Cook a Dish from Every Country in the World
Pick a well-defined scope (the commonly used 195-country standard: 193 UN members plus 2 UN observer states) and commit to preparing at least one representative, sourced dish from each entry. Treat each recipe as a short research project: find a version by a cook from the place, read the cultural notes, adapt only where necessary, then cook and document one complete meal. Organise this as a paced, trackable series rather than an unfocused list—use weekly or monthly cycles, group countries by region for grocery efficiency, and allow time for sourcing specialty ingredients or taking a class for difficult techniques. Keep a simple public or private log (date, recipe source, any substitutions, and a short note on authenticity) so the project remains educational rather than performative. Plan around dietary, ethical and supply constraints: choose one dish per country that you can reasonably prepare at home or identify a close, supported equivalent when home preparation is impossible. When a recipe requires rare, restricted or endangered ingredients, select an ethically appropriate substitute and record the reason. Celebrate completion in stages (for example, by continent), share responsibly (credit sources and home cooks), and be explicit that the project samples a single dish per country rather than defining any national cuisine.