Introduction

My name is Jennifer Bushman and my husband's name is Kevin and our children are John (age 11) and Julia (age 8). Presently we live in Oakville, Ontario outside of Toronto. I say presently because we are a family that moves quite often. Kevin and I started our married life in El Centro, California - where our babies were born - and from there we moved to Virginia Beach, Pittsburgh, Chicago and now Oakville. Every time Kevin gets promoted we're off to live somewhere new and I tell Kevin that he married the right woman because I don't mind moving. I have moved all my life. My parents were U.S. diplomats and I grew up all over the world. This is how I acquired an interest in food. Even as a small child I had a sophisticated palate. When I was three my favorite food was artichokes and when I was six I had my first taste of mussels in Brussels. So when I had children I was not about to have picky eaters. Picky eaters would not stand a chance in my house because when I cook I experiment with different types of cuisines. I can't stand cooking the same dishes over and over again, let alone eating the same dishes over and over again. Since I often feel nostalgic for my years living abroad I will cook things that take me back in time- hummus and falafel reminds me of Israel, bulgogi reminds me of Korea, moussaka reminds me of Greece, and schnitzel reminds me of Czechoslovakia. John and Julia have eaten and like all theses things, and more. I never assume my kids won't like something and just like me they were eating things like caviar and brie by the time they were toddlers.

I always wished that John and Julia could travel the world like I did and then it dawned on me that they could through their palates. Our family's challenge is to eat a cuisine from every country in the world (there's 257), in alphabetical order, in one year.