Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rosemary Kimani Claire Rouger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Rosemary Kimani, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
“Sometimes you set out knowing your mission. Other times, it quietly finds you”
For us at Authentic Food Quest, our mission truly found us, evolving from a personal quest to transforming the way people connect with culture and themselves through the universal language of food.
Food offers us a window into a culture, the people, and a country. And in our opinion, it is the best way to discover local culture.
Our journey to exploring local food specialties began in 2015, when we both quit our corporate careers. Seeking meaning and fulfilment in our lives, we started Authentic Food Quest as a resource platform that connects travelers to a culture through its local food specialties.
Our quest started in Argentina, where we immersed ourselves in the country’s local food specialties, and then continued through Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Traveling slow for about six months across South America, we stayed with locals, met talented chefs, passionate artisans, and dedicated producers. Through these interactions, we gained a deep understanding of each region’s food specialties and their cultural significance.
Beyond South America, our quest over the last decade has taken us across Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, using food as our primary lens for discovery in over 45 countries and 290+ cities.
From these meaningful experiences, we create informative and original authentic food guides, along with simple, traditional recipes, to help travelers savor the local flavor on their travels or in their kitchens.
At the nine-year mark in 2024, our mission called to us to evolve in a new, deeper direction. This meant bringing curious food lovers on all-inclusive immersive culinary journeys to discover the heart and soul of a region through its food.
In dedicated hands-on cooking classes with local chefs, culinary explorations, and cultural excursions, we foster connections to the place, its people, and its culture. This isn’t just travel; it’s a transformative journey that fosters connections and changes the way you see the world and the way you travel.
We call these immersive cooking vacations, which are focused on Europe, and span 8 days and 7 nights, offering a deep dive into local traditions.
Rosemary Kimani, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We’re Rosemary Kimani and Claire Rouger, the co-founders behind Authentic Food Quest. More than just business partners, we’re also partners in life for 17 years. Our story is one of curiosity, courage, and a shared love for exploring the world through its food.
Rosemary’s path began in Kenya before pursuing her university studies in the U.S. Her professional background in advertising strategy and marketing, and has worked in Chicago, Paris, and Los Angeles. She is a passionate marathon runner who believes in the mantra, “I eat, therefore I run.”
Claire from France has had a lifelong desire to live abroad and immerse herself in different cultures. With an engineering background, she pursued studies in Canada and Brazil before taking a position with a Fortune 500 company in Illinois. Her roles at the company consistently revolved around her deep interest in food. A lover of good food, she enjoys cycling and hiking to keep fit.
What We Do and What Sets Us Apart
At Authentic Food Quest, we empower curious travelers to connect with local cultures through the transformative power of authentic culinary experiences.
Our journey began with extensive slow travel across South America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, always using food as our lens for discovery. These initial experiences led us to share informative food guides and traditional recipes on our website.
Now, we offer immersive cooking vacations that bring curious food lovers on an 8-day/7-night journey to discover the heart and soul of a region through its food.
Each all-inclusive trip features dedicated hands-on cooking classes with local chefs, alongside enriching culinary explorations and cultural excursions.
Currently, we offer these immersive experiences in Puglia and Sicily, Italy, and Crete, Greece, with France opening in 2026. Through these journeys, we foster deep and transformative connections to the place, its people, and its culture.
What We’re Most Proud Of
What truly sets us apart is our commitment to authentic immersion and genuine connection. We don’t just teach you recipes; we introduce you to the stories, the people, and the traditions behind the food.
We’re most proud of the meaningful connections our guests forge, not only with the local communities they visit but also with each other. Seeing people light up when they taste something for the very first time, like goat meat in Crete, or the joy of laughing side by side with an Italian nonna in Puglia while learning to make traditional Pugliese pasta. Those moments of discovery, connection, and shared humanity are what make these journeys so rewarding.
We want potential clients, followers, and fans to know that with Authentic Food Quest, you’re not just booking a trip, you’re embarking on a culinary adventure that will enrich your life long after you return home.
We believe food is the most delicious way to understand the world, and we invite you to join us on a journey that nourishes both your body and your soul.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Our personal and professional journey, the very foundation of Authentic Food Quest, began quite serendipitously over food.
It was a dinner in Chicago in 2008, and it wasn’t just any dinner; it was at a restaurant specializing in raw cuisine. We were part of a larger group that evening, and as fate would have it, we found ourselves seated right next to each other. That initial spark over a unique meal kicked off our relationship, a bond that grew and deepened over the years.
By 2015, as we launched Authentic Food Quest, we’d already been working together, but the exact form wasn’t yet clear. With a leap of faith, we decided to marry our shared passions for food, specifically connecting with cultures through their food. It was this combination that kicked off our culinary adventure and continues to drive us forward.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Sometimes the business directions we make aren’t always planned, but they grow from the mission. For us at Authentic Food Quest, our journey started as content creators. We traveled the world, documenting our culinary adventures and sharing the authentic food guides and traditional recipes we discovered along the way. Our website was a place to share stories and tips, and to connect with our readers.
But over the years, as our community grew, people asked, “can I come with you?” We began to realize that people craved more than just reading about these experiences. They wanted to live them.
This realization became our big pivot. We decided to go deeper and offer our readers the opportunity to go beyond the screen and experience the local food and culture for themselves.
Our mission evolved from simply sharing information to creating transformative experiences. We made the courageous decision to shift our business model and start bringing curious food lovers directly to the destinations.
This is how our immersive cooking vacations were born. We now bring people to a destination to experience the people, food, and culture we’d been writing about for years.
These immersive cooking vacations are active experiences, where you don’t just look at a recipe, but learn to make the dish with your own hands. It’s about taking them from passive readers to active participants, truly engaging with a culture in its most authentic form.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authenticfoodquest.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authenticfoodquest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthenticFoodQuest/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@authenticfoodquest
Image Credits
Authentic Food Quest