Step into a sensory exploration of food, where your own instincts become the most reliable guide to quality. In this hands-on workshop, we will engage our senses - sight, smell, taste, touch, and even sound to differentiate between authentic, adulterated, and refined ingredients. Our food system is shifting towards better quality, but true change begins when consumers can identify and support authenticity. By removing labels and marketing claims, this workshop will train you to assess ingredients based on their inherent characteristics rather than certifications or branding.Through interactive tastings and discussions, you’ll:

✅ Identify the difference between refined, adulterated, and heirloom ingredients.

✅ Engage in a guessing game with oils, grains, and pulses to sharpen your food instincts.

✅ Compare seasonal heirloom, hybrid, and regular vegetables by touch, taste, and aroma.

✅ Learn how to recognise purity in food without relying on external authorities.

This workshop is more than just a tasting, it's an awakening. By the end, you’ll trust your senses to make informed choices, moving towards a food system rooted in quality over commercial profit. A light snack and drink will be provided to cleanse the palate, and for the best experience, we recommend attending on an empty stomach.

About the Facilitator

Vijhay is a self-taught chef who has honed his skills over years of travelling across India to learn from family recipes, traditional healers, food researchers, artists & professional chefs. His experience as a palm oil industrialist has created a passion for nurturing a better food system inspired by traditional food practices. His experimental and ingredient-forward restaurant near Auroville (Maiyam Past Food), gave him a strong foundation to practically contribute to the growing community of custodians of our food culture. 

He now crafts food-based experiences for his patrons, where he creatively represents the uniqueness of heirloom ingredients and shares the link between sustainability and health. He has experience in working with organic wholesale stores, speciality restaurants, food stalls, and small communities producing food products. His food is focused on adopting Indigenous Knowledge and ingredients in his recipes. 

The core idea behind his work is to promote nutritional security by nurturing regenerative agriculture practices. There is also an emphasis on the satiation of our senses via food. I draw from traditional medicinal and allopathic nutritional perspectives on how to treat an ingredient and food combinations to render a balanced meal.