Travel Tips, Recipes, and Stories

A journey into the kitchens of Togo, exploring the story of gboma dessi—a deeply rooted leafy green stew shaped by generations of home cooking—and how this humble combination of greens, palm oil, tomatoes, and spice reflects the country’s history as a crossroads of cultures, carrying its flavors from local courtyards to tables across West Africa and the diaspora.

A journey into the kitchens of the Habsburg Empire, exploring the story of Kaiserschmarrn—the rustic torn pancake said to have been favored by Emperor Franz Joseph—and how this simple dish of eggs, flour, butter, and sugar traveled from imperial courts to alpine huts and eventually to the tables of German restaurants like Lüchow’s in New York.

A journey into the kitchens of Colombia, exploring the history of plantains, the vibrant tomato and onion sauce known as hogao, and the crispy patacones that have become a beloved staple from street stalls to family tables across the country.

A journey into the kitchens of 16th-century Russia, exploring the foods of Ivan the Terrible’s court and the enduring cabbage soup, shchi, that defined Russian life from peasant huts to the tsar’s table.