One of the key sources of inspiration for Supper Club menus has been my international travel. I ran Kraft Food Ingredient’s international business for over 10 years and got to do some extensive traveling to a lot of great places. Mostly I saw airports, hotels and offices, but we did get to eat in quite a few great restaurants. Early on in my career I traveled with a guy who was a microbiologist by training. This guy scared the daylights out of me. If you listened to him you would only eat and drink what you brought with you. Thankfully, I am adventurous eater and had a lot of fun. Following are a few key rules to live by:
1. Never eat something that they say “Oh it is a delicacy”
I grew up on the east coast and have eaten a lot of lobster. Some will say the green gunk in a lobster is a delicacy. Trust me, it isn’t. Chances are pretty much the same with international cuisines. Let me tell you about Balut…”Oh it is a delicacy”. Balut is a developing bird embryo (usually a duck or chicken) that is boiled and eaten from the shell. It originates and is commonly sold as street-food in the Philippines. If you ask a Filipino living in the U.S. what they miss most about food in the Philippines they will say “Balut, it is a delicacy”. I am sorry but “developing bird embryo” is just nasty and the smell, really nasty.
2. Never eat anything that they say “Tastes just like Chicken”
If you want chicken eat chicken. I have been told that snake and squirrel and several other more exotic items taste just like chicken. To be safe, stick with the chicken.
3. You can be adventurous and still be safe.
You do need to try things that are out of your comfort zone. When traveling to areas that are more tropical there is a greater risk of food poisoning. A food scientist that I used to work with recommended eating a chewable Pepto Bismol every morning as a prophylactic. It works. I got really sick in Asia on the trip after I traveled with the microbiologist. He literally scared the S**T out of me. Ever since I eat my Pepto Bismol every morning and I haven’t had a problem.
4. If people say “OK, OK, OK, they probably don’t understand you
We were once negotiating a deal in Japan. Before the trip I got advice from one of our attorneys who had lived in Japan for 5 years in an earlier life. He told me that while many Japanese speak some English you couldn’t count on them having good enough language skills to keep up with conversation during negotiation. So if you get OK, OK, OK you know your in trouble. Funny thing, since then I have found the OK, OK, OK rule even works for those of us who grew up with English as our mother tongue.
5. Be careful not to imitate incorrectly. It is safer to be polite and be yourself
Before taking one of my first trips to Asia I asked a friend of mine that was an Asian American and had spent 5 years setting up joint ventures in Asia about learning local customs. Specifically, I asked should I read Kiss, Bow, Or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries. He said your best bet is to be yourself and just be polite. The people you are doing business with have been dealing with Americans for their entire career. They know American customs way better than you will ever know Asian customs. You are at a greater risk of making a mistake when imitating what you think is correct.
I will say that world travel for business isn’t as much fun as most people think it is. It is hard work while you are on the road and harder work catching up when you get back. Modern communication tools are great, but it is still tough. Being retired and traveling for fun is a whole other story. I will say that it always hits me as I go to the airport. I think “thank god I don’t have to go to the Philippines”. And, having run a company in the Philippines for 15 years, I love the Philippines.
Remember to keep an eye out for my book: “Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs” due out from Morgan James Publishing in January 2018