India, March 1 -- There's a food trail of a different kind taking shape across India.

In Uttara Kannada, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kolkata, small towns, sprawling farms and the edges of major cities are seeing starched white coats and gleaming knife sets descend for chef residencies. They study rare tubers, swap kitchen hacks and help recipes evolve .

Such residencies typically span two days to a week, featuring chefs from various regions who are selected through an open call process or by invitation.

The idea is to work with people who shape food trends and make informed decisions about ingredients and techniques that deserve wider recognition, says Sumeet Kaur, the owner of Spudnik Farms which hosts free residencies in Karnataka. The...