I absolutely love to explore new and exciting restaurants, whether it is Italian, Tibetan, or simply home-style food from any country. Not that this was always the case. As a matter of fact I was a terrible finicky eater growing up, and I'm eternally grateful that I grew out of this childhood food neophobia. Hence the title "Fat Belly" is poking a little fun at myself. My new and improved food phobia started when I had the opportunity to travel through Europe, Africa, and the US, and discovered some awesome dishes. I would like to share some of the foods I fell in love with, and (not always successfully) tried to recreate in my kitchen. The "Fat Belly" cookbook series is a recipe collection of my most favorite dishes. The first book is from my birthplace Germany (of course), followed by a series of other country's recipes I had the great fortune to visit and well nourished by while I was there.