About Around the World in 180 Flavors

Around the World in 180 Flavors is not based not on any specific type of cuisine, but about food as a source of communication and exploration. My obsession with developing fusion cookies started casually when I asked four exchange students to challenge me with a flavor from their country that they did not see in American desserts, that I would transform into a cookie. Through trial and error and many taste tests with the students, I developed four cookies that they testified highlighted the iconic flavor from their country while still coming across as a dessert cookie. I also try to make them accessible. As someone with a disability that affects fine motor skills, baking is a special challenge–but I still love it. It just means a focus on flavor rather than appearance. My recipe photos may never match some bakers, but my flavors will never fall flat.

Not every flavor will have been inspired by a specific person because sometimes I just get curious.

And not every cookie will be exotic or terribly unusual. Some exchange students and other international folks I meet share flavors that we do see in American desserts. And that’s OK. It’s the cross-cultural sharing that is important.

Around the World in 180 Flavors draws from the tradition of food as something that can define a community and transforms that concept to define the connections between people across cultures. The stories and recipes in Around the World in 180 Flavors brings to life two facets of my life—namely, my experience working with refugees and my experiences volunteering with and hosting high school international exchange students. As part of my refugee work, I met people from places I never really thought about. It personalized the country and lived experience in a vivid way. This was a formative experience in my understanding of the interconnectedness of the world and, perhaps more importantly, in my understanding of why we need to be aware of that interconnectedness.