Wanderlust from the Kitchen Table : Eat Around the World

A favourite meal can take you straight back to a place. The pasta from a tiny restaurant, the market stall you returned to twice, the dish you’ve been trying to recreate ever since.

You can also travel in the other direction: let dinner introduce you to somewhere you’ve never been. To eat around the world, start with a recipe, a shared table and a map to see where the evening takes you.

A world map at the dinner table

Some of our customers have shown us how naturally maps become part of family meals. A country on the wall becomes a question, a story or the starting point for a future adventure.

Credit: @triplenovacreative

Leny Daley. a designer from London explains: “Having the map in our dining room is fab, the kids love to point out the countries their meals are from”. (@triplenovacreative)

We’ve also seen Anna Whitehouse, known as @mother_pukka, exploring food and geography with her family. In a cooking collaboration shared in the original version of this article, they found India on their Classic World Map while preparing an Indian meal together.

It’s a simple idea: before you eat, find the place. What’s nearby? Is it beside the sea? Have you been there, or would you like to go?

Credit: @mother_pukka / @gustocooking 

Our Classic World Map makes a colourful point of reference for those conversations, with countries, cities, rivers and mountain ranges to explore.

Try an eat around the world challenge

If you’re looking for family dinner ideas, take turns choosing a country and a recipe associated with it. Once a week is plenty; there’s no need to turn dinner into a major production.

Pick something manageable, find the country on your map and get everyone involved in preparing the meal. Afterwards, keep a little record of what you cooked and whether it deserves a return visit.

You could make a notebook of your favourites or add numbered markers to the map, matched to a recipe list. Over time, you’ll build your own collection of meals and places.

To cook around the world is also to discover variety within countries. One recipe is a starting point, with plenty more flavours, regions and family traditions to explore.

Follow the ingredients, too

Food from around the world is probably already in your kitchen. Look at the origin labels on your coffee, tea, fruit or chocolate and find those places together.

Which ingredients have travelled furthest? Which grow closer to home? Why might a crop thrive in one landscape and not another?

A familiar breakfast can open up a conversation about climate, farming and how food reaches our tables. Start with the origin information actually shown on the packaging, then follow your curiosity.

A taste of Florence

For our founder Marcus, one dish brings back visits to Florence during his time working in the fashion industry: tagliata di manzo, sliced seared steak served with rocket, tomatoes and Parmesan, finished with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

It’s the sort of meal that carries a place with it. Find Florence on the map, cook something that reminds you of a favourite trip, and share the story behind it.

You don’t need an elaborate itinerary. Sometimes remembering where you ate something—and who was with you—is enough to get the whole table talking.

Give your kitchen map a daily role

Between meals, a magnetic map can keep the practical things together: shopping lists, invitations, recipe notes and postcards.

Finish the rice or use the last of the coffee? Write it on the map and check the list before heading to the shops. Souvenir magnets collected on holidays can find a home there too, roughly where they belong.

It gives your kitchen a useful noticeboard and a reminder of a much bigger world, ready for the next meal or conversation.

For more ways to bring maps into everyday life, explore our world map ideas for the home.

Whether you’re cooking somewhere new or revisiting an old favourite, a map makes room for the stories around the food. Choose a country, pull up a chair and see where dinner takes you.

Find a world map for your kitchen or dining room.