Hi, I’m Susy Bando. You can call me a food lover, just don’t call me a foodie. To me, foodie suggests fussiness and over-analysis, when what I really love is the joy of eating. Whether it’s a comforting home-cooked meal, a late-night street taco, or a spot on the World’s 50 Best list, I find happiness in food, the places it takes me and the people I meet along the way.

Food has always been my compass. Sometimes that means wandering a local market to dream up dinner, other times it’s detouring a hundred miles on a whim to taste legendary whole hog barbecue. My travels are shaped around food, but over the years I’ve realized that what stays with me is often just as much about the people as what was on the plate. Many of my most meaningful friendships have been forged over a table, across languages and cultures.

Oaxaca, in particular, has become my second home. Its vibrant colours and flavours changed the way I think about food and travel, and each return seems to deepen that connection. Not just the food itself but the people who make it, share it and celebrate it.

Call Me A Food Lover began when I finally landed a reservation at The French Laundry, one of those “bucket list” experiences I’d dreamed about for years. That meal not only lived up to the hype, it also inspired me to start documenting my food adventures. What began as a way to capture one extraordinary night has become an ongoing excuse to keep chasing delicious experiences everywhere I go. And, over the years, a place to remember them.

A Few Food Facts About Me

First food memory: fresh uni (sea urchin) on cucumber at age five.

The turning point: A short-lived stint as a “vegetarian” in my 20s (for a boy!) led me to Indian and Thai food and flavours I had never given a chance. Suddenly, unfamiliar became delisious and it opened my eyes to a whole new way of eating.

My kryptonite: Potatoes. Fries, chips, baked, mashed, hash browns. I love them in every form.

A couple of principles I eat by:

Thomas Keller – food as a pursuit of happiness and giving pleasure.

Jiro Ono – you have to eat good food to know how to make good food.

Anthony Bourdain – “I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.”

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find something here that makes you hungry, curious, or ready to plan your next meal.

You can reach me anytime at susybando@gmail.com.