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Culinary world map

The world divided into 182 culinary regions — not countries, since food cultures ignore borders: Brittany, Burgundy and Provence are three different kitchens inside one state, while the Basque country is one kitchen across two. Each dot on the map is a region at its culinary heartland, grouped into 18 tinted macro-zones; each region's card reads into its particularities — techniques, flavor logic, history — with 728 signature dishes, 728 defining ingredients, and the chefs who carry the tradition. Full item-by-item notes live on the companion pages: dishes of the world and ingredients of the world; the chefs link into the culinary map roster where they appear on it.

North AmericaMexico & C. AmericaCaribbeanSouth AmericaBritish IslesNordicW. & C. EuropeMediterraneanE. Europe & RussiaCentral AsiaMiddle EastNorth AfricaWest AfricaE. & S. AfricaSouth AsiaEast AsiaSE AsiaOceaniaNew England — North AmericaMid-Atlantic & New York — North AmericaLowcountry & Chesapeake — North AmericaDeep South & Soul Food — North AmericaAppalachia — North AmericaLouisiana Creole & Cajun — North AmericaTexas & the BBQ Belt — North AmericaThe Southwest & New Mexico — North AmericaCalifornia — North AmericaPacific Northwest — North AmericaMidwest & Great Lakes — North AmericaQuébec — North AmericaAtlantic Canada — North AmericaBaja & the Norteño North — Mexico & Central AmericaMexico City & Central Highlands — Mexico & Central AmericaPuebla & Tlaxcala — Mexico & Central AmericaOaxaca — Mexico & Central AmericaYucatán — Mexico & Central AmericaVeracruz & the Gulf — Mexico & Central AmericaJalisco & the Pacific Coast — Mexico & Central AmericaChiapas & Guatemalan Highlands — Mexico & Central AmericaEl Salvador & the Isthmus — Mexico & Central AmericaCosta Rica & Panama — Mexico & Central AmericaCuba — CaribbeanJamaica — CaribbeanHispaniola (Haiti & DR) — CaribbeanPuerto Rico — CaribbeanTrinidad & Southern Antilles — CaribbeanFrench & Dutch Antilles — CaribbeanCaribbean Colombia & Venezuela — South AmericaAndean Colombia & Ecuador — South AmericaPeruvian Coast & Lima — South AmericaAndean Peru & Bolivia — South AmericaAmazonia — South AmericaBahia & Northeast Brazil — South AmericaMinas Gerais & Central Brazil — South AmericaRio & Southern Brazil — South AmericaArgentine Pampas & Río de la Plata — South AmericaAndean Argentina & Cuyo — South AmericaChile — South AmericaParaguay & the Chaco — South AmericaScotland — British IslesIreland — British IslesWales — British IslesNorthern England — British IslesLondon & the Southeast — British IslesThe West Country — British IslesDenmark — NordicSweden — NordicNorway — NordicFinland & Karelia — NordicIceland — NordicGreenland & the Faroes — NordicBrittany — Western & Central EuropeNormandy — Western & Central EuropeParis & Île-de-France — Western & Central EuropeLoire Valley — Western & Central EuropeBurgundy & Franche-Comté — Western & Central EuropeAlsace & Lorraine — Western & Central EuropeLyonnais & Rhône-Alpes — Western & Central EuropeAuvergne & Massif Central — Western & Central EuropeSouthwest France (Gascony & Périgord) — Western & Central EuropeProvence & Côte d'Azur — Western & Central EuropeLanguedoc & Roussillon — Western & Central EuropeCorsica — Western & Central EuropeBelgium & Flanders — Western & Central EuropeNetherlands — Western & Central EuropeNorthern Germany — Western & Central EuropeRhineland & Central Germany — Western & Central EuropeBavaria & Swabia — Western & Central EuropeAustria — Western & Central EuropeSwitzerland — Western & Central EuropeGalicia & Atlantic Spain — Mediterranean EuropeBasque Country — Mediterranean EuropeCastile & Interior Spain — Mediterranean EuropeCatalonia — Mediterranean EuropeValencia & Murcia — Mediterranean EuropeAndalusia — Mediterranean EuropeNorthern Portugal — Mediterranean EuropeLisbon, Alentejo & Algarve — Mediterranean EuropePiedmont & Liguria — Mediterranean EuropeLombardy & Veneto — Mediterranean EuropeEmilia-Romagna — Mediterranean EuropeTuscany & Umbria — Mediterranean EuropeRome & Lazio — Mediterranean EuropeNaples & Campania — Mediterranean EuropePuglia & the Deep South — Mediterranean EuropeSicily — Mediterranean EuropeSardinia — Mediterranean EuropeGreek Mainland — Mediterranean EuropeAegean Islands & Crete — Mediterranean EuropePoland — Eastern Europe & RussiaCzechia & Slovakia — Eastern Europe & RussiaHungary — Eastern Europe & RussiaRomania & Moldova — Eastern Europe & RussiaBulgaria & North Macedonia — Eastern Europe & RussiaWestern Balkans — Eastern Europe & RussiaSlovenia & Croatia — Eastern Europe & RussiaUkraine — Eastern Europe & RussiaThe Baltics — Eastern Europe & RussiaEuropean Russia — Eastern Europe & RussiaSiberia & the Far East — Eastern Europe & RussiaGeorgia — Central Asia & CaucasusArmenia & Azerbaijan — Central Asia & CaucasusUzbekistan & Tajikistan — Central Asia & CaucasusKazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan — Central Asia & CaucasusAfghanistan — Central Asia & CaucasusUyghur Xinjiang — Central Asia & CaucasusIstanbul & Aegean Turkey — Middle East & LevantAnatolia & Southeast Turkey — Middle East & LevantLebanon & Syria — Middle East & LevantSouthern Levant — Middle East & LevantIraq & Mesopotamia — Middle East & LevantPersian Iran — Middle East & LevantThe Gulf & Arabia — Middle East & LevantYemen — Middle East & LevantMorocco — North AfricaAlgeria — North AfricaTunisia & Libya — North AfricaEgypt — North AfricaSenegal & Gambia — West AfricaMali & the Sahel — West AfricaCôte d'Ivoire & the Gulf Coast — West AfricaGhana — West AfricaNigeria — West AfricaEthiopia & Eritrea — East & Southern AfricaHorn of Africa (Somalia & Djibouti) — East & Southern AfricaKenya & Inland Tanzania — East & Southern AfricaSwahili Coast & Zanzibar — East & Southern AfricaUganda & the Great Lakes — East & Southern AfricaCongo Basin & Central Africa — East & Southern AfricaAngola & Mozambique — East & Southern AfricaSouth Africa — East & Southern AfricaMadagascar & Indian Ocean Isles — East & Southern AfricaPunjab (both sides) — South AsiaDelhi & the Mughlai North — South AsiaRajasthan & Gujarat — South AsiaKashmir — South AsiaBengal & Bangladesh — South AsiaHyderabad & the Deccan — South AsiaTamil Nadu — South AsiaKerala — South AsiaGoa & the Konkan Coast — South AsiaMumbai & Maharashtra — South AsiaSindh & Balochistan — South AsiaSri Lanka — South AsiaNepal & the Himalaya — South AsiaSichuan & Chongqing — East AsiaGuangdong & Hong Kong — East AsiaHunan & Jiangxi — East AsiaJiangnan & Huaiyang — East AsiaBeijing & Shandong — East AsiaFujian — East AsiaTaiwan — East AsiaDongbei (Northeast China) — East AsiaYunnan & Guizhou — East AsiaShaanxi & Northwest China — East AsiaKantō & Tokyo — East AsiaKansai (Kyoto & Osaka) — East AsiaHokkaidō & Tōhoku — East AsiaKyūshū & Okinawa — East AsiaKorea — East AsiaMongolia — East AsiaNorthern Vietnam & Hanoi — Southeast AsiaSouthern Vietnam & the Mekong — Southeast AsiaCentral Thailand & Bangkok — Southeast AsiaIsaan & Northern Thailand — Southeast AsiaLaos — Southeast AsiaCambodia — Southeast AsiaMyanmar — Southeast AsiaMalay Peninsula (KL & Penang) — Southeast AsiaSingapore & Peranakan — Southeast AsiaSumatra & the Minang World — Southeast AsiaJava — Southeast AsiaBali & Eastern Indonesia — Southeast AsiaPhilippines — Southeast AsiaModern Australia — Oceania & PacificBush Tucker & the Top End — Oceania & PacificAotearoa New Zealand — Oceania & PacificMelanesia (PNG & Fiji) — Oceania & PacificPolynesia — Oceania & PacificHawaiʻi — Oceania & Pacific

A deliberately schematic map — the tinted shapes mark the 18 macro culinary zones, and each dot is one of the 182 regions, placed at its culinary heartland. Hover a dot for its name; click it to open the region's card below.

North America13 regions

Mexico & Central America10 regions

Caribbean6 regions

South America12 regions

British Isles6 regions

Nordic6 regions

Western & Central Europe19 regions

Mediterranean Europe19 regions

Eastern Europe & Russia11 regions

Central Asia & Caucasus6 regions

Middle East & Levant8 regions

North Africa4 regions

West Africa5 regions

East & Southern Africa9 regions

South Asia13 regions

East Asia16 regions

Southeast Asia13 regions

Oceania & Pacific6 regions