Food feeds us in many ways. It feeds our bodies, it feeds our souls, and sometimes, it can feed our egos. Culinary travel is an excellent way to learn and experience the world. In some cases, the economic impact helps to sustain industries that empower communities around the world. But when food becomes a status symbol, when its perceived “prestige value” is used as a merit badge that proves that we’ve “been there, eaten that,” the impact of culinary travel can take a dark turn.

This week on Power Dining I chat with my good friend Matt Hershberger. He’s an author, stay-at-home dad, and the writer/podcaster behind Better Strangers here on Substack. We actually met while we were both working as travel editors and have seen firsthand the impact media has on influencing culinary travel and the power the industry has on communities around the world.

In this episode, we talked about lessons we learned on our own travels and over the course of our careers, what happens when food becomes a status symbol, and how media and social media can fuel a phenomenon that’s called “prestige value.”

The Power Dining Podcast digs into the power structures, power moves, and power dynamics in the world of food. Every other week a new guest joins host, Kae Lani Palmisano, in a conversation about how the complex relationships we have with food, its impact on us and the world, and the unexplainable beliefs about food we just can’t seem to shake.

For more subscribe to Power Dining on Substack. Paid subscribers will get access to extended interviews, bonus episodes, and more. You can watch each episode on YouTube.

Matt HershbergerBetter Strangers Substack: betterstrangers.substack.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betterstrangersbooks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthershberger/Kae Lani PalmisanoSubstack: powerdining.substack.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaelanisays Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaelanisays/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaeLaniSaysYouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxfNwsFbKTnxUd23yEeSfvNv2Or4c8Yq_