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Whether you identify as a foodie or simply want good food while traveling, this week we're going to be speaking your love language. On today's episode, we interview a new friend of ours whom we met on a food tour in Puerto Rico. He's a private chef, food blogger, and TV personality who loves to travel and experience new cultures through their food. Hear from our friend Jay what his secrets are for finding great food while traveling and some of his favorite places for culinary travel. This guy's the real deal when it comes to food. You can even ask Bobby Flay about that.
I'm Scott.
And I'm Melissa.
And we're the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoyed as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our firsthand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on earth. interesting and amazing places on earth.
One thing that everyone has to do when they are traveling is eat. If you've listened to some of our other episodes, you'll know that finding good food is so important to us when we travel to make sure we don't turn hangry. This week we're interviewing a new friend of ours, Jay Ducote, about how to find the best meals when traveling. Foodies may choose a location based on specific culinary adventures, and others are just looking for a good meal and possibly something either local or off the beaten path while experiencing a new location. Scott and I don't necessarily consider ourselves to be foodies, but we do enjoy asking locals for their recommendations and experiencing local culture through food. Let's hear from Jay about how, as a chef, he finds the best local dishes.
Today, we're joined by Jay Ducote. He is a chef and TV personality and blogger and does a little bit of everything, I think. And so we met Jay down in Puerto Rico recently at the TBEX Travel Conference. And while we were there, we were like, hey, it'd be great to have a podcast episode where you come on and talk about traveling as kind of a foodie, food travel, those type of things. So Jay, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much. Great to see you all again. Been a little while, well, like a month since I saw you in Puerto Rico. So good to see you again.
Yeah, good to see you too. And funny enough, we met you on one of the very first tours that we did down there, which was the walking food tour that we have already told our audience about that we have absolutely raved about. So that's kind of where we met you, our love for food and food travel. Yeah, absolutely. That
absolutely. That was a walking tour of Old San Juan that was food focused, which really was a great way to just kind of get started in Puerto Rico. That was like the second day I was on the island. So yeah, a great way to get kind of that introduction to Puerto Rican food culture.
So Jay, if you don't mind, just give us a little bit of your
background before we get
before we
started. So I'm from Louisiana. I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana right now. I grew up some second grade through high school in Texas and really suburban Houston, although it wasn't quite as suburban when I was there, but it was Sugar Land, Texas, and then moved back to Louisiana to go to LSU for college, got a bachelor's and master's in political science, and then said, well, that's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. And then I taught high school baseball and taught math and coached baseball for two years. And then I worked for the state of Louisiana doing policy research and grant writing. And I was bored and I started writing about food while I was stuck in my state office job cubicle. And so that was 2009 is really when a transition started for me because that's when I started a food blog. And by summer of 2011, I was quitting my day job and trying to do food stuff full time, food media. I had started a radio show by then and was putting some of it online, like early form podcasting and trying to get into social media and all that stuff. And by then I was really doing a lot more cooking. And I really learned how to cook, throw in LSU tailgate parties and at hunting camps with my dad growing up, but in any professional way, it really started in like 2011 with some success on the blog and some early TV shows and then people wanting to cook things or eat things that I was blogging about. And I found kind of a market for some early pop-up dinners and things like that. And I really just kind of took everything from there and have just ran with it and have had success starting companies. I had a restaurant, I had a culinary product line, a media company with the radio show and blog and everything. And in 2019, I sold all of that and then went to work for the company that I sold it to. And then at the end of 2022, I quit that job. And so for all of 23 and 24, I've been back on my own, just trying to make sense of the world and do what I want to do, which for the most part is share food and culture with people.
Well, it's always so interesting talking to people. We didn't realize this about you. I used to also teach high school math. Yeah, so we didn't. Yeah. And so, yeah, just kind of following following passions and of course i was just travel you know more in general but yeah now you have a story that you tell about being the freshman i guess and then throwing these tailgate parties you want to just share a snippet of that how you kind of got thrown into that sure uh yeah i
want to just share a snippet of that how you kind of got thrown into that sure uh yeah i got to i got to lsu in the fall of 99 and of course you know lsu football and tailgating and and all that's a big thing here and i got to my first tailgate party my freshman year and my cousin travis handed me our grandfather's old barbecue utensils that he had brought out to just like an old weber grill It was just like, here, freshman, you're in charge of the grill. And so I just kind of had to learn on the fly. I mean, at that point, it was like grilling sausage and flipping burgers and stuff. It wasn't anything too crazy, but it was just, you know, like 18 years old and a new college student and cousins just putting me to work on the grill for the tailgate party. And we grew that tailgate party pretty substantially over the next eight years. And it had hundreds of people and lots of beer drank. And it was an organization.
Yeah. And we may talk about this in a minute, but on one of the shows that you were on, you had to start out from like right out of the gate to feed 100 people. And the other competitors were like, oh, I can't do this. And you were like, piece of cake. I do this. I've done this for on even a bigger scale. So that's awesome. Well, so one of the things that you really enjoy and you've talked to us about is experiencing new cultures through their
do this. I've done
that's awesome. Well, so one of the things that you really enjoy and you've talked to us about is experiencing new cultures through their food. new cultures through their food. And so, you know, what are your top three to five places that you would recommend for people who would classify themselves as foodies?
Yeah. So, so I definitely love to travel through my taste buds and just get out there and explore. Let's start with like kind of my favorite American food destinations right now. And then my international experience is a little bit more limited. And I mean, I've, I've, I've got some, but you know, I start with, with DC. I think Washington DC has a great food scene and a lot of people don't think about DC for food. And there's also obviously a lot of other stuff to do there, but the international flavors that you can find in DC and really the restaurant scene there, I've been very impressed with. I think it's a great food city. I think Chicago is one of the ultimate food cities in the States. It's a huge city, but I love the tradition and the culture there. I love their versions of pizza and the deep dish I'm a fan of, not everybody is, but the Chicago Cracker Thin Crust is also really good. Those different styles of pizza that they do.
Yeah, I like that upside-down pizza. Yeah. That's what I call it, but that Chicago-style deep dish. Yeah.
I mean, it's almost more like a pie, but I love it. I think it's fantastic. Third, I have the Austin, Texas area, the Texas Hill Country and Austin. That's my favorite barbecue scene in the country. If anybody wants to argue for Kansas City or Memphis or the Carolinas or wherever, argue it all you want. I think Central Texas is, is my favorite barbecue scene in the country. My favorite style of barbecue is, is Texas and, and Texas brisket and beef ribs to be specific. I will fully admit that other places might do whole, other places definitely do whole hog or pulled pork better. Maybe, I mean, I would say generally speaking, pork ribs, other places as well, although I've had some really good ones in Texas. But brisket is king to me, and that's where you find the best, I think.
I was going to say, we'll stay away from that religious debate of beef or pork for barbecue.
Yeah, I'm a beef guy. I mean, barbecue-wise, I'm, beef guy. I mean, barbecue-wise, I'm, of course, a pork guy too. But I'll say this, pork in Puerto Rico put, in my mind, the Carolinas to shame. It's crazy. I mean, it's... I had... That was some of the best whole hog cooking I have ever had in my life. And anywhere that you just found like threaded, roasted, pulled pork, it was still tremendous. So yeah, I think the Carolinas are kind of, they're not dead to me, but I'm never going to fight for them. People can come after me, I understand. But like, if you're talking whole hog, Puerto Rico is better than the Carolinas. Really, what are the Carolinas doing doing for me it's still good you can still find great food there for sure new york i think has to be on any list of foodie cities in america you know just from from cheap slices and hot dogs on the street to to the fine dining restaurants of New York, I think any foodie should really go spend some time there. And you don't have to go to the top-end Michelin star restaurants. I've never been to 11 Madison Park. I would love to if anybody wants to take me or any of those kind of restaurants. But there's so much good food in that city and the international flavors and everything else as well. And then number one, I'll just stay home and say, if it's a city, it's New Orleans. But I would also really encourage people to check out the rest of South Louisiana and actually get into Cajun country and go to the gas station, Boudin and Cracklin places and get more Louisiana flavor than just the city of New Orleans. I think similarly, like I got a lot of San Juan in Puerto Rico, but I'm really glad I got to travel around the island and experience different foods and different places, different people. And I kind of think that's the same in Louisiana. Like it'd be like going to Puerto Rico and only spending time in San Juan when you have all that other area and cultures and people to explore. Louisiana is kind of like that. If you've only ever been to New Orleans, make another trip to Louisiana and spend some time in New Orleans and then go check out a lot of the other parts of South Louisiana.
Yeah, we'll have to schedule the J food tour.
Yeah, for sure. We actually, funny enough, only went to New Orleans for the first time. I'd been years ago when I was a kid, so that didn't really
count. But October of last
October of last year, that was our first opportunity to do that, surprisingly. So let me ask you this, because there's famous places in New Orleans, but what tops your list? Just a couple that just come to mind.
Yeah. The restaurant I've been to most recently in New Orleans that I was super impressed with was a spot called Palm and Pine. Just a tremendous little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but putting out some spectacular food. I really like that place. Let's see. I think Isaac Toops, who was on Top Chef, he's got a spot called Toops Meatery. Meatery, not mead. And it's a really cool spot. Another Top Chef alum, Nina Compton, has a restaurant that's like her Caribbean-flavored restaurant, Comper Le Pen. And that's a really good one. La Petite Grocery, another really good spot. And then there's so many. I mean, you don't have to do fine dining for every meal in New Orleans, like go grab a po' boy at Domelisa's or Parkway or one of those spots, get a muffaletta, find an oyster bar and just belly up to it. Just get a plate of red beans and rice somewhere with a fried pork chop or something. And you don't have to seek out all of the best restaurants to necessarily even get the best food experience. Like some of it's just going to be a sandwich or, or, or, or rice and beans.
When we were in Puerto Rico, you guys talked about hotel where you went to and had the charbroiled oysters. Yes.
Yeah. It's probably like a Drago's or something. Yes.
I think that's exactly what it is.
what it is. Yeah. Right. One of the big hotels right along the river has a Drago's in it. Yeah. Those are good. I mean, I love Drago oysters. If you're truly in the French Quarter, there's an Acme Oyster House, but right around the corner from there, there's another little oyster spot that I like even more. But that's right on Bourbon. Just off Bourbon, there's a little bar called Aaron Rose, the Aaron Rose Bar. It's like a kind of a little Irish pub. And in the back of that, there's a spot called Killer Po' Boys, and they make some really good sandwiches. And that's just like right off Bourbon Street. You can kind of step off, get, you know, wipe the Bourbon Street off of you and step into a cool little bar right there.
Nice. And we thought we had a lot of places, and I don't think we hit on any of those, which is interesting. So, best beignets in New Orleans?
I've certainly had Cafe Du Monde more than anywhere else. And I do think, while it is very touristy, I don't think it's a tourist trap. I think it's touristy for a reason. Their prices have stayed super reasonable. They just crank out beignets and powdered sugar and Cafe au lait. But I think that's just an experience you should have when you're around. But there's other places. If you're not in the French Quarter, there's other places if you're not in the french quarter there's there's other spots to go we laugh because the ground there at cafe de man it's just absolutely covered
because the ground there at cafe de man it's just absolutely covered in powdered sugar yep absolutely so when you're touring around and you want to find authentic local food spots how do you how do you go about finding those in a new city or new country?
Yeah. So, so, you know, a lot of times I'd say my favorite way to do it is to actually ask locals. A lot of times you just have to get somewhere and, you know, start sitting at a bar or striking up conversations with, with people to, to get those local recommendations. But, with people to, to get those local recommendations. But, you know, I I, do a lot of that. My actual, the way that I truly do it is usually map based. So I'll know where I'm staying and I'll just pull up Google maps and start zooming in and searching for right around there. And then, and then, you know, I, I don't pay a whole lot of attention necessarily to the star rating and that kind of stuff. But I think overall, Google and just looking at the map and getting kind of a sense of place for where I am and where the cool spots would be and how close they would be to where I'm staying. me a little bit better view of where I'm likely to eat than just trying to find top rated spots in the city as a whole. I stay away from Yelp and sites like that. I do some searches for top local restaurants in cities or something and try to find like a blog or or somebody that's written about a food scene before or covered it in that way instead of just looking at what are the top rated spots on on yelp or or travel ossuary travel advisor or whatever like i don't i just i stay away from those just like mass aggregated people voting type sites and look for a local blogger or those type of sites.
Yeah, I think these days, most of those are like AI generated anyway.
We live here is in a large publication. The writer wrote about the, one of the one things that you have to, or the top thing you have to do when you visit a Millie Island is go and tour the lighthouse. Well, you can't even tour the lighthouse.
And mentioned a restaurant that had, that was, had been closed, you know, for months. And you're just like, okay.
for months.
Have you ever even been here? Yeah.
ever even been here?
Right.
Okay. So looking at blogs, looking at personal experience more than just reading those reviews.
Yeah, absolutely.
Because I feel like a lot of times people write reviews when they've had a bad experience. And people don't really take the time to write reviews when they've had a great experience.
Yeah. That's definitely how I feel, generally speaking. Yeah, like Yelp and even Google and stuff are. It's like, it's people that want to go somewhere to complain more than it is the people that had great experiences. And I think as long as you know that and you're reading reviews and you understand the type of people that are writing most of those reviews, you know to take it all with a little bit of a grain of salt. But still, I just don't even really go to those sites to start searching. I just don't really support those sites, essentially. I try to discover things on my own a little bit more. I try not to plan too much out. I'm not one of those people that does a whole lot of planned dining. Some meals, some cities, some places, sure, I'll make a reservation or do something. But generally speaking, I like to get somewhere and then figure out where I'm going to go. And a lot of the places that I'm trying to go, especially if I'm solo traveling, aren't places that I need a reservation for anyway. It's somewhere that I'm just going to walk in and sit at the bar. If I was traveling with a group of six, I would maybe feel a lot stronger about needing to make a reservation somewhere if I wanted to go to one of the trendiest spots. But a lot of times if it's just me and I'm kind of looking for more of a hole in the wall place anyway, that's what I do. And I'm a big craft beer guy. So I use breweries as one of my starting points a lot of places, a hangout spot, a place to just go grab a beer and talk to whoever's pouring beers in the tap room about where their favorite spots in the area are, what they would walk to or, you know, where they hang out when they're not at the brewery. And that usually is some helpful word of mouth, local advice instead of just relying on the internet.
Yeah, that's absolutely true. Yeah. And like you said, just go up to the bar and that's where you have like the best conversations and, you know, meet the best people and stuff like that too. So, you know, go ahead.
Well, it's so the, how we met on that walking food tour of Old San Juan, I haven't done that type of organized food tour in a long time. I couldn't even tell you the last time I truly was just like with a group of people doing a little food tour like that. I do fam trips with tourism bureaus and stuff every now and then, but that's usually like, you know, driving around and there's some other stuff to do in between. And obviously Old San Juan is super walkable, not very drivable at all. You want to do a walking tour. But that was a really cool place to, a cool way to get acclimated with where we were. You can walk around Old San Juan easily, but to actually have a guide kind of taking you around, bringing you to some places and explaining a lot more of the history and the culture of the geography, how things are laid out, where these bricks came from, the colors of all the buildings. All that was definitely a good crash course welcome to this new place. I've never done anything like that in New Orleans, but I would imagine there's some pretty cool walking tours of the French Quarter in New Orleans and definitely other ways to see the city. Yeah, I think a
a lot of those are focused on the haunted, but I'm sure there is one which would probably be very good. What was so excellent about this one is that we have actually spent a good bit of time in Old San Juan and the places that she took us, we had not even noticed, which was funny. And I know you said one of them is like only open like lunch to the afternoon. But like we were just like, wait, how did we not even notice this place? You know, so that was what was great about that. So, again, that was we mentioned it in our Puerto Rico episode, the spoon experience. But I think that was a really high quality experience
we were just
You know, so that was
as well. So you want to talk about any international? You have anything that stands out to you international and we can talk about Puerto Rico too.
Yeah. Yeah. So I've been to the Dominican Republic five times and a lot of people, I know a lot, a lot of Americans, a lot of people I talk to really only know Dominican Republic through the, like the all inclusive resorts in Punta Cana. I would really encourage people to check out the rest of the Dominican Republic through the all-inclusive resorts in Punta I Cana, would really encourage people to check out the rest of the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo is a really cool city. The historic area there is just bustling with restaurants and nightlife and Dominican culture. Santo Domingo is super easy. That historic area is super easy to get around and do everything that you need to do. And then the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Puerto Plata over to Capariti, which is the kite beach in Sosua, and then to Las Terrenas. All really cool, great for beaches, great for water sports and those kind of activities. But really, like like cool food and you know culture and stuff too so i've i have very much enjoyed the dominican republic i did like a month in ireland in 2006 so it's been a long time but i'm trying to go back next summer and i loved ireland and i i really only spent a couple of days in Dublin. Most of my time was on the West Coast, Galway, and then up to Westport and that area. And I loved Ireland. Now, from a food point of view, I can't really say there's a whole lot. And again, I was 26 and it was before i really started professionally in the food world but so i can't say i remember a whole lot i i ate well but it was it was probably a lot of meat and potatoes and you know that kind of stuff fish and chips but then i did yeah yeah absolutely i did a week in portugal after
then i did yeah yeah
i did a week in portugal after that that. And Portugal is a country that I would love to go back to. And I mean, and that was again, that was in 2006. So almost 20 years later, I know how much Portugal has grown and has had its comeuppance in the travel and tourism world. the travel and tourism world. So I would really love to go back and check it out more now. But I was, I started, I flew from Dublin to Porto in the north of Portugal and then traveled all the way down to Lisbon and then down to Faro and the South Coast. So I really, along the coast, got to see pretty much all of Portugal over the course of that week. And yeah, I would go back there in a heartbeat. Nice. And I Yeah. definitely think the food scene like there, you can really find over the course of that week and and yeah i would go back there in a heartbeat nice yeah and i definitely think the food scene there like you
find over the course of that week and and yeah i would go back there in a heartbeat nice yeah and i definitely think the food scene there like you can really find some some good things and even in some like smaller places we have spent on two different occasions sometime in a town called kesh kesh which is near centra because he was
is near
was there for work and they at the kind of the top of the this hill all the streets are painted really cool. And they just have some really cool spots and restaurants that I got to check out while he was like busy doing other things. One place that's just called Mules and
And they
and Gin, just Muscles and just Gin. I remember that a vegetarian came and she was like, oh, what? And they're like, I'm sorry, this is like, this is it. This is the menu, you know? And so anyhow, just very interesting places like that. So lots of seafood, obviously, too. And everything with a view, just about.
is it. This is the menu, you know? And so anyhow,
And everything
I did Belgium and the Netherlands as well. I would love to go back to both Brussels and Bruges. Bruges is just a fascinating city. It feels so small when you're in the old city part of it. But I mean, just such a cool area. It was so different than anywhere else I had been. And then Brussels is a big city, but still so much history there. And walking around the town squares and stuff like that and all the different restaurants. Just incredible places.
And a lot of people think of Brussels, I would say, chocolate and waffles. What else stands out?
So that's probably my favorite place I've ever been. It was a spot in Bruges, and I have no idea what the restaurant was called, but for mussels. Mussels and fries, but moules and frites. But that was just outstanding. Obviously, the beer culture in Belgium is fantastic. What else did I eat there? I had a place where I ate, it was pancakes, not waffles. It was Belgian pancakes that were, I mean, it was almost like a French crepe. And they were big and fairly flat and then kind of folded up with all the powdered sugar and everything. I mean, they were delicious.
But they called it pan au coq or something. It was pancakes.
Yeah. So in France, as we've been watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks. Yeah. Under the Eiffel Tower, there was a bunch of little stands where you could get crepes with Nutella and strawberries and stuff like that. Those were some of the best. But it's like you took one bite and the chocolate just started pouring out of it.
it. Yeah. So let's circle
back around to Puerto Rico and just ask you about a couple of experiences that you shared on social media that kind of jumped out at me. So first of all, you talked a little bit about the pork, but they have a place that's called the Pork Road.
Yeah, the Pork Highway. Or the Pork Highway, that's right, the Pork Highway. It truly is just a road going off the
Or the Pork Highway, that's right, the Pork Highway. It
main, more like interstate highway, just up into the mountains, kind of in the middle of the island, south of San Juan. And yeah, there's just like maybe a dozen, maybe more, just roadside pork restaurants that are all doing their own version. They're all fairly similar, but of the whole hog roasting on these giant spits over the fires and stuff, and they just bring out the whole pig and start chopping it up, and you get all that crispy skin and that just beautiful fat layer under the skin. How they get the skin that crispy. I want to know, and I want some lessons on that because a lot of times that I do whole hog, the skin just comes out. So leathery. Yeah. I think it's a matter of getting, getting the skin dehydrated enough and, and you probably have to like separate it from the fat a little bit and then, and then getting a high enough temperature on it where you're not burning it, but you're really crisping it. But I want to take some more lessons there. But yeah, that whole pork highway region was really cool. And I got to go there on a Saturday and there was just so much life happening there and just like bands playing at some of the joints and, you know, just people just hanging out on the street, drinking beer, drinking mojitos, enjoying life, eating pigs. It was great.
And we went on a Saturday in a different direction. But I really feel like if you want to get the culture of Puerto Rico, like you said, go out on a Saturday when the local people are doing their thing and you really get to experience that. We went to another town that had like little food stalls and our tour guide was like, I know him and I know him and I know him, you know, and you see the people doing that. Did you do the Pork Highway? Did you do that as a tour?
and our tour
I did. Okay. No, I was with a group for that. That was with the Sofrito tours.
Okay. Okay. Yeah. We had mentioned them. So Sofrito's tours for that. And we can link them, you know, in the show notes for people. Yeah.
mentioned them.
people. Yeah. Sofrito, she's a fantastic tour guide. And she did a great job with that pork highway trip into the little town of Calle. And then I also got to do like a waterfall tour with her as well. That was, we ate, but it was just like, we ate, you know, just to like feed our bellies. I mean, I had a good mofongo and stuff, but really that tour was to four different waterfalls way up in the mountains.
You also did like a supper club place, correct?
Yeah. So that, that was on the West Coast. I did three nights in Rincon, really kind of at the end of my trip. And I had two of the best meals of my entire trip there. And it was really the only places that I made reservations for after any of the tours in San Juan that I was part of. And one of those was a supper club called Reina Mora. And it was a really good chef and then his Alex and Sarah, wife, that really just kind of relocated there to get out of the rat race and just like have a cool place to go live and it's an old house that was converted into their restaurant i think they might live on the second floor above there and i mean this guy worked for some badass restaurants in atlanta and chicago and new york and then decided on the west coast of puerto, but he sources a whole lot of, of local ingredients and, and farm to table kind of stuff. And then it was, it's, it's 20 seats. He does it Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and 20 people at a time. And they have some communal tables and then some tables where you can just kind of, you know, your group of two or four can sit. And that's it. You got to make your reservations in advance and pay up front. And then you get the address of the house and you just kind of show up and they welcome you in. But it was one of the better hospitality experiences that I've had in a while. I've had in a while. I mean, it was memorable from the start, from how they welcomed us in to just seeing their operation. They did this entire dinner, just the two of them. Alex was in the kitchen and Sarah was working front of house. And they did the entire group, just the two of them. So they definitely, they work plenty to pull those dinners off, but just a remarkable experience. The food was fantastic. I mean, just next level culinary experience. So I would definitely recommend anybody going to Rincon or the West Coast to look that up. It's Reina Mora. I'll get that from you and we'll definitely link that.
we'll definitely link that. So how far in advance did you book that? Did you find out about it after you got to Puerto Rico?
I, yeah, I booked it like a week in advance, a week out from when I knew I was going to be renting a car and driving over to, to Rincon and all that. But also like July was slow season there. They are certainly really, in that part of the July Island, was slow Also, season there. They are certainly in that really, part of the the busiest from island, the holidays through April. Okay. And then it starts to slow down a little bit. And which of course is peak hurricane season and peak is really their slowest times. really, August, September, hot, There's a lot of restaurants. I think they're taking off the month of September. I've heard several other chefs and restaurants talking about closing down for a week or two or a month in the August, September timeframe. So I would definitely suggest people just like probably not the best time to go to Puerto Rico for the food scene or maybe not in any way. Unless you just really don't want to be around any tourists at all. August and September are probably the worst months to go. But then also for my taste and that kind of stuff, their high season is the holidays through April. So that's also when I would not want to go necessarily. Because I mean, that's when they were saying they have waiting lists and they'll fill up a month in advance and stuff at that time of year.
We just love unique experiences like that, right? That's just not something that you find everywhere. And so much of dining is more than just the food. Right. Because you can have great food and you have a terrible experience and you're like never coming back to
this place. Right. So every every piece of that part of it so much more than a typical restaurant experience because it was different. You still sat at a table. You still got waited on, still got fed. Somebody was making sure you're good. They had some wine servers. They had a rum cart for dessert that they came out and let you look at some different rums to taste with your dessert that would pair with it. But just the experience as a whole was just so great. And, of course, the attention to detail and the attention that they can give every person in there when it's capped at 20 people at a time was so great.
You ever had anything that really surprised you that you learned about a culture through its food?
I'm sure there's been plenty overall. I think what's really coming to mind right now with the time in Puerto Rico and the time that I have spent in the Dominican Republic is it has surprised me how much of those flavors and techniques that are present in Louisiana food. And it makes sense that, you know, there was some Spanish colonization in New Orleans as well. Obviously, it's a lot of French now, but it was part of the Spanish territory at one point before it was French and then before it was American. But, you know, what the Africans contributed and what just the trade winds contributed to the Europeans catching the winds to come into the Caribbean and then go into the port of New Orleans and how European New Orleans is and everything. But I don't know, just the way that they're talking about the sofrito and Puerto Rican cuisine and stuff is like, it's just our version of the Trinity in Cajun and Creole cuisine. And there's so many other flavors and stuff that just kind of stand out or techniques that you really see how kind of how the world was colonized, civilized, at least by the Europeans, through the food.
Yeah, I think one of the things that we've seen just traveling globally is that, you know, in the U.S., it's all about turning the tops, right, the tabletops and turning those over. And outside of the U.S., you know, it's more of a laid back culture where you sit back and you really enjoy the food, you enjoy the dinner, you enjoy the conversation, and it's all designed around that. And if you spend an hour there, that's fine. If you spend two hours there, that's fine. Yeah. Yeah, I like
I like that. It's definitely, yeah, our concept of a power lunch. I'm going out to eat for lunch, but I only have an hour. And really, that means I only have 45 minutes. So get me in, get me out. It's like, well, why are you even going out to eat? I mean, I get it, but also I'm with you there. That's a very American thing and not what the rest of the world necessarily does one of the coolest places that i've gotten to go i say coolest the most interesting or or you know that was calcutta india and i got to go to india i actually got the invite from the u.s department of state and the indo-american and the U.S. Consulate in Calcutta, they were putting on a culinary entrepreneurship workshop with people that had started food companies, some restaurants, some organic teas, somebody that had created a biodegradable straw of some sort, but like everything in the food and beverage world, entrepreneurs from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Eastern India. And one guy from Nepal that was there. And I was one of the two Americans that got to go over there and help put on this culinary entrepreneurship workshop. And it was an incredible experience. The three-day workshop was great. And just kind of getting to eat my way around that part of Calcutta and stuff and walk around. And I mean, that's just a, it's a different world. You know, that's the kind of travel that really opens your eyes. And you just say, you know, it's just, i want to see more of the world because it's so different and you don't realize how different it is to be in a place like that you know and so you're there and and then fortunately i met i had already booked it i was just like i'm not i'm not flying to india to put on a workshop for three days and then fly home. Like the, you know, and, and they said like, you know, basically they were paying for the flights and they were paying for those three nights in the hotel. And, you know, but if I wanted to add on, like they could fly me back whenever it's just, you know, like I'm on my own after the, the workshop or whatever. So yeah, I ended up adding three more days to the trip and I had met some people through the workshop and stuff that were helping with that. Actually a big time Calcutta India food blogger. And I mean, she was just like, she was a who's who of the food scene there and knew every significant restaurateur and everything else. And so, yeah, I got to stay for three more days, and she just paraded me around the city and took me to some of the coolest spots and, you know, from street food to fine dining to, you know, everything in between and hit some of the touristy spots and stuff like that. But it was, one, the food, Indian food in India. And also, you just say Indian food. That's like saying American food. Well, I was going
I was going to ask you. So tell like a few dishes like that just totally stand out because we are guilty. We have some favorite Indian places that we like, but we like the same thing, right? Because it's one of those things where it's like, oh, if I get something different, then I'll be like, oh, I should, you know, I love this. So tell us what stood out
oh, I should,
stood out from there so there were there were some on
stood out from there so there were there were some on the street little uh kati rolls kati like k-a-t-i i believe but it's i mean it's almost like a even thinner non like with with like chicken and and and onions and yogurt rolled up inside that bread and then you you just eat it almost like a fajita. But it tasted nothing like a Mexican fajita, but that's how you would eat it.
Like a taquito.
Yeah, yeah. Those are really good. We have the puri puri, which really just means like water, I think, but it's the water that they it's like an spice and herb infused like liquid that they pour into this like little almost like fried rice paper cup and i might not be getting that right at all but the the little cup holds the liquid and then you just like pop it in your mouth and it all explodes it's it was it was really good but like she was the lady that i was with was just like she was like i want you to try that but we got to be careful about where we go because it's like it's just on the side of the road places but she was just like but the problem is the stuff that's on the side of the road is just made with tap water, and you need to be careful about the water. So yeah, the Dominican Republic, I'm always careful about the water. If you're in a nice hotel or resort, you're probably good. But just street food and things like that. It was one thing I was kind of... I never really worried about it in Puerto Rico. I drank the tap water the whole time and was never concerned about.
Yeah. We didn't worry about it either. Yeah.
about it either. Yeah. Yeah. And even up in the mountains or, or, you know, outside of San Juan, I was never, I was never concerned about it and never got sick in any way. But I mean, Puerto Rico's it's America. Right. Yeah.
So I think that's it really, has its own culture for
it really, has its own culture for for sure. Oh, sure. Right. So I think Yeah. that's really. It has its own culture for sure.
Oh, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So I think in those places, like you're saying, Calcutta, like definitely finding somebody. Right. And so you had, you happened upon somebody who could take you or some kind of food tour and then saying, hey, we need to eat at these places. Scott's been to India several times. And that's kind of what he's said, is they've been very careful about the places they go and how the food is prepared. But you do want to try to have that experience. So trying to find somebody who can find those places for you and say, no, you really need to try this because you wouldn't know right to order.
kind of food
I would have been pretty lost in calcutta without a guide there i i don't i don't know what i would have done if i would have just truly been on my own for three days staying at you know at the hotel that i was at but like i don't know i certainly i mean she had a driver that took us all around and i got to see way more of it and everything else. I would not want to drive there.
I the traffic patterns and the lack and just the sheer volume of vehicles on the road and pedestrians and people on bikes mean, and everything else. thereof,
It's just, I'm glad she had a driver that was taking us around, but just like such an eyeopening place to be. And for the food as well, I had multiple curry dishes that were all really good. I went to one spot. It was, it was a chef that was one of our entrepreneurs at the workshop. And then he had like a, basically a seafood restaurant there that was really of our entrepreneurs at the And then he had like a basically a seafood restaurant there that, that, workshop. a, that was really, really good. I mean, and I remember some sort of like black curry fish dish that was just like next level. And I don't, I don't remember exactly how he even did that. And then I got to go to some markets. I love checking out like farmer's markets or just, just the city's market, right? Whenever you're someplace new or especially in a different country. So got to walk around the market with a chef. And then we went to his restaurant that night. That was, that was just fantastic. And you see, there's similarities with a lot of stuff and with a lot I of, even mean, the Indian food but here, there's there's also, similarities with a lot of stuff and with a lot I of, mean, even the, the Indian food here, but there's also, there's different herbs all over the world that it's like, yeah, this is like cilantro. So the American version would just use cilantro, but like, that's not actually the herb that's being used or there's multiple versions of that. And, and India that it was just like, it's kind of like a watercress or something, but it, but it's not, it's something completely different. So.
We were talking about that. We actually had Indian the other night for dinner and just even the spice that they use, the heat that they're getting from something is totally different than what you would find in like a Mexico, for example, it's a different type of heat. For sure.
So I'm curious, you mentioned about wanting to figure out how to cook that whole hog and try to get that crisp. Are there other things that you have picked up along the way that you've said, oh, I want to try to recreate that?
Yeah, I mean, that happens a lot when I travel. Now, how much I actually do that is a little bit different story. There's certainly some flavor profiles, some flavor combinations, some techniques that I've picked up from different travels around the world or even around the country. But most of the professional cooking that I do, catering and private chef stuff, I'm doing more Louisiana or barbecue-related food. So I don't get to show that stuff off too, too much. But there usually is some hint of something that I learned. And I haven't tried to cook anything Puerto Rican since I've been back, but I will at some point. think puerto rican since i've been back but but i will at some point and and i really want to do a little bit more research into the the sofrito and then how they how they kind of use that in everything but it's also it seemed like it was different everywhere it's almost just like well how'd your mom make it you know which is a very like cajun way of looking at it too like and and i mean it's it's also something I would say anytime you're traveling and maybe just like around the States, generally speaking, not as big of a deal, but still some places it's gotta be like cry to find a way to actually eat like a home cooked meal and not a restaurant meal in Louisiana. Like we don't eat jambalaya at restaurants. You can find restaurants that have it because, you know, especially in new Orleans or places that it's trendy gumbo, you find in restaurants all the time, but it's just like a soup to get you started or something. But like when you eat gumbo at your grandma's house, it's the meal, you know? And like, that's what she, she's got a pot of gumbo on. Jambalaya is like a festival food, a tailgate food, a party food. It's a, it's, it's our version of just like feed the masses. You know, locals don't really go order that at restaurants, but, but the best version, any of those things that you're going to find is the one at somebody's house, not necessarily at a restaurant. So I think that's one of the cooler things. I've gotten that sort of experience, the stewed chicken and rice and beans and plantains in the Dominican Republic from, you know, like an actual Dominican lady's house. And you just have to, you can't always find something like that. You kind of have to be somewhere enough to network or, you know, find a way to get invited to something like that. It's way easier said than done. And I think that real memorable Dominican meal that I had was more part of a, it wasn't a tour necessarily, but I was with a group. And there was a local as part of the group that lined that up. So, yeah, look for stuff like that.
Okay. Sounds good. And I think, like you said, besides asking, a lot of times doing tours, right? And then if you have that tour guide, then, you know, even whatever you're doing, they're going to take you to those places that they would go to. And then you can say, hey, come eat with me if that wasn't part of the plan or what would you order? And I think that's how you kind of stretch your food comfort
you have that
food comfort zone too.
We did that in Jamaica. We had our tour guide that we were with today. We asked him and
We did that
him and said, you know, where would you go to eat? And then when we got there, we're like, hey, come eat with us. And so then, you know, he was like, well, this is what I would order. And that's a good way to do
it. One of the other really cool experiences that I had in Puerto Rico was a farm tour. And then they fed us on the farm. It was a spot called Pinca La Zafra. And they're definitely like getting into ecotourism kind of stuff. And clearly it kind of built something out to be doing a lot more of that kind of stuff. But it was, you know, we had a group, but it was like six of us. And we did a farm tour that was you know we had a we had a group but it was like six of us and we did a farm tour that that you know really lasted like two hours and and then they brought us to you know a little pavilion in the middle of the farm and and they had they were cooking for us just like outdoor cooking over like wood fires and, you know, making just like truly a homemade meal for us there. And that was, that was one of the more memorable meals that I had because it wasn't a restaurant meal. It was, it was at a farm
It was,
and, and there was a kind of a commercialized thing, but it was, but it felt super natural and just kind of easy going. And, and, and it was definitely home cooking.
Have you done, have you done ever any cooking classes when you've traveled?
When I've traveled, I know, I mean, I've definitely done some around here. I've taught a fair amount of cooking classes. I don't know that I've ever really done any when I've traveled anywhere fun and unique for food. Okay. I was just
just curious. So when you've taught them, have they been for tours or for travelers or just... No, it's more for locals here in Baton Rouge.
here in Baton Rouge. That's definitely what I've done more of, not as a tourism thing.
Because Okay. we have just done, you talking about the farm we've tour, done more of not not as a tourism thing okay because we have done just you taught you talking about the farm tour we've done a couple in Mexico to on both coasts of Mexico basically you couldn't go eat there but then we're spending all day or half the day like cooking the food and then we get to sit down you know you need a table and eat and so then that way you have you know a different a more local experience yeah
yeah makes sense. So let's shift gears just a little bit. And we wanted to know if we could ask you something surprising that we learned about you while we were in Puerto Rico. Sure. So tell us a little bit about what was it like to beat Bobby Flay? about what was it like to beat Bobby Flay?
It was one of the cooler moments of my life, for sure. You I knew know, Bobby going into it from doing Food Network Star. And for that show, we were basically in Los Angeles on sets together for six weeks in 2015. And then when I got to do Beat Bobby Flay in 2018, we at least had a little bit of that history. So he knew who I was walking onto set and knew I was a Louisiana guy and all that. Then when I challenged him to a crawfish boil, he was pretty shocked. And he actually, it was off camera, or when the cameras had stopped down to move around before we started cooking, he's like, that's a good call. I've never made this before. He's like, I've eaten crawfish, but I've never cooked a Louisiana crawfish boil. So, you know, he was just like, good luck to me. I was like, oh, not really not really though because i want to win it
was one that i was like oh i you know i in my simple mind thought you just put some crawfish in a pot with some seasoning and you're done but then i watched you prepare this everything from scratch including creating the seasonings yeah
and that was pretty amazing the trickiest parts were
was pretty amazing the
parts were trying to do the seasoning without just like a store-bought seasoning blend. And then, and then honestly, the trickiest part was getting water to boil on that propane stove that they had in there. And like, when we do crawfish boils, it's outside on like a jet burner, you know, like you hear you hear the rumble of the propane tank at the burner and i could this was just on like a stove inside i was just i put way too much water in the pot and that was just like trying to get it to boil the whole time and i mean at some point in that episode i'm i'm like using a pot to scoop water out and put it into a smaller pot on a separate burner to try to get that up to a boil and then add it back. I was 45 minutes flies by. I mean, 45 minutes is actually kind of a long time in a Food Network cooking competition world, but it's not that much time. It flies by. So yeah, when they said the results and said that I won, I was still, I mean, super happy, somewhat not shocked necessarily. I knew I had a decent chance, but I did not know that I had won when they announced it. It definitely wasn't a given. It would not have surprised me if he beat me. He's super, super talented and good at what he does. And that's his kitchen. And he cooks in there all the time. And he wins like 70, 75% of those episodes. We have watched that
watched that quite a bit. And so that was why, yeah, when I ran across that, I'm like, what? You've got to be kidding. This is amazing. Because, yeah, we've watched quite a bit. And so that was why, yeah, when I ran across that, I'm like, what? You've got to be kidding. This is amazing. Because, yeah, we've watched quite a bit. It's actually one of my favorite shows to watch on the
got to be
a bit. It's actually one of my favorite shows to watch on the airplane, you know, because they're little short episodes and you can get them in on a short flight. So that was really cool. So anybody That that was really cool. wants to go check this out, So anybody that wants to go check this it's Food Network Star out, Season where Jay was runner 11, up on that. We haven't finished the season yet, so we'll hold on for that one. But then we did watch the Beat Bobby Flay in Season 21, where you beat Bobby. So go check those out. Really great shows. And on that is, where could people find you if they want to follow along with your journey?
journey? Yeah. So the website is my name, jayducote.com, J-A-Y-D-U-C-O-T-E. And then from the website, it's got links to every social media channel and YouTube and all that. I want to start posting more YouTube stuff again. There's a lot of cooking videos and stuff like that on there now, but I haven't posted a whole lot recently. My Instagram is really my main platform, just the jdacody Instagram. I've got a jdacody travel account and some other stuff out there too. But just the Jay Ducote account is, that's really probably my number one platform, followed by the Jay Ducote Facebook page. And then I'm on TikTok and Snapchat and X and all those other ones as well. But I use Instagram and Facebook way more.
And if anybody was following along on our social media, where Melissa went to buy the hat in Old San Juan, it was Jay that influenced her to go there and experience that and having a hat customized in that shop.
Yeah. And Jay, we'll link all these to your website and all that so people can find you.
and all that so people can find you. Great. I love that hat shop. I'm really glad that I found that. I knew going to Puerto Rico that I wanted to buy a hat. The last time I was in the Dominican Republic, I looked for a Panama hat and couldn't find anything other than just gift store BS. And I was just like, this isn't what I'm looking for. I don't want to pay 30 or $40 for a hat from a gift shop that really is garbage. By the time I get home, like I wanted, I wanted to invest in a, in a nice hat. And so I actually, I had, I have like a straw cowboy hat, but I knew I, it's not what I wanted to wear around Puerto Rico. So I looked that up in I was just I'm going to get to Puerto advance. Rico, like, I'm going to find a hat and I'm going to go get the hat that I've really been looking for, shop, because I know in San Juan I'll be able to do it. And so just like Google searching and stuff, I found that hat shop in old San Juan, and I went there on my first day on the island and posted some content about it and stuff and then and influenced me too yeah because they're handmade
influenced me too yeah because they're handmade in ecuador which was interesting to us because we had been to go in the glapagos and then they customized them there in front of you which is which is great so you're supporting several different
is which
several different artisans and a truly authentic.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, we have three questions that we like to wrap up every interview with. Okay. And the first one is what is your favorite place that you've ever visited?
Wow. I'm going to, I'm going to go with Portugal. Like that's, that's really the, that is the country that I I, spent a weekend that I'm going to go with Portugal. Like, that's really the – that is the country that I spent a weekend that I'm like, that's the highest on my list of places to go back to. And I probably will go back to some places in Ireland, and I'll definitely be back to a lot of places in the States and be in the Dominican five times. You know, sure. And hopefully I get to go back there at some point. But a lot of my travel really makes me say, this was cool. And as much as I loved it, it also really makes me want to go someplace new. There's so much more to see and so many more places to go that I don't feel the need to go back to the same place every time. that I don't feel the need to go back to the same place every time. But it being almost 20 years now since I've been to Portugal and knowing how much has changed there, and there's no way I would go back to the same places I went to in 2006 as a 25-year-old. So I would love to go back to Portugal. And it really was a very cool experience that I still remember from 20 years ago.
Do you eat octopus?
octopus? Oh, yeah.
Okay, because that's one of the things. In that whole area of the world, but especially in Portugal. I had
I had a fair amount of octopus in Puerto Rico.
Yeah, we did too. I'll tell you, the best octopus in the world is in the Greek islands. They have just a very different way of preparing it. They let it dry out in the sun all day long before they cook it. It was very tender. We love Portugal as well. Matter of fact, we want to go back and do the El Camino de Santiago, the trail that goes from Portugal to Spain. And you're basically hiking between cities along the coast, not like up in the mountains and stuff like that. But that's something really high on our list. And then you could try all kinds of different restaurants along the way.
yeah. Oh, Yeah, that'd be cool. I was in Portugal for a week. I didn't step foot in Spain. I would love to do that at some point.
Oh, yeah, especially for the food. Yeah, especially for the food. There's way more of the world
way more of the world that I have not seen at this point than I have. I've been to some cool places, but really just getting started, hopefully.
Come with us, brother. We'll take you some places. All right. I like it. The second question that we have for everybody is what's currently at the top of your bucket list of destinations that you want to go to?
I've got to do an East Asia trip at some point. Thailand, Vietnam, Japan. There's so much more, but never been to, you know, India is the closest I've been to that part of the world. Obviously just totally different. So that's up there for sure. And I would also say a South America trip is really high. I really want to do a Uruguay to Argentina trip. They're right there. Try to knock both of those off. The meat culture there, the wine culture there, just tremendous. I would love to do that South American trip. And then I'd really love to go to New Zealand. then I'd really love to go to New Zealand. I think New Zealand I think there's is, so much of it that would just like sit right with me. The mountains, the coastal mountains, the wine country, the, you know, just the lifestyle there, a lot of the food, I think would be a, I think I would really like it there. I think would be I think I would really like it there. I a, might not come back though. I might not come back though.
as you were trying to plan Well, your Portugal trip, your Buenos Aires and Argentina trip, we do have some episodes to kind of walk you through that. And the one about Buenos Aires was with a local. So he was kind Scott has been, of, but he was kind of walking us you know, through, not only where to eat and stuff like that there, but then, you know, kind of how to road trip around and where to look for Argentina. So perfect.
know, kind
And then I guess finally is where are you going next?
So maybe not as exciting for, you know, compared to all these international destinations, but I'm about to spend a month in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Williamsport is the home of the Little League World Series. I'll be there for the end, the championship weekend of the Little League World Series. But then for the month of September, I'm teaching a college class at a small liberal art school called Lycoming College in Williamsport. So I'm doing that for the month of september and then i'll be back in louisiana in october i think i've got a couple quick trips to indianapolis and denver in november and then that's really all that's planned for the rest of the year as of now so nothing international but but moving around the country a good little bit. And then I actually am looking at, I just had lunch with a buddy today that we've been talking about going back to Ireland in the summer of 2025. So that could be my next international trip if nothing else comes up.
Well, we have a great road trip for Southern Ireland as well. So check that out. and Yeah, we plan to go to Donegal for Southern Ireland as Nice. well. And check that out.
well. And check that out. Yeah. And we plan to go to Donegal for the TBEX next summer too because we've been wanting to get back to Ireland. It's just beautiful.
Yeah. Well, Jay, we appreciate you taking the time to come and talk to us. You know, this is a topic that we haven't spent any time on since we started the podcast. And we know a lot of foodies who listen to our podcast. So I think they're going to be super interested in this episode.
Well, it's certainly one of the top reasons to travel or what people are looking for when they travel. You know, maybe a lot of people are picking destinations based on other cultures or historical landmarks or tourist attractions, but you're still going to eat when you're there. So I definitely think culinary travels, it's a big part of it all.
Well, I like your attitude towards that is just go and try the local food. It doesn't have to be the Michelin star restaurants.
Yeah.
So I have one other quick question. Do we, yeah, always. Will we ever have a trip that we can go on you where you want might explore some kind of culinary destination?
Yeah. I've, I've played around with that idea and want to play around with it some more. I haven't had any immediate success booking some stuff like that. I have had, you know, more just like private trips or people that have, you know, asked me to help plan something, but I didn't get to go or, you know, something along those lines. But yeah, I do like the group trip model and saying like, I'm going to this place to eat and drink, come with me. So yeah, I would love to do something like that. Or if that's something that you guys are doing and you want to bring a culinary guide along, let me know, maybe we could tag team something.
Yeah, I was just thinking like we had mentioned that coming out of Puerto Rico, that that would be a great place to do a group trip. So maybe we can tag team that idea and you plan all the culinary stuff and then we'll plan like the experiences and stuff like that and make it happen.
Yeah, I do think Puerto Rico would be a great place to do a group trip like that.
We fell in love. The first time we went there, we weren't so in love with Puerto Rico, but this past time, we just brought part of it back in our hearts. Yeah. Very nice.
It's a great thing about travel. Sticks with you like that.
Well, thank you again, Jay. It was great to talk to you, and we really appreciate you sharing all your experience and knowledge with our listeners.
thank you again, Jay.
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Scott, I was surprised that the first place that Jay mentioned for foodie travel is Washington, D.C. We haven't been to Washington, D.C. in a long time, and when we were there, it wasn't really thinking about the food. It was like the museums and the sites and things like that and the history. thinking about the It was like food. the museums and the sites and things like that in the history.
in the history. I would Yeah. also say that the last time that we went to Washington, D.C., we were probably very much doing that on a shoestring budget as well.
as well. Yeah, that's true. So I think that's somewhere that we need to put back on our list if we have the opportunity to check out some of the food there.
Yeah. I mean, one of the things to remember is there's so much to do in Washington, D.C., and it's free. A lot of the attractions are. And so now you can spend your money on food. Yeah, that's a good
that's a good
point. Listening to him, it sounds like that there's more places that we need to go to visit in New Orleans and then make our way to Baton Rouge and stopping at some of those gas stations that he was talking about. And then maybe we can convince Jay to put on a pot of jambalaya the way that his grandmother would have made it.
Yeah, to have that local food experience at home. Yeah, that would be awesome. And then maybe we also need to tag team with Jay and do a group trip that's centered around food and local experiences. So we mentioned several places where that would be amazing to do that. So we'll have to work on that.
Yeah. I mean, he's just an amazing guy and we created such a, I thought, great connection with him in a short amount of time.
And I think I'd have a lot of fun traveling with Jay.
Jay. Yeah, he's super cool.
Yeah, I thought, I was like, man, we need to take him to some of the places that we have planned, right? Because he talked about that he hasn't done a lot of international travel far and away as kind of a food blogger or food lover and stuff like that. And so we just need to take him with us to a bunch of places.
Yeah. And Puerto Rico would definitely be awesome because there's a lot of food experiences like that, pork highway, that we haven't gotten to do a lot. But back to Portugal, always good food. But Spain?
Oh, yeah. let's go we met jay on the spoon experience food tour in puerto rico
rico but we had the chance to spend time with him throughout the week while we're at tbex travel conference i knew quickly that we were going to want to have him on the show and come talk to us about culinary experiences while traveling. But we want to hear from you on what are your go-to tips on how to find the best food while you're traveling. Email me at scott at sunshinetravelers.com and let me know. I also want to hear about your favorite culinary experiences while you're out there on the road. We're always inspired by your travel adventures. We hope you enjoyed this episode and found some inspiration to help you with your travel
inspiration to help you with your travel journeys. If you could take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, it would be greatly appreciated. Your five-star reviews help us get discovered by others and possibly featured on your favorite platform. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast to get notified of new episodes as they are released. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that is Travelers with one L. Most importantly, please share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
