Pankaj Balachandran, Mixologist, Countertop; Quinta Cantina
Mexico, truthfully, the nation as an entire. After opening a Mexico-meets-Goa house in Panjim, Quinta Cantina, I’m itching to be on the bottom in 2026 and do a correct deep dive into the heritage, tradition, and ingesting rituals that make Mexican bar tradition so particular. It’s not about one bar for me, however many: locations like Form + Matter, Tlecān, El Gallo Altanero, and numerous others throughout Oaxaca, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.I want to perceive mezcal and agave not simply as spirits, however as residing tradition, how they’re grown, distilled, poured, shared, and celebrated. Mexico looks like a masterclass in authenticity, hospitality, and soul, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in it correctly.
Adwait Anantwar, Executive Chef, INJA
When I moved to Delhi, I used to be launched to the meals of Northeast India by way of colleagues, particularly cooks from the area working in the business and at INJA. Their meals confirmed me a very new manner of cooking: fermented components like axone from Nagaland; bamboo shoot in recent and fermented types; smoked pork and dried river fish stored over wooden fires; perilla seeds; roselle leaves; and the usage of wild herbs. In Meghalaya particularly, the combination of smoke, sourness, and bitterness, usually accomplished with little or no fats or spice, felt very clear and properly thought out to me. What pursuits me most are the every day strategies of fermentation, smoking and air-drying to retailer meals, cooking wrapped in leaves, and a pure respect for seasons and the land. In 2026, I want to journey to Nagaland and Meghalaya for a meal, to see these components and cooking strategies in their very own setting, from house kitchens to native markets. For a chef, it looks like one of many least talked-about but most vital food areas in the nation.