“Food is life, a portrayal of our human experience, provoking conversation and intimacy with those you share it with and the environment around us.”

A map of flavors, aromas and evocations from across the European continent and beyond, Emily Szajda takes you on a culinary journey traversing borders. In this narrative cookbook, you will encounter healthy adaptations of traditional recipes from her travels and life abroad along with stories and takeaways on how food, the simple act of breaking bread, creates an experience. It has the power to tear down walls and create a space for conversation, understanding, and memory.

Awaken your senses and relish the moment. From an afternoon tea with fresh baked scones and clotted cream at the St. James Hotel in London to a plate of delectable truffled risotto with osso bucco in Rome, food is not merely sustenance, a part of human existence but an act of love and fellowship- please be my guest. Learn how to have a soulful, interactive relationship with food that not only fills your belly but your heart and mind. Take time. Pull up a seat at my table. Let’s eat!

“Food is a creative art form, a culmination of self-expression and one’s life experiences to be consumed by another. A ripple pouring out into another, then another.”

In a world mired in polarity and divisiveness, it is my belief that cultural empathy is best fostered through understanding and relationship-building. We must share ourselves for others to know who we are and from where we come from. Backpacking solo through Europe and ultimately moving abroad on a chance whim instilled in me a curious hunger to learn more.

Meeting strangers, locals, and ex-pats alike, I found that we had more in common than one might think at a glance. The human experience. Whether over a coffee or a chance encounter with a musician in my carriage on a train bound for Prague where I was invited to dinner with eclectic individuals from across the globe, I have found the most interesting conversations ultimately arise at the table where inhibitions and walls fall, and everyone feels at ease to communicate.

“Recipes passed down from generation to generation, from kitchen to kitchen, from one tea cup to the next tell a story. Food is not merely sustenance but life-in-action, in memory, in love, and in abundance if only you open your eyes to see and experience it this way.”