ABOUT US — WORLD TRAVEL RECIPES
Our Mission:
Market in Turkey
World Travel Recipes is built by John and Laurel Rodgers, two long-term travelers who gather recipes in person from around the world. Since 2014, they have visited 165 of the 195 countries, collecting over 5,000 recipes directly from local cooks, markets, and small restaurants.
This site organizes those recipes in one place so home cooks can see what people actually cook and eat in different countries.
About John and Laurel:
Dinner in Romania
John and Laurel Rodgers met online and married in April 1999. They worked together from home for years before beginning full-time international travel in 2014. Since then, they have traveled continuously, often cooking while on the road and documenting the recipes they encounter.
They are not professionally trained chefs. They are home cooks who learn directly from local sources. Their focus is on gathering practical recipes that can be recreated in real kitchens, not restaurant-style adaptations.
Laurel’s background in cooking started in her childhood. Her grandparents lived through the Great Depression in Texas, where her grandmother supported the family by baking fruit pies that were sold for 10¢ each. Laurel later learned to cook alongside her father, who regularly experimented with recipes and entered local cooking contests.
Over time, she built a large personal recipe collection from family members across multiple generations. This background shaped the approach used on this site—preserving recipes as they were originally prepared and passing them forward.
What You’ll Find Here:
 Vietnam Street Food |
 Cambodian Street Food |
- Country-based recipe collections
- Recipe “Roundups” that group dishes by country
- Recipes gathered directly from local cooks
- Practical versions of dishes adapted for home kitchens
- Substitutions when ingredients are difficult to find
Each recipe is written so a beginner can follow it step-by-step, while still being useful for experienced cooks.
Meet the Team:
World Travel Recipes is operated by:
John Rodgers
Traveler, recipe collector, and co-founder
John travels full-time and focuses on gathering recipes directly from local cooks and food vendors.
Laurel Rodgers
Recipe collector and writer with a multi-generational family recipe background
Laurel handles cooking classes, manages recipe documentation, and organizes the recipe collections.
They work together full-time, traveling, gathering, testing, and organizing recipes.
How We Gather the Recipes:
Cooking School in Thailand
All recipes on this site are gathered using direct, in-person methods:
- Taking local cooking classes
- Staying with host families and exchanging recipes
- Speaking with cooks in small, family-run restaurants
- Observing and learning from street vendors and market stalls
When a recipe is collected:
- It is recorded as closely as possible to how it was shown
- Substitutions are added only when suggested by local cooks
- Recipes are tested during travel when possible
- Instructions are written for real-world cooking conditions
The goal is to keep each recipe practical while maintaining the original method and ingredients as much as possible.
Work With Us:
For questions, collaborations, or general inquiries:
Email: [email protected]
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BDLSCampfireRecipes/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldrecipesdaily/
Our goal is to continue gathering and organizing the recipes from all 195 countries and make them accessible for everyday cooking.
We are currently back in America. At 75, travel is harder. We are resting and using this time to regroup and organize our work. As soon as it is feasible, we will return to traveling and continue collecting recipes.