Spending an afternoon with young students, walking them through the everyday spices of an Indian kitchen, is one of the most rewarding things a chef gets to do.

Cumin, coriander, mustard seed, fennel, cardamom — held in a small hand, smelled, tasted, asked about. The questions children ask about food are usually better than the ones we ask ourselves as adults.

Culinary education is the long game. The next generation of cooks is watching, and what we show them now — about respect for ingredients, about patience, about generosity at the pass — will outlast any single dish we plate.