Meals That Tell a Place's Story
Develop an essay reflecting on the cultural implications of culinary traditions you encountered while traveling. How did the food act as a gateway to understanding the history and people of the place? Include specific meals, interactions with local chefs or cooks, and the communal aspect of eating.
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
- Use one example from your own life.
- Open with a specific story, then widen out to the big idea.
Writing travel books
Somewhere else, seen through someone's eyes.
Travel writing takes readers somewhere they may never go, through the eyes of someone who did. Guidebooks tell you where to eat; travel narratives tell you what the journey did to the traveler.
What readers expect
- A strong sense of place
- A curious, personal narrator
- Encounters with local people
- A journey with a shape
A tip before you start
The trip is the frame; the traveler's change is the story. A list of places isn't a book.
More Travel prompts
- The Trip That Went WrongCraft a narrative detailing a journey where everything that could go wrong did, and how these series of unfortunate events led to unexpected…
- The Market BowlDescribe a poignant experience involving a local cuisine that opened your eyes to a new culture, community, or personal insight. How did this meal…
- Lost in Translation AbroadWrite about a humorous or enlightening encounter with a language barrier during your travels. What misunderstandings occurred, and how did they…
- Walking the Ancestral GroundDescribe a journey to a place that you have ancestral roots in. Discuss the importance of the location in your family history, how it felt to walk…
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