PACK YOUR BAGS and your taste buds to join me on the food adventure ofa lifetime, a dirt-under-your-fingernails quest to learn about the ingredients,flavors, dishes, and cultures unique to different locations around the world.In this book, you’ll journey with me to 21 destinations, unlocking thesecrets to each region’s cuisine—just as we do on the National Geographictelevision series Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted.Uncharted brings cuisine from around the world to viewers through achef’s eyes. Diving in from a hands-on perspective and experiencing it allin person—whether I’m shoveling sheep manure to make an amazingwhisky or climbing rocks in Alaska to gather lichen for tea—allows me toget a deeper understanding of a culture’s cuisine. For those watching athome, I like to think the show gently picks you up and sticks you in myrucksack. The audience is right there riding along with me.Traveling to culinary regions around the world, I get an opportunity toapproach food from a beginner’s perspective, dropping my expectations andseeing things with a fresh pair of eyes. I don’t overstudy before I get to anew place; I want to go into every destination with an open mind. It makesme slightly nervous—I don’t want to disappoint the chefs and experts. Butthe best thing I can do is let go and let them lead, to get up to speed withwhat they are showing and telling me. My job is to listen and absorb.Really understanding the interconnected nature of ingredients andculture is essential. Sharing these culinary traditions with viewers andhearing they’ve learned something new or can’t wait to taste these dishesfor themselves—that’s what I’m going for. There’s no adventure like it. Iam grateful for the opportunity to put food back on the map with NationalGeographic, where it deserves to be.