Eating our way through the cuisines of the world requires crafting a unique itinerary. What better way to do that then to visit every country of the world? As of today there are 195 officially recognised countries. On the assumption that we cook a meal from one country each week we should reach the end of our culinary journey in about four-year’s time. A slightly daunting thought. Our itinerary begins on the edge of the world in little New Zealand and will take us through the Pacific islands before reaching the continental landmass of South-East Asia. A good trip is never without a few detours, so we’ll see how it pans out.

 

Although New Zealand will be our first official destination, we did embark on an alphabetically guided trip in early 2017 before plotting a more adventurous itinerary. As a result of this we have already worked through a dozen or so countries whose names start with the letter ‘A’. These meals may make an appearance as a rest week or we’ll just cook them again! Afghanistan’s Qabili Palua and Bulani flatbread were amazing.

 

How do we pick a meal to cook? Our approach thus far has been to largely research online for ideas and recipes that are specific to each country’s culture and traditions. As you would expect, there is an endless array of dishes that tick this box. We have selected recipes that feature accessible ingredients, are not overly complex, and simply sound interesting. That's where you, our readers, will hopefully come in and provide some feedback on what could be enhanced or done differently. Even better, tell us what your favourite dishes and bucket list items are for upcoming locations. With a bit of luck, as our mastery of the kitchen increase we will look to add our own flair. And, who knows, maybe we’ll come up with a recipe or two from scratch ourselves! Because we love hearing about new places, we thought we could spice up the journey by including some trivia about each destination. So, for each meal, we (and any guests) will bring some fun facts to the dinner table as our tickets in. 

 

Finally, Padkos. What does it mean? We stumbled across this fantastic word as we were looking for a suitable blog name that encompassed the essence of our project. South African in origin, while it does not directly translate into other languages, padkos can best be described as food taken on a journey. But in our case, the food will be taking us on a journey.

 

We hope our new adventure strikes a chord with your own wanderlust and that along the way we will have the opportunity to hear your story.