Every year, I try to find some new and exciting way to participate in the upcoming Formula 1 season. Sometimes it’s about trying drink my way throughout the year. However, for 2023, I decided to try something different. I am preparing for the F1 season with my new project, Food Grand Prix.
In case you lost it:
I have tried to keep the premise quite simple: I will research the cuisine of each host country and try to make authentic dishes at home. However, instead of choosing something that pleases me, I have tried to choose the official national dish of each host country. In cases like Italy or the United States, where there are many races, I choose regional specialties. In some Middle Eastern countries, where the national dishes are all the same, I tried to find a food that fits the other culture.
Simply put, I think F1 really doesn’t interact in a meaningful way with the countries that host the various Grands Prix, and I’ve tasked myself with finding that cultural connection through the food. . You unknowingly learn a lot about a place based on the foods consumed there, and I tried to learn the history of each dish I cook to better understand that country.
As we neared the fourth race of the season in Azerbaijan, I was just getting a glimpse of the meals I would be cooking. In Bahrain, it’s machboos, a chicken and rice dish similar to biryani. In Saudi Arabia it is tharid, lamb stew. For Australia, I roasted some sheep and potatoes. This week, I tried plovpaella with chicken and dried fruit sauteed in butter.
Quite a few people have joined me in cooking, but for you, the good people of Jalopnik, I want to take a different route: What do you want to know about the project? I’m happy to talk about anything: how I did my research, what really inspired this, how much it cost to provide – whatever.
