Kochi, the largest city in the Indian state of Kerala, roughly translates in Malayalam to “small lagoon.” It was probably an apt description once. The extensive wetlands of the Malabar Coast made it the center of Indian spice trade for centuries, drawing Romans and Persians, Syrians and Chinese. But standing in the Kochi of today—the economic powerhouse of India’s most developed state, a thriving cultural hub imprinted by four centuries of colonial rule—its etymology feels like a relic from another world entirely.
More than many places, Kochi has layers. To navigate it, you need someone who not only knows it from the inside but who is accustomed to operating in many different registers. You need someone like Thomas Zacharias (Zac in his daily life, ChefTZac to his many social media followers), the celebrated Kerala-born chef who worked in the highest levels of New York fine dining before returning to India to open the game-changing Bombay Canteen.
