Traveling Through with David Prior · Thursday, July 2, 2026
Andy Baraghani identifies Vietnam, Lebanon, and Turkey as three solo travel experiences that profoundly shaped his palate and cooking style. He particularly notes the influence of Turkish spices, like Urfa Biber, and the overall culinary discoveries made during these trips.
“I traveled many places, but those three stand out because I think I learned the most from those places. Those three places really shaped Also the food that I cook definitely had an influence on my style of cooking.”
“The thing that I kind of took away was how they kind of spice things. They're chilies, Turkish chilis kind of started to become part of my cooking cell. The Earfa bi beer that you see on every single tabletop, no matter how casual or it just that's smoky, kind of leathery, lingering like mild heat.”
“I'd say those were three. I traveled many places, but those three stand out because I think I learned the most from those places.”