Hi there! My name is Alexandria Drzazgowski Ulmer, and I am the recipe developer, taste tester, photographer, marketing manager, and blogger behind The Foreign Fork, a food blog where I am cooking one meal from every country in the world.
I began my blog back in 2018 and since then I have cooked over 500 recipes from over 100 countries (check them out at in my Recipe Index), published a cookbook, and helped over 6 million readers Put Some Culture in Their Kitchen.
Sharing the beauty of cultures from around the world is my dream job, and I’m so glad that you’ve found my corner of the internet! 196 countries, and we’re cooking them all… Welcome to the adventure!
Background
Growing up, I always had an interest in cooking, and my mom, who disliked the everyday task, used my interest for good.
She would collect me cookbooks from garage sales and thrift stores and tell me that I could cook or bake one thing every single week – anything I wanted – and she would buy me the ingredients to do it. I spent hours in the kitchen experimenting with cooking and baking and finding so much joy when other people loved my creations too.
I also grew up with an intense desire to see the world. Even as a kid, I made it my life’s mission to find a job where I could explore the world and see the beauty that the Earth and all of its people had to offer.
Blog Story
The Foreign Fork food blog began as a passion project. During the winter and spring of 2018, I decided to spend my final semester of college living abroad. During my time spent across the ocean, I visited 15 countries in 18 weeks. And my favorite thing to explore in each and every one of them? FOOD.
I’ve always loved cooking and baking, but when I was abroad, my love transformed into a border-line obsession. I took countless cooking classes and food tours, I visited every local market I could find, and I would spend hours before dinner researching which restaurant would provide the most authentic experience.
I realized that so much about a country could be learned through its food: history, geography, religion, customs, weather…. All of these stories and more can be learned through the lens of food in each new place you travel!
When I returned home to the United States, I decided to continue my passion by starting a food blog! I knew this would be a beautiful way for me to continue doing the thing I was passionate about (learning about the world through food), while working my first full time job.
I started my blog on the same day that I started my corporate career in sales and for a few years I did both, working up to 100 hours a week. In 2021, I was able to take The Foreign Fork full time, and I have been working exclusively as a recipe developer and content creator ever since…. It is truly one of the greatest joys of my life.
I also now have a second site, called The Domestic Spoon, for all of my recipes that do not have a global tie!
Recipe Inspiration
On my site, you’ll find recipes from every corner of the globe. I’m cooking in alphabetical order, which means that some countries aren’t represented yet, but they will be! With each new country, I try to choose a variety of recipes, including (usually) the national dish, some sides, and sometimes even a dessert!
Some recipes, like France, get featured more than others based on the fact that I can find more resources about their cuisine online! Regardless, every country will get its day to shine.
I’m currently working my way through all of the United Nations Recognized countries (right now there are 193 Member States, plus 4 bonus countries), but eventually will move onto non-sovereign countries and territories as well! When my country project comes to an end, I will move onto cooking a recipe from every US state!
I’ve sorted my recipes into geographical regions, like Middle Eastern, European, and South American recipes, but you can also search a specific country in my search bar or even click on a country on my interactive map!
In addition to my country recipes, I also leave featuring recipes using my Instant Pot, and my sweet tooth means that I keep my dessert recipes stocked as well!
If you want to request a recipe or want me to share one of your recipes on my blog, please submit a recipe here.
My favorite recipes on the blog are:
- Kabuli Pulao from Afghanistan
- Lahm Bi Ajeen from Iraq
- Escargot from France
- Pollo con Tajadas from Honduras
- Cacio e Pepe from Italy.
My Recipe Development Process for Global Cuisine
Each recipe on my site is carefully researched with love and attention. My usual workflow includes watching and reading as many recipes from locals as I can. I take notes on the common ingredients, cooking methods, techniques, and substitutions, then compile a recipe that incorporates all of these elements into the best representation that I can come up with.
To ensure this, my next step is to try and find a local from the country that can look over my researched recipe and confirm that it is a good representation of their culture! Sometimes it can be difficult to find a recipe reviewer, so please send me an email if you want to volunteer!
After I receive approval from the recipe editor, I cook the recipe, photograph it, and share it with all of you!
And in the event that I’ve still gotten something wrong, my TikTok followers will be sure to let me know, and then I redo them again! 😉 It’s important to me that my recipes are my own invention but that they are a true and accurate representation of the country. This is a fine line to walk, but I get better at it every day.
If you ever find a recipe on my site that you think isn’t a great representation from your country, feel free to leave a comment and I will make sure to take your pointers into account when I rework the recipe!
National Publications
I have been honored to have been featured by some national publications including:
- Buzzfeed
- Bustle
- MSN
- Saveur (The Winner of Saveur Blog Award’s Most Groundbreaking Voice)
- The Detroit News
- Edible Arrangements
- And more!
Check out my Press Page to see a full list of my appearances!
Professional Career
It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and for a while it felt like there was something wrong with everything I tried. It wasn’t until I started The Foreign Fork that I realized what direction I wanted my career to go!
- 2014 – 2017 – Got my Professional Writing Degree from Michigan State University
- 2015 – Interned at a literary agency and a book production company in Manhattan, thinking I wanted to go into book publishing
- 2016 – Interned in corporate communications at Stryker
- 2018 – 2021 – Elite Sales Rep at ADP (my first full time job!)
- 2018 – Present – Recipe developer and food photographer at foreignfork.com
- 2024 – Present – Recipe developer and food photographer at my second site, thedomesticspoon.com
Other achievements that I am proud of in my professional life include:
- Being the fastest promoted sales rep in my multi-state division at ADP and winning President’s Club twice in my two year career!
- Winning an award from President Barack Obama for significant volunteer work.
- Contributing as a writer to a published book and publishing a literary journal.
Personal Life
I grew up in Michigan, but currently live in Charlotte, North Carolina with my husband, Matt. We were high school sweethearts and got married in 2023, 11 years after we started dating! He also works remotely, so we spend a lot of time at home together. I have the best built-in taste tester around!
When I’m not cooking and blogging, I can be found traveling, in the US or abroad. My husband and I love to explore new places together and have visited Ireland, Indonesia, Aruba, Barbados and more! It’s on our bucket list to visit all 50 US states together, every US national park, and to visit as many countries as possible.
I also love to journal and read. I have a scrapbook called my Smashbook, where I paste in ticket stubs, photos, maps and stickers from our adventures and then journal about our stories. I started my Smashbook hobby back when I was backpacking Europe and am currently on my fourth edition. I always say that in a fire, my Smashbooks would be the one thing I would grab!
I read 52 books last year, and this year it’s my goal to read over 100! I also love to work out, embroider, and explore our local area. We never grew up around the mountains, so since our move to North Carolina we have been loving going on weekend hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains!
Most importantly, my other main love is spending time with my family and my friends. My extended family and I grew up spending a lot of time together, and we still get together for family dinner at our cottage at least once a week in the summers. Sunday Pasta Days are memories I will never forget.
My happy place is my cottage, and I love spending time up there reading, chatting, and most importantly, playing with my 12 nieces and nephews.
In 2024, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It’s something new in my life that I am still figuring out, but I have been determined to not let it stop me! You can read more about my Diagnosis Story or my top moments of every year since starting the blog in my Personal Life section.
They say you shouldn’t make your work your identity, and I’m still working on that. But also…. I adore this job, and I can’t believe I get to spend my life cooking, traveling, and learning from interesting people everywhere I go. In my humble opinion, I think The Foreign Fork has reached so many people because of how easy it is to see my passion for this project and for sharing it with you.
Thank you for being a reader of The Foreign Fork and for taking the time to learn more about me! If you want to stay up to date on everything Foreign Fork related, get on my email list to be notified about the latest updates!
Check out my Muck Rack Profile to see my other work!
Where Has The Foreign Fork Been Featured?
