Led by Thomas Zacharias, one of India’s most interesting young chefs, this trip ventures south to discover a side of Goa unknown even to most Indians, from a Hindu farmstead to a tribal village in a nature sanctuary to a tasting table in the middle of a jungle. He will guide us through the region’s best fine dining, street food, and seaside markets exploding with flavor, meeting the people who make India’s smallest state so alluring and learning ancestral secrets passed down across generations.
Chef, Storyteller, Founder of The Locavore Thomas Zacharias
R&K Host
Journalist, Traveler Charly Wilder
Overview
The Other Side of Goa
Led by Thomas Zacharias, one of India’s most interesting young chefs and founder of the pioneering storytelling platform The Locavore, this trip ventures south to discover a side of Goa unknown even to most Indians, from a Hindu farmstead to a tribal village in a nature sanctuary to a tasting table in the middle of a jungle. He will guide us through the region’s best fine dining, street food, and seaside markets exploding with flavor, meeting the people who make India’s smallest state so alluring and learning ancestral secrets passed down across generations. Light activity level. Vegetarian-friendly.
Private transfer from the airport to Ahilya by the Sea, a boutique property on serene Dolphin Bay
Welcome cocktails at Ahilya with the hosts
Take in the beauty of Goa at dusk over dinner at Slow Tide, serving a modern take on the cuisine of the Konkan Coast, at a gorgeous setting overlooking Anjuna Beach
Travel to Mapusa to experience the explosion of senses that is Mapusa Market, Goa’s oldest and largest, sampling the best market snacks, like Goan bread with curry lentils washed down with fresh chai
Share in a treasured local pastime, a pre-dinner crawl of the phenomenal street food carts and fun hole-in-the-wall bars and restaurants in Panaji, the capital
End up at the storied, timeworn Clube Nacional for classic Goan dinner
Travel to Chorao Island to learn about Goa’s thousands of rice varietals and the region’s traditional Khazan farming system, combining agriculture and aquaculture in alignment with the tides
Head to a homestead farm for a hands-on cooking experience, making hay-smoked mackerel and a Hindu-Goan dessert called Patoleyo, leading up to a traditional Hindu farmstead feast
Siesta!
Dinner of hearty spice-laden Goan-Catholic cuisine at Bhatti Village, a former distillery-home turned into a family-run restaurant
Meet Hansel Vaz, local-born storyteller and distiller of the iconic Goan spirit Feni, made from cashew or coconut, for a Feni tasting at a table in the middle of a forest pond
Lunch in the jungle by The Goan Kitchen, preserving traditional Goan-Portuguese recipes that you wont find in the restaurants of Goa, including a vindaloo unlike anything you’ve ever tasted
Head south to check into our new home, the secluded seaside haven Amaraanth
Taverna crawl led by Hansel, sampling from the amazing hole-in-the-wall spots of southern Goa, many unmarked with zero online presence
End the crawl with traditional Goan-Christian food at a local taverna
Travel to Benaulim for lunch at Chef Avinash Martins’ award-winning Cavatina, serving modern Goan cuisine elevated through storytelling and creative pop-ups
Visit to a traditional Goan Bakery for a tasting, watching the bakers make bread the old way, throwing toddy-fermented loaves into the massive wood fire oven with the pomp and virtuosity of an orchestra conductor
High Tea and folklore at a the 400-year-old Figueiredo House, a magnificent Portuguese mansion that predates the Taj Mahal, still maintained by the original family that had it built by Jesuit priests in 1590
Dinner in town at a third-generation traditional Christian-Goan taverna
Travel to a coconut plantation for a tasting of authentic coconut water, jaggery, and toddy
Coconut-laced seafood lunch on the plantation
Back to Amaraanth for cocktails leading to a big-deal four-hands chefs dinner by Thomas and a guest chef, eating and drinking into the night with friends made throughout the week
Day
8
GOODBYE GOA
November 15 · Sunday
One last breakfast at Amaraanth, blinking back tears, vowing reunions
Private transfer to the airport
What’s Included
All breakfasts, lunches, dinners, as well as snacks and beverages between meals
Expertise and services of our experienced trip leaders: at least one guide and one host per trip
Additional guides and experts from the region
Transfers to and from the airport or wherever you are on the day the trip starts and ends
Daily Roads & Kingdoms gifts related to the themes, activities and narratives of each trip
All gratuities for accommodations, meals, guiding or transport
What’s Not Included
International airfare to and from the journey (note: some trips begin and end at different airports)
Airport transfers on days that fall outside of the trip dates
Personal bar tabs (when not with the group)
Personal laundry or spa services
Personal travel insurance
Meet Our Hosts
Local Guide
Thomas Zacharias
Chef, Storyteller, Founder of The Locavore
Better known as ChefTZac, Thomas Zacharias is a chef, storyteller, and founder of the pioneering storytelling platform The Locavore, which champions local food systems and uncovers the rich diversity of India’s regional cuisines. Formerly the chef-partner at Mumbai’s iconic Bombay Canteen, named Best Restaurant in India by Condé Nast Traveler in 2018, Thomas refined his craft at the 3 Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in New York before returning to India to help reimagine its culinary landscape. When he’s not chasing culinary adventures, Thomas moonlights as a karaoke singer and tends to his sprawling collection of house plants in his urban jungle of an apartment.
R&K Host
Charly Wilder
Journalist, Traveler
Roads & Kingdoms executive editor Charly Wilder is an award-winning journalist who has spent most of the past two decades in Europe covering travel, culture, and current affairs. As a longtime contributor to the New York Times, she followed the former Silk Road through Central Asia, traced her ancestry into the old Jewish shtetls of Eastern Europe, covered doping in Russia and jaguar conservation in the Yucatán, and was paid to eat her way through numerous European cities.
Where You’ll Stay
Ahilya by the Sea
Infinity, Please
If a sunrise swim in an infinity pool shaded by coconut palms looking out on the Goan coast appeals to you, we think you’ll like our accommodation for the first half of this trip. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Dolphin Bay, Ahilya by the Sea comprises nine tastefully decorated rooms spread across three villas.
Amaraanth
Sophisticated susegad
Nestled just a short stroll from Fatrade beach in South Goa, Amaraanth is a secluded seaside haven designed by the Bangalore-based architect and designer George Seemon. Fusing contemporary and traditional styles, the property emphasizes outdoor living and natural beauty while minimizing environmental impact.
I had no idea what a deeply moving experience this trip would be—far beyond just a culinary tour.
Dawn F.
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If you love far-flung, intrepid travel and food, you will love traveling with Roads & Kingdoms.
Katie K.
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The connections R&K has in the community made this trip feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience that could not be replicated by any other company.
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