculty of the Verna-based Kamaxi College of Culinary Arts brought Goan culinary heritage to the forefront at the Serendipity Arts Festival 2025, curating an immersive food experience as part of the festival’s Culinary Odyssey. Centered on Gaud Saraswati Brahmin cuisine, the initiative offered festival-goers a rare opportunity to engage with one of Goa’s lesser-known yet deeply rooted food traditions.
Guided by Chef Anjali Prabhu Walavalkar, students Kotha Krishna Sai, Nihal Naik, Aaditya Verlekar and Parshuram Chalwadi stepped out of the classroom and into a high-energy festival environment. They not only prepared and served time-honoured dishes but also interacted closely with visitors, explaining ingredients, techniques and cultural contexts behind each preparation. The live setting challenged them to manage service, maintain consistency and communicate stories through food, mirroring the realities of professional culinary spaces.
For visitors, the stall became more than a place to eat—it became a space of discovery, where flavours opened conversations about tradition, memory and identity. The warmth and confidence with which the young chefs presented the cuisine reflected both pride in their heritage and the depth of their training.
The initiative underscored Kamaxi College of Culinary Arts’ experiential learning approach, where education extends beyond textbooks and kitchens into real-world platforms. By placing students at the heart of a major cultural festival, the college reinforced the idea that preserving regional cuisines goes hand in hand with nurturing the next generation of culinary professionals. Through skill, curiosity and storytelling, these young chefs demonstrated how tradition can thrive when passed on with care and creativity.
