Traveling is one of the best and most exciting ways to have new experiences, meet new people and see things you’ll never forget. However, traveling is also about great local food – for example, you won’t have a chance to taste the original Italian pasta anywhere else in the world other than Italy, will you? That’s why paying attention to local foods from all around the world is so important, but it’s also a way to incorporate new flavors and recipes in your everyday cooking as well. And when they come home, every cooking aficionado is going to try these recipes out!

Here are a few ideas on how to start your culinary adventure.

Look for recipes

Not a lot of people have a tendency to ask for recipes when they’re eating in a restaurant, but doing so when you’re on a vacation is something else – what are the chances you’ll be able to eat that food again, after all? So, if you’re too shy to talk to a chef, at least ask the waiter about the recipe and try to gather some information. Ultimately, if that’s not an option either, just take a snapshot of the menu, as well as your dish, and try to figure out a recipe based on the ingredients when you get home.

Find the local food

Every part of the globe has its local food, but some countries are just so advanced when it comes to cooking that they’ll offer you dozens of local specialties. So, limiting your search to just one is essential if you want to turn your kitchen into a restaurant you’ve visited on a vacation. You can rely on other people’s opinions here or just replicate the dishes you’ve had when you were abroad. Discovering one amazing dish is sometimes quite enough to bring you back to your vacation mode and make you feel like you’re still there.

Throw a food party

Showing your friends pictures from your vacation is a great way to explain to them what you’ve experienced there, but what if you tried something else instead? If you like cooking, throw them a party where you’ll serve nothing but the food you’ve been eating on your vacation! That’s a great way to practice your culinary skills, introduce your friends to the places you’ve visited and, ultimately, an amazing excuse to eat some tasty food. You don’t need a lot of resources to go through with this idea, but a few selected recipes, some free-range ingredients, a reliable Miele oven and a ton of local booze will definitely do the trick.

Introduce a change

If you don’t like eating fish and vegetables, yet you’ve eaten these on your vacation, does the problem lie in your taste buds or is it something else? Lots of countries base their cuisine on seafood and other things you don’t eat that often, but, when you’re away from home, you simply have to try unusual dishes, no matter how much you hate them. However, this also gives you an opportunity to change the perspective and introduce a positive change into your life – add a few more dishes to your daily menu and you’ll soon notice how much you adore this newly-found variety.

Spice up every dish

Lots of local cuisines rely on unusual seasoning and condiments you’ve probably never had before, but don’t wait to come home to buy new spices and local herbs. Do so while you’re still abroad because local people certainly make them better than your neighborhood suppliers, so learn a thing or two about spices beforehand and purchase bulk herbs as soon as you can. After all, these usually don’t cost much, yet will give you a chance to prepare amazing and unordinary food in the years to come.

Go for it!

Being bold and brave when ordering food is crucial when you’re abroad – sticking to local pizzas is quite all right, especially if you’re in Italy. However, don’t be afraid to order something you’ve never had before. You may be surprised or shocked at first, but it will certainly make you appreciate local food more.