It's like travelling, but for your tastebuds

Cooking has become a great hobby of mine. I like how methodical it can be, following a recipe precisely step-by-step. However, at the same time it allows room for experimentation. Testing out new variations on recipes and finding out they work it is exciting and satisfying for an amateur cook. I love cooking for friends and family, the joy and appreciation I get from good company and good food is second to none.

Growing up in country Victoria, my family led a fairly ordinary meat and veg existence (with extra salt of course!). It wasn't until I moved to the big smoke of Melbourne that I was exposed to a myriad of exotic cuisines.

Culturally I've always been interested in other nations. With the little world travel I have done, I am always prepared to try something new, particularly when it comes to food! And it seems that no matter what country you go to, cooking and eating has always been unifying.

A group of friends and I (shout out to The Molefaces!) would compete in weekly cooking competitions, with such illustrious themes as "Aisle 4 Night", "Only in a Can Night", and "Romantic Dinner for 2 for 10 Night". We constantly made more food than most people could handle, but the 9 of us "Fat Diabetic Whores" could put it away with ease. Every week I'd scour the internet for the most delicious/best representative of the theme, aiming to win the most votes for the week.

Then for Christmas, my best friend Emma bought me Julia Child's 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking', and I challenged myself to cook one recipe a week, with varying levels of success (Vive boeuf à la bourguignonne!) .

All these experiences added to my cooking repertoire, increasing my cuisine knowledge and inspiring me to take on new challenges. So I thought what better way for an amateur cook learn about international cuisine then to cook the national dishes of the world. And this has become my new challenge.

• First off I am an amateur cook, and this blog is a means of depicting my challenge and food education and should therefore not be looked at with having any culinary expertise.
• I purport to cook the "national" dishes of all 193 internationally recognised sovereign states and members of the UN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_world). 
• I use the words "national dish" due to research of native dishes from several sources on the internet have lead to somewhat of a consesus. I understand that some may argue against chosen dishes, and I don't deem to know everything about a culture, hence the challenge.
• I'll try to find a traditional recipe and stick to it as close as possible, providing a link to the chosen recipe.
• I shall objectively rate the meals according to taste, appearance, and difficulty. However, this system may change as the challenge progresses.
• After researching I noticed a few blogs based on this concept. I still wanted to complete the challenge, so chose a different tact by randomly choosing the next country to cook (instead of cooking alphabetically) and by filming the process and uploading the videos. 
• Any CONSTRUCTIVE advice is welcomed, but insensitive remarks and harsh criticism will not be tolerated.

So join me as I undertake this culinary journey around the world. I hope you'll get as much out of it as I will.