There are many adventures in life that come with some risk. Sky diving, zip lining, travel to some foreign countries and race car driving come to mind. Yet, there is one adventure that is not only risk free, but ultimately can be a huge eye opener, and that is food. Short of eating a poisonous mushroom or Japanese Fugu (the puffer fish, which only a few sushi chefs in the world are licensed to prepare because it is highly toxic and potentially fatal if incorrectly prepared), eating food has no risk. The worst thing that could happen is that you don’t like something, but the potential reward of discovering something new and delicious to eat far outweighs that risk.

Jeff and I find this to be the most wonderful kind of adventure. In fact, the first thing either of us does when we are planning an evening out or a future trip somewhere is to research the food and restaurants we want to try. We both live by the motto that there is no such thing as bad food, just bad preparation of a food and therefore it is always worth giving something a second or third go around. We always say, taste first, ask later. Often one’s perceptions get in the way of the potential enjoyment of a new food because of a bad past experience or preconceived notions. What you don’t know can’t hurt you sounds cliché, but it sure does work when it comes to food.

Sure, I draw the line at a few things; for example, domesticated animals are a taboo food to me, but by and large, I will try anything. Hey, maybe elephant grubs are tasty? How would I know since I never had one before, right? Next time I am in Papua, New Guinea, I’ll be sure to remember that. I’m sure there are some cultures that would view moldy cow’s milk as pretty gross too, but blue cheese can be a revelation in the right context. Don’t knock it until you try it.