Is Cookery Becoming a Mockery?

In this conversation, Dr. Rishikesh K.B sits down with Dr. Chef Avin Thaliath - baker, educator, author, and founder of Lavonne - for a wide-ranging exploration of what it means to build a life's work at the intersection of craft and conviction. The dialogue moves fluidly between the technical and the philosophical, between the quiet discipline that underwrites every act of creative expression and the often-invisible architecture of failure that precedes any visible success. Dr. Avin reflects candidly on his journey from chef to institution-builder, on what it takes to train not just skilled professionals but thinking ones, and on why, in a landscape increasingly crowded with shortcuts and spectacle, authenticity remains baking's most undervalued ingredient. The conversation widens further still - into the cultural moment we find ourselves in, where indigenous traditions compete with imported aesthetics, where recognition can either ground or unmoor a person, and where the distinction between knowledge and wisdom grows more urgent in an age of instant information and emerging automation.What emerges is not merely an interview about baking, but a meditation on mentorship, legacy, and the inner discipline of staying curious long after the titles have arrived - a reflection on patience, purpose, and the courage it takes to choose a craft that rewards persistence over speed. A conversation well worth your time, for anyone building something meant to last.