Sitting on the Lisbon Metro en route to a stranger’s house a brief moment of concern flashed in my mind. Have I made good choices today? A few minutes later a door swung open as Defne welcomed me in with a bright smile. “Come on in, welcome, and heads up there is a cat … somewhere in here,” she looked around. “I’ve made good choices,” I thought to myself shedding the concerns into the ether.
Traveling Spoon is a women-owned sustainable travel company focused on hyper-local culinary experiences. Having realized they had a shared craving for authentic food experience co-founders Aashi Vel and Stephanie Lawrence came up with the concept that addressed both sides of the market: offering unique experiences to travellers and opportunities for locals to earn new income and share their skills with the world. Today Traveling Spoon operates in 233 cities across 70 countries from Brazil to Ethiopia. Naturally, all hosts are vetted to ensure the safety of both parties.
Our mission is to find you the most meaningful and memorable cultural experiences
~ Steph & Aashi
This experience was hosted by Traveling Spoon who did not review or approve this story.
This blog post might contain affiliate links denoted by ( * ). Read the disclaimer about affiliate links & PR gifting here.
“I was thinking we could eat outside” Defne pointed to the enclosed outdoor garden. It was a particularly sunny day and the idea of having lunch on a sunny terrace gave me a fresh surge of energy after an overnight flight. Your local experience (group or private) can involve a meal, a cooking lesson or a market tour. I opted for a Traditional Portuguese Cooking Class with a Local.
My host, Defne, is a skilled home cook from Turkey who made Portugal her home a few years back. Both cultures are very food oriented with quite a few similarities in ingredients and cooking techniques. The meal we are having today is Caldeirada de Peixe (a Portuguese fisherman’s stew) paired with Salada de Grão-de-Bico (Turkish chickpea salad) accompanied with cheese, olives, bread, and a bottle of Vinho Verde (Portuguese wine). When curating this menu Defne experimented quite a bit looking for authentic dishes that represent both of her identities while ensuring that the recipes are simple and easy to replicate at home. “I’ll email you the full recipe after,” she commented while layering potatoes at the bottom of the pot.
As Defne works her way through the preparation sharing instructions and techniques (“… salt the fish 3 hours ahead of time”) we talk about food culture and the way it brings people together. Cuisine influences, be it through flavour or cooking techniques, are a constant thread of inspiration for people around the world “and so here in Portuguese dishes, I see influences and similarities with Turkey,” Defne motions with a spoon. I briefly flashed to learning about Parisian favourites and where they came from before becoming French staples on a food tour of Montmartre.
Defne always had a special relationship with food and enjoys hosting dining experiences. Upon arrival, she briefly attempted hosting her own experiences but Traveling Spoon proved to be a great partner. To her, food is the glue that binds us and having shared a meal with more than one stranger over the years I tend to agree with that sentiment deeply.
Having left the stew behind to continue building flavour in the pot we descended into the garden exchanging travel anecdotes and banter about all things food over salad and appetizers. Defne’s apartment is located in a very multicultural part of Lisbon, something she found particularly endearing about this location. I asked questions about the city welcoming the fish stew to the table. She talked about her favourite restaurants and art galleries before introducing me to Ginjinha (sour cherry liquor) and dessert (Arroz de Doce – rice pudding). I left full and inspired to continue visiting strangers in other countries.
* * *
A few weeks later over cocktails food and travel naturally came up. “I just want to learn how to cook good pasta from an Italian nonna,” a friend of a friend (new friend ✓) chuckled. “Let me tell you about Traveling Spoon,” I leaned in as a volunteer ambassador.
