How can fermentation be a way of learning, remembering and sustaining communitie? In this talk, anthropologist Dolly Kikon explores fermentation as a practice of care, a form of pedagogy, and a lens through which to understand food justice, identity and everyday resilience.

What does fermentation in India look like today? Bringing together practitioners from across the country, this panel maps the current fermentation landscape—from deeply rooted traditions to contemporary experimentation, emerging businesses and shifting consumer interests. Together, Payal Shah, Shubhra Chatterji, Jaya Bajaj and Adithya Kidambi explore how fermentation is being reimagined, adapted and practised across India today.

How can fermentation shape a contemporary restaurant rooted in place? In this session, Chef Prateek Sadhu and Chef Kamlesh Negi share how Restaurant Naar weaves fermentation into everyday practice—from preservation and pantry building to ingredient development and finished dishes—offering a glimpse into the evolving culinary landscape of the Western Himalayas.

How do ferments travel, transform and endure across borders? In this session, Vasunthara traces the journeys of meat, fish and plant-based ferments across South and Southeast Asia, exploring histories of trade, migration and cultural exchange—and how these practices continue to shape diasporic food identities today.

How is fermentation tied to politics, power and belonging in everyday life? In this session, artists Rahee Punyashloka and Bao look at how fermented foods interact with notions of smell, purity, space, gender and labour in India, through research, case studies and lived experiences. Together, they unpack the social and cultural meanings embedded in fermentation, revealing how microbes and their makers negotiate boundaries and challenge identities in the spaces they inhabit.

What can archaeology tell us about the origins of fermentation? In this session, Dr. Kurush Dalal traces the long history of humans and microbes, exploring how fermentation shaped civilizations long before it was understood scientifically. Through archaeological evidence from India and around the world, he examines who domesticated whom, how researchers identify fermentation in the archaeological record, and the challenges and gaps that continue to shape our understanding of this ancient relationship.

How does fermentation carry the stories of a landscape? In this session, Dr. Hissay Doma Lepcha explores the unique fermentation traditions of Sikkim and the ways microbial cultures travel across place and time. This session will reflect on the deep connections between fermentation, ecology and regional identity.

What does it take to build a business around fermentation? In this session, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of bringing fermented products to market—from sourcing and consistency to flavour development, quality control and storytelling. The conversation will also explore emerging fermentation technologies and what they could mean for the future of food and beverage innovation.

Fermentation can be both a tool for preservation and a catalyst for innovation. In this shared session, Prachet Sancheti explores how local ingredients and flavours can be reimagined and scaled through fermentation-led food and beverage innovation, while Chef Gayatri Desai focuses on fermentation as a way to extend seasons, preserve wild foods and deepen our relationship with ingredients. Together, they offer perspectives from the intersection of R&D, experimentation and culinary practice.

How do South Asia's fermentation traditions speak to the wider world? In this session, fermentation educator Kirsten Shockey reflects on Desi Cultures 2026, exploring the intersections between local knowledge and global fermentation movements, and how practices continue to evolve through exchange, adaptation and shared learning.