Velim, a popular village in Salcete, Goa, is a popular tourist destination; the draw being the palm trees, delicious lunches at the cafes in the area, and of course, the seafood.

And there is one spot that outdoes all of them. The brainchild of Chef Avinash Martins, C’est L’avi is a table in the hills.

The setting’s aesthetic is elevated by the clay pots, original wood fires, the babble of the stream and the chirp of birds.

In 2002, when Avinash completed his post-graduate culinary studies, he found himself looking at a three-year-long stint with the Oberoi Group of Hotels.

Following this, he toured the world getting a hands-on experience with different cuisines. And so, in 2013, when he returned to his hometown in Goa, it was with a dream.

“I had gained an understanding of how different cuisines worked, and launched a boutique restaurant in Cavatine, North Goa. I wanted to cook for people who were looking for good food, but did not want to go to five-star restaurants,” he says.

From 2013 to 2020, Avinash laid his focus on flavours, perfecting these with every dish. But then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and the restaurant was forced to shut down for six months.

Avinash spent this time travelling through the forests, tribal villages and artisan clusters of Goa and had the most “eye-opening” experiences.

“After experiencing all that I had through the places I had visited, it seemed almost a crime not to showcase this to tourists who often were under the impression that Goa was all about the historical places and casinos,” he notes.

“I wanted to give tourists a real piece of Goa.”

The answer to his quest lay on a 250-acre ancestral property in Velim, a space that Avinash had spent his childhood summer vacations at.

“I would wait for the summers to visit my grandmother and we would roam around the land. But when granny passed away, the land lay forgotten,” he shares. Today, C’est L’avi is a product of the land.

True to the ‘farm-to-table’ concept, everything prepared at C’est L’avi is from the farms nearby, within a 5 km radius.

The seven-course meal is all about representing traditional dishes in a modern approach. Some hero items are the classic smoked mackerel, poached betul bay tiger prawn and black rice koyloleo.

The three-hour experience begins at noon, and you might even get a chance to cook a starter by yourself.

Today, as he looks back on the path leading up to here, Avinash says though it was a passion project, it was filled with a series of sustainable decisions.