Hi, I’m Anant.

I’ve been doing the sensible thing for most of my life. Sensible undergrad business degree, followed by small stint as an accountant (sensible… but so boring). Then came the exciting corporate firefighter role of Executive Assistant to the Managing Director, which was sensibly followed up with a sales position at the same company. After a few years, I decide to move on to the next sensible thing in order to start moving up the corporate ladder. I left India for the US of A to get a MBA, followed by a marketing role in technology space. So a series of “sensible” decisions brought me to this point. A stable, sensible and mostly boring life without any clear purpose or sense of adding value to anyone’s life including my own.

Last year, in the midst of a very early mid-life crisis, I decided that I was DONE. DONE being sensible and DONE doing the right things. DONE trying to climb corporate ladders that are supposed to give THE ambitious of the world a sense of purpose, but IMHO doesn’t really create any value for anyone. I was finally DONE with the rat race.

Over the last one year, I sold my V8, bought a bicycle, sold most of my furniture and moved out of my high rise apartment and moved in with a good friend in his condo. I came to the realization that the things that I owned weren’t really making me happy. So I got rid of all of it.

At this point you must be thinking that, “This idiot has lost his mind a little bit and is giving up materialism in search of happiness. Happens to a lot of people. No biggie. He will probably find something to do that gives him some sense of purpose and fulfillment. Maybe travel a little more.”

And guess what… you’re right!

I’ve been saving up for the last one year so that I can quit my job and do what I actually enjoy doing. No more dumb f***ing SENSIBLE DECISIONS. 🙂

There is absolutely nothing that I enjoy more than food. For quite some time, my favorite lines to describe myself have been:

“Everything that I do in life is for food. I work so that I can eat great food, I exercise so that I can eat great food. I travel so that I can eat great food. When I dream, it’s mostly about food. I live for food.”

Every day at work I would spend an unhealthy amount of time trying to figure out what I’m going to get for lunch. When I’m hanging out with friends, I would always suggest restaurants that I haven’t tried before so that I try food I’ve never tried before. I would plan my vacations arounds places where I can find flavors that I’ve never tasted.

I don’t just love eating, I am equally passionate about cooking. There are very few things in life more satisfying than to see my friends and loved ones enjoy the food that I cook. I am a home cook and I learned the basics of Indian cooking from my parents who are both very good cooks. And over the years, I have expanded my cooking skills by finding recipes and improvising on them based on the audience and my own personal preferences.

I want to take this to the next level. I want to learn the cooking techniques and recipes from around the world. All while eating my way through the world.

So here’s the plan…

I will travel the world in search of great food for as long as I can and I will write about everything that I eat and every recipe that I learn right here @ Musteatworld.com

I have quit my job and I start my travels in Berlin next week. I’m making my final pit stop in New York this week before heading to Europe.

I will stay in hostels or couch surf, mostly eat the local street food, visit farmers markets, and try to find people who can teach me a thing or two about their food. And will share all that I can learn, with you.

Let the hunger games begin! (the one where only animals are sacrificed as tributes and not humans)