I’m so happy you’ve found The Food Quest. Welcome!
Launched on January 1, 2020, I couldn’t have imaged that The Food Quest – a blog about culinary travel – would have launched the same year as a global Pandemic. As the world of restaurants and travel came to a screeching halt in March, The Food Quest temporarily morphed into a place to share recipes inspired by my favorite food and drinks from around the world.
I launched The Food Quest to give honest reviews, thoughtful itineraries and share unique food experiences, to help foodie travelers plan an unforgettable trip – even if that trip doesn’t happen until 2021.
A Bit About Me
I went to school for Journalism with a concentration in Photojournalism at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I studied abroad in Prague through New York University where I took courses in international reporting and travel writing. There, I wrote about a Chinese prisoner nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, questionable “caged beds” in Czech mental institutions, a man crippled by social anxiety and the art of butter in French cooking. My interests are wide.
After college I left behind my plans for writing to pursue a corporate job with better pay, a 401k and secure health benefits – stability to repay my hefty student debt. And I stopped writing. But I never stopped thinking about it.
My 2020 goal is to reconnect with my writing by sharing my love of exploring the world and eating everything along the way. My hope is to help each of my readers take a chance, do something they’ve always want to do, or try something new – or reconnect with something they felt destined to do.
How The Food Quest Came About
In 2016, I was just married, working at a financial technology and cybersecurity company in Midtown Manhattan, living on the Upper East Side – living the dream. But I still felt like something was missing.
You know those moments that change your life? The ones that seem simple in the moment but become pivotal to your future? Well mine came just after I was married. A coworker simply asked if my husband and I were planning to stay in the city or buy a house in the suburbs and start a family.
The question was harmless… curious. But in an instant, it really hit home that doing those things was the logical next step in life. Regardless, I didn’t feel ready.
That night, at my favorite go-to beer spot in the city, I told my new husband – Brad – about the question posed to me and his face looked puzzled like mine did. Thankfully we were on the same page.
The truth is, we both looked forward to starting a family, buying a house and recusing a dog or 10. But neither of us truly felt ready for that life. Yet, it seemed that now was the time we should move in that direction.
In 2018, as fate would have it, Brad’s company gave him the opportunity to work remotely in Bangkok.
It was a rare opportunity that although unexpected and kind of scary, we needed to take. It felt right.
In the course of one month, I went from a secure job and living in my favorite city – to quitting my job and buying one-way tickets to Bangkok.
Hesitant? Yes. Excited? Completely.
Everything moved so fast.
And soon after, my Monday mornings went from a chest-to-chest subway commute, grabbing a coffee at Pret A Manger and settling into my weekly 10am meeting to bargaining for fruit with street vendor before exploring the Thai culinary scene.
There’s a Mark Twain quote that’s always touched me and its wisdom helped lead me to on this new quest.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
Surely, renting a storage unit and swapping a closet for a backpack and starting an adventure at age 29 didn’t seem too socially acceptable. But I figured that not taking the opportunity would haunt me later in life.
So I did it. And I started in Bangkok. And the world opened up and I explored several countries. And along the way I tried a lot of new things, a lot of new foods and I met a lot of new people. And I was put in both exciting and uncomfortable situations. And I learned by observation. And I ate and I talked to other travelers and I ate and I talked to locals. And I saw how both similar and different we all are. And I documented every moment. And each night I went to sleep thankful, appreciative of my experience, and hopeful to share and inspire others to do the same.
Maybe not the exact same. Maybe your journey will look different than mine. But I hope to inspire openness, curiosity and exploration. And I hope to help your confidence as a traveler – whether it’s for a weekend, a week, a month or a year. And I hope to expand your appetite for both incredible food and the unknown adventure that lies ahead.
Brad and I now live in a charming little cottage in Greenwich, Connecticut with our senior cat (16), Lita. And once this pandemic is over, we plan to resume traveling and eating as much as possible.
Cheers,
Caitlin