Food is an exciting part of travelling for me, but I so often am surprised to find it is not for other people.
My partner has some food anxieties issues, so I am prepared that he won’t be wanting to try cassoulet or escargot (our common ground is desserts!), but I have been a little surprised to find both his parents are equally unadventurous. I haven’t known them long enough to know if they’ve always been people who eat little, or if this is a later in life development, but I’ve not seen any enthusiasm for exploring menus, including dessert, from either of them aside from scanning for familiar pizzas or fries.
We found a restaurant with pizza they all like and they’ve stuck with it. It is good pizza, I tried a bit, I get it… But there are many other foods we can’t get at home that might be just as exciting!
When I think that some of my best memories from holidays are of the food I have shared, this makes me feel we are missing out on something special.
I went to Venice with a vegan friend a few years ago and… well Venetians apparently didn’t understand what was required and “vegetarian” meals arrived with ham on and she just had to accept that there was a good chance a dish could arrive covered in cheese.
But we still shared enthusiasm for finding the best gelato, and navigated the maze of streets for what felt like miles to find a great place that did non-dairy options! One of our favourite memories was eating those ice creams together. She was taking a photo of hers and it fell out the cone seconds later! I was impressed when she scooped it right back up onto the cone, scraped off the ground layer, and still ate it!
I went to Malaysia with my family in 2018 and we still talk to this day about the incredible food we had there! The best part of the holiday (one that generally triggered a crap tonne of anxiety, and I got Lyme disease!) was the evenings spent in food halls. I think about this Dal and Puri on a regular basis!
My mother has always been adverse to spicy food and gets migraines from certain ingredients, but in recent years has also developed a stomach issue that means she has to also avoid anything too acidic. So in Malaysia this was a problem!
However when we had our mother & daughter trip East Coast Canada in 2023 it didn’t pose any major problems for us with food, and we really enjoyed some incredible French Canadian food together – one meal we’ll never forget (the fish! The creme brulé!)!
However, she was not interested in trying poutine or smoked meat which lead to me struggling with giant portions on my own!
In the South of France I am the only one trying local dishes. I’ve struggled through a giant cassoulet and a huge bowl of bouillabaisse alone while the others had their favourite pizza again.
While I do understand wanting to get this pizza while it’s available (super thin crispy pizza is so hard to find in England), we’re in France and there are local specialities to explore!
Both of my “while in France” dishes were delicious – especially the duck confit on the cassoulet! Holy shit! – but it’s a shame I couldn’t share the delight with my companions!
Still, I am tempted to get myself one of those pizzas before we leave! I’m starting to feel like I’m missing out by not having one!
