April 6, 2022 • 27 mins
In this episode, we'll learn more about Kene, also known as the "Black Bourdain" or @Lokoskales on TikTok and Instagram. Kene is a world storyteller, solo traveler and social media influencer. He has traversed the globe for 15 years, and he is currently challenging himself to visit one to two new countries a month. When you've travelled this much, you have to come in contact with some delicious food -- where do you think he found it? Join me as we discuss his favorite bites and delve into his tips having a successful trip by yourself.
This is the third installment of Foodies Take Flight, a series where Jess talks with world travelers, expats and citizens of countries outside of the United States about their food experiences. Whether you have wanderlust and want inspiration for your next trip, or you're a homebody who just wants a mental vacation, Foodies Take Flight will take you up and away.
Lokoskales
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lokoskales
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The Flaky Foodie
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jess (00:11):
Hi, it's Jess. Welcome to another episode of The flaky
foodie podcast. The only showwith a discussion is delicious
and they're chatter to chew on.
On today's episode, we're gonnatake flight yet again as part of
our Foodies Take Flight series,where I talk with people who've
either been all over the worldor who live all over the world
about their food experiences.
(00:33):
Today on the show, we haveLokoskales dubbed "the black
bourdain" game, he has beentraveling for 15 years, been to
countless countries, and youprobably have seen at least one
of his social media videos andprobably don't even know it. So
sit back and enjoy the flight.
After a brief message, we'll sitdown and talk about food and
solo travel with Lokoskales.
(01:02):
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(01:51):
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you as a listener. Thank you.
(02:39):
Welcome back. Today we have Keneof lokoskales He's @lokoskales
on all social media platforms.
He travels all around the worldand has been doing so for about
the past 15 years or so. Sowelcome to the show.
Kene/Lokoskales (02:53):
Hey, Jess, pleasure to meet you. Thank you
give me a chance to talk aboutsome very interesting topics
today.
Jess (02:57):
Awesome. So how did you start this kind of becoming a
world traveler? How did you howdid that begin?
Kene/Lokoskales (03:03):
Well, it's kind of interesting. When I graduated
from university, I had theopportunity to do an
apprenticeship forentrepreneurship. So learning
how to start your ownbusinesses, and particularly was
done overseas. So I had theopportunity to either do it in
North America or Latin America,or do it overseas in the Middle
East/Asia region. And so I wasone of 80 African Americans who
(03:26):
were given this opportunityafter graduation. And I was the
only one decide I want to learnhow to grow a business overseas.
So they said, really? I'm like,Yeah, and so they stationed me
in the Middle East, in theUnited Arab Emirates. And that's
why I started my start, and Ireally love living overseas. And
I just came back about two yearsago.
Jess (03:46):
Wow. So was it kind of like an instant love for for
traveling? Or did it just take alittle while to where you were
maybe there a month and was justlike, you know what, I like
this.
Kene/Lokoskales (03:56):
It was kind of instant. Because you know, for
one thing, the minute that Imoved overseas and lived in Abu
Dhabi and Dubai, UAE, you know,I my mindset as to how life was
really changed pretty quickly,because over there, you know,
here in the States, people, theyhave this mindset of living to
work, right. But overseas,whether you're in UAE, or in
(04:20):
China, Indonesia, or Malaysia,or even Russia, for that matter.
The mindset is, I'm just workingto live, but it's not my life,
you know, Sam was saying, and soit kind of gave me this
perspective where I reallywanted to visit each country in
the other half of the world'sreligions and how life was
really like, you know, what foodis really like, what was it like
(04:41):
to really just relax on weekendsand, you know, speak and see
what how people were thinking,based compared to other
countries around the world. AndI fell in love with it, and I
really didn't want to come back.
Unfortunately, due to thepandemic. I had to come back.
Jess (04:56):
So how was the how was that adjustment?
Kene/Lokoskales (04:59):
Oh, man. Huge, huge, huge. Well, I left 15
years ago. People were so muchhappier here. Yeah. And you
know, when you get here now,it's like folks are a lot more
stressed, a lot more angry, alot more confused as to what's
going on, and I get it. Right.
But it's totally different fromhow it was back when I
(05:22):
graduated. So it's taking somegetting used to.
Jess (05:26):
So where is home for you?
Kene/Lokoskales (05:29):
So I'm originally from Houston, Texas,
USA. Yes, yes.
Jess (05:33):
So from the South to all over the world, that can be kind
of a huge leap.
Kene/Lokoskales (05:37):
It is. And, you know, the, and the crazy thing
is, you know, African Americansare very rare overseas, outside
of those African diasporacountries. So, you know, if I'm
in the Middle East, or if I'm inSoutheast Asia, or even in
Europe, you know, people kind ofturn their heads and I'm like,
very tall, like six foot two ortwo meters. And so they're like,
(05:59):
Can I take a picture with you?
It's very random, but it happensa lot. And I'm like, Yeah, sure.
And, you know, you see thesephotos where, yep, it's very
tall guy. The other person islike half your height. It's just
like, it's a common thing. Butit's, it's funny to see and it's
really a joy to enjoy. Soawesome.
Jess (06:17):
So on all your social media, you have Black Bordain in
your about me. And that's afterthe late Anthony Bourdain. So
where did that name come from?
Is he one of your inspirations?
Kene/Lokoskales (06:30):
He was originally I followed his career
from the beginning when he was achef, all the way through when
he started his TV shows. And,you know, he, there was an
article he wrote, for the timesA while back, where he talked
about privilege, right? Where heunderstood he had the
opportunity to really show theworld to people based on his
(06:50):
privilege. I think thedifference between me and him
is, I have the opportunity toprovide that world view travel
expert perspective of lifeoverseas, from a black
perspective, right? You know,I'm sure you know, black travel
is like over over $140 billionindustry, but we're the lowest
(07:11):
demographic when it comes to theamount of travel done, right. So
having an opportunity to show,you know, African Americans or
even Africans in the Africandiasporic countries, what it's
like to travel, what is thatexperience like? What is life
like for people who actuallylive in these countries, right,
it really means a lot to them.
And that's a lot of folks in mycommunity really appreciate. I
(07:32):
don't do like luxury travel oranything like that. I just
really provide that verymemorable, personal aspect that
people really love, just likeBourdain did, but a lot deeper,
you understand. And a lot offolks appreciate that globally.
But he really inspired me a lotto my journey.
Jess (07:51):
So tell me a little bit more about the most recent
countries that you've been towhere have you been to
necessarily like in the last sixmonths or so? Oh, time in the
Kene/Lokoskales (08:03):
I had a laugh, because, you know, when the when
past.
the pandemic started, I kind ofpromised myself if I ever
survived it, that I was gonnamake sure I saw the world and
shared it as much as possible.
And I started my journey sharingthat about seven months ago on
(08:23):
social media. Yeah. And so Isaid, I want to make sure I
traveled to at least one or twonew countries a month, right out
of my own pocket. So you know,this past month, I'm right now
I'm currently in La Paz,Bolivia, the capital of Bolivia.
I've been here for the last twoweeks. Before that I was in
Colombia and Cartagena. Prior tothat I celebrated New Years in
(08:45):
both Rio de Janeiro, Sao Pauloand parati, Brazil. In December,
I was in Peru all over so Lima,Waka Cina Cusco. And then prior
to that, I spent a lot of timein the Middle East. So I was in
Jordan. So Petra Wadi Rum, andthat's the Dead Sea area and in
(09:08):
Egypt, both Cairo and Siwa, fora while. Yeah. And yeah, that
same thing, just really focusingon meeting people locally,
really dive into enjoying whatthe street food is like is I
don't eat it, like look forrestaurants. When I go to these
places, these countries, I likereally hit up the street food
(09:29):
vendors. So like really hands onseeing how they cook it, talking
to them about what thecommunities are like, what their
life is like. And it really it'sa big turn off for me to do
those type of things. So, yeah.
And next month in March, I justposted a poll on social media.
I'm actually heading to EasternEurope. It's kind of funny. You
(09:51):
know, this war with Russia inUkraine was happening. I was
actually planning to visitUkraine and oh, man, I have a
couple quite a number quitegood. Following of Ukrainians,
they're asking, well, it's gonnabe coming. And, you know,
they're amongst five or sixcountries I was visiting in
March and it's kind of broke myheart. I took a break from
social media once the invasionhappened because it kind of felt
(10:13):
like heartless doing like postsand content while the invasion
was happening. So I just startedtoday posting stories just to
see just to say alone, it's aI'm still here. But it's tough.
It's tough. I'll be in EasternEurope next month. I won't be
able to visit Ukraine,obviously, but I'll be visiting
for sure. Hungary, Romania,Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and
(10:39):
Poland. I know, a couple ofcountries are some refugees. But
you know, some folks who askedme to go there and just show
what life is like over theredespite what's going on in that
part of the world. So
Jess (10:50):
So what country are countries in the ones that you
visited so far, where his foodkind of resonated the most with
you because I don't like to saythat the food is the best. It's
just what kind of stuck out onyour palate.
Kene/Lokoskales (11:04):
So recently, I probably say, Peru, and Bolivia,
Jess (11:10):
I just I interviewed gallivanting wellness, and she
just mentioned how great thefood in Peru is. So
Kene/Lokoskales (11:17):
yeah, yes.
Yeah, it's kind of interesting.
I visited Colombia the firsttime back in June of last year.
And you would think there wouldbe like more. I know, strong
strange to say Colombianinspired cuisine. But no, the
dominant cuisine in Colombia wasPeruvian really, right? Yes, it
(11:41):
was, it wasn't Caribbean food.
It was Peruvian, right. And nomatter if you're in Midian, or
an Cartana, you know, the largercities and a Colombia. I was
like, This is really weird. Andwhen I went to these Peruvian
restaurants, I understood why. Imean, the meat was good
spectacularly, you know, thecompliments of vegetables, the
way they seasoned it, right? Ofcourse, always drink a nice
(12:02):
glass of wine with it. It wasfantastic. And so I told myself,
you know, when I have a chance,I'm going to visit Peru and
really see what it's likeactually central there. And when
I did, I was blown away. When Ivisit Cusco, I visited one of
the number one restaurants downthere in Peru. And the thing
that really stuck out to me, Ididn't have beef while I was
there, right? Their specialtywas how they cooked llama meat.
(12:27):
Okay, so you can imagine, hereI'm in this restaurant, it's
alongside the river down there.
Next in the Machu Picchu region.
I'm just tasting the softest,softest cooked, llama meat well
seasoned I've ever had in mylife, right. And it's probably
the second or third time havingthis thing. And I couldn't even
(12:49):
tell as llama until they told meit was right. And then when I
went down to Bolivia, I was in aUnuyi, which is I think about 10
hours south of the capital of LaPaz. My tour guide there Jose,
not only was he a tour guide forthe region, but he also raised
llama and grew quinoa So forlunch. He he asked me if I ate
(13:14):
meat. I was like, Yeah, a littlebit. And he said, Okay, the meat
is I like no, don't tell me whatthe meat is. I just, I'll try it
right because I don't have anybiases against whatever. Right.
So it was a it was, it was ameat that came from this farm,
righ t, an animal that he grewvegetable medly Right. I think
(13:34):
it's a mirepoix. And then withquinoa, right? And so he told me
everything you see on this platecomes from my farm, right? I was
like okay, so I tried the meat.
I was like, Man, this isfantastic. Meat is very
succulent. Well season. What isit? He's like, it's llama from
my farm I raised. I was like,why? Are you kidding me? Are you
(13:56):
for real? He's like, Yeah, andthen I tried the quinoa? And I'm
a big fan of quinoa. I have itevery morning for breakfast. But
this one it wasn't as grainy. Itwas very soft, right? Like
almost like regular rice. And hewas like yeah, this quinoa codes
my former as well. I was like,Man, you got some great
(14:16):
techniques for how you grew yourstuff. He's like yeah, I'm proud
of what I what I do. So yeah,but Bolivia and Peru really
opened my eyes
Jess (14:24):
I was just going to ask you how fresh grown quinoa would
taste as opposed to what we getto United States.
Kene/Lokoskales (14:32):
Night and day, night and day, they do some
extra they do some extra I tellyou what they do some extra
processing here in the Statesreally upsets me yeah. And I
have to deal with it every timeput the quinoa in my mouth. But
you can tell where it's a lotlighter over there from the
original source. Yeah, comparedto when it gets to you know,
import it into the into thestates. Yeah, the big
(14:54):
difference.
Jess (14:55):
So what are some other dishes -- since you've most
recently been in Bolivia, whatare some other dishes that you
eat in there to have been likedelicious? Or on your top? 10?
Kene/Lokoskales (15:07):
Uh, I would say for now definitely the llama,
llama is very common here. Yeah,for sure. But outside of that,
you know, it's funny. Myfavorite dishes don't
necessarily come from Australiajust noticed that come from this
part of the world north of SouthAmerica. It's more in the
southeast region, where I reallyjust, I feel like I'm in heaven.
(15:28):
Whenever I visit thesecountries. Jeez because the way
they do their sauces, the rice,vegetables, even the meat and
fish are totally different.
They're very more... they feellike more family. Sunday family
dinner type food, right? There'sa lot more. You can really feel
the love in it when it's beencooked. Yeah. So.
Jess (15:53):
So what's been like your most adventurous food
experience?
Kene/Lokoskales (15:58):
Ah, jeez. Seven years ago, when I was in
northeast China, I was at one ofthese family restaurants very
small restaurant. And they had aback they had the vegetables.
Everything is shared. Yeah. Andthey brought up the meat for
(16:22):
everyone to share. And I waslike, this tastes almost like,
kind of interesting. I couldn'ttell what the meat was right? It
looked like chicken. Was itchicken? I asked is is this this
chicken? Oh, no, it's notchicken. Just try it. And I was
like, Okay, this is kind ofgood. I was like, so what does
(16:43):
it matter? Like, it's cow brain.
I was like,
Jess (16:45):
and it tasted like chicken. That's very
interesting.
Like, well, it's the how theyseasoned, it though. Right? I
didn't get to taste it. While itwas the the original meat itself
just cooked by itself. So yeah,that was that was probably the
most adventurous dish I've hadso far in my life. So far.
(17:06):
This is the big question. Didyou have seconds?
Kene/Lokoskales (17:10):
I mean, the way they could. I mean, I just said,
You know what? I'm just gonnacuz it was it was cook like
ground chicken. Right. And soit's like, does everything is
served family style. I just tooka scoop of the meat scoop of the
vegetables scoop of the sauce,put it in my bowl, and I just
ate it. I was like, I was like,Oh, Enh. Just started digging
(17:34):
into it. Yeah.
Jess (17:35):
So you mentioned that you were home for a little while
because of the pandemic or thePanini, I like to call it. So
were there any kind of globalingredients that you could find,
you know, back home that youkind of add it to your cooking?
while you were at home? Or areyou a big cook at all at home?
Kene/Lokoskales (17:53):
Yeah, of course, of course, just like
Bourdain, I cook everything athome. The only time I go out is
maybe on weekends, or if I'mtraveling, right. But I cook
everything, fresh breakfast,lunch and dinner. I do a lot of
meal prep, usually on theweekends that I don't travel,
right. So I used to cook two orthree meals on Saturdays and
(18:14):
Sundays, right? I all I have alot of international food stores
near my place, whether it'sAsian, Indian, African,
available, and from there, Iusually get the ingredients,
spices, sometimes some meats aswell, based on what it's based
on, but I may need or sauce forsauces or additives, right. For
(18:39):
example, guan zhen is not goingto be available in HEB or
Walmart, right, you got to getto go to local food store, and
also food store get this otherthings. So I'm pretty picky
about my ingredients. And Ireally liked spending the time
on weekends, especially in theafternoons, evenings, popping
some jazz, open up the recipesand start cranking out the fire
(19:01):
and cooking. So I really loveit.
Jess (19:03):
So you kind of mentioned that when you eat out don't do
luxury restaurants, you eatstreet food. So kind of how do
you budget while you're takingthese trips? How does How do you
keep on your stay within yourfood budget? And do you have
like any tips for somebody whomay be traveling and you know
they have to put their food orwhat they eat on a budget?
Kene/Lokoskales (19:22):
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things is you
need to do the research beforeyou travel. Because they're
based on the country. And ofcourse the cost of living over
there. You can eat very cheaply.
For example, in Bolivia, you caneat very cheaply, Peru, you can
eat very cheaply, very easily ifyou want to. Even in Brazil, you
can eat cheaply, right? Andstill get good quality food,
right? But it's also based uponyour taste level as to how much
(19:44):
you want to spend. So if you doyour research, you can find
those locations, not the sort ofstreet vendors you have to ask
when you get there, where to go.
But for certain restaurants, youcan find some budget options,
right? But if you're reallyLooking for like the, they call
the $3 for dollar $5 $5 signlevels, you're not really
(20:07):
budgeting anymore, right? So Ialways do my research as to
which, whatever foods I want tocheck out in the, in the
regions, or cities or towns thatI'm visiting, I always check out
the recommendation checkoutrecommendations, I asked around
on social media. So this iswhere I really have that close
connection with my community. Iasked folks that live in those
(20:28):
regions has a very globalcommunity. A Where do you
recommend checking out? Arethere any street vendors or just
areas where they are yourecommend for me to check out
and from there, I share theinformation, do the research,
and I just slice a certainamount my travel budget for
that, right? But you can, youknow, even if you don't have a
(20:49):
lot of money while traveling,you can eat pretty well in
different countries, relativesfrom the east west or south
america regions. Yeah, prettywell.
Jess (20:59):
So your solo traveler traveler most of the time? Do
you have any general safety tipsor any tips to enjoy your trip
when you're traveling alone?
Unknown (21:08):
Yes, for one, I know, I know, I mentioned it before,
please, for goodness sakes doyour research you need to and
what I mean by that is sociallynow with the Panini going on,
I'm going to use your term,Jess. you need to really
understand what's required ofyou, before you leave from your
(21:30):
home country, you need to knowwhat's required of you, before
you even leave the country thatyou're about to visit, you need
to know what the security islike, in those city towns or
countries where you're visiting,you need to understand which
areas you should stay insocially as a foreigner, right.
And you also need to understandfrom a health perspective, you
(21:52):
know, what is okay to eat ordrink from a quality
perspective. For example, inBolivia, the water quality here
is not very good at all. I mean,I had locals literally telling
me a do not even touch whatevercomes out the top. Okay, so grab
a huge bottle of water from thelocal food stores, it's cheap.
(22:14):
And just do just deal with thatduring the day, right. And I
also recommend, of course,always keeping a copy of like
your passport, and your yourtesting information available,
especially now. You know, it'svery often where a local
official may stop you, right?
And ask for your paperwork andsee what's going on. Right. So
whenever you're travelingbetween cities with public
(22:36):
transportation, right? Yeah,yeah. But please just do your
research know what you'regetting into before you visit
countries. Because you know,it's funny, there are a lot more
younger travelers, they're goingout now. They're new to travel.
Yeah. And one of the biggestmistakes they make is not
checking and doing the research.
And that ends up getting to getto them into a lot of trouble,
(22:58):
especially when they're tryingto get out of the country.
Jess (23:00):
Yeah. So what about just kind of enjoying your trip? You
know, a lot of people think, Oh,I'm going to be lonely. If I go
here if I travel by myself, howdo you kind of prevent that from
happening?
Unknown (23:11):
Not at all. I think so, I think I've had the biggest the
best experiences traveling alonecompared to being with someone
or with the group. The reasonfor that is, it gives you an
opportunity to really, and wementioned, I mentioned it
earlier, really get that fullperspective as to what life is
really like, in these countriesyou're visiting, right? And it
also gives you an opportunity toif you do your research, to
(23:34):
really see everything that thatcountry or city is all about
right? Outside the landmarks,you understand, right? So you
know, if you're going to be solotraveling, I mean, if you're on,
for example, social media, Imean, just reach out to some of
these influencers, or peoplethat live locally and say, Hey,
I'm gonna be visiting yourcountry. X, Y date, would you be
(23:56):
interested in showing me around,right? And all these folks are
be very open to that and bevery, and very happy to do it.
You know, cuz like, every, everytime I come to these countries,
or I'm about to go to thesecountries, you know, I get
messages and say, Hey, welcometo Morocco. Yeah, or welcome to
Kenya, Tanzania. People are verywelcoming. Yeah, they're not
(24:16):
scary. Yeah, they're justpeople, right. And they like it
when people from another countrywants to come visit because
they're very proud of theircountry. And they like to share
what it has to offer compared towhat may be shared on media or
what may be shared by word ofmouth. They'd like to show
people that coming into thecountry, what they and the
country are all about, right?
And you don't get thatexperience if you're just
(24:37):
traveling solo, right? If youtravel to a group, you're really
just doing a touristy vibeexperiencing and I wouldn't say
it's shallow, but it reallydoesn't give you the full
experience of seeing what thatcountry or city or town has to
offer for you if you traveledsolo,
Jess (24:55):
okay. And you kind of mentioned this earlier that you
cook a lot. What is somethingthat Like, hey, you got to kind
of, especially with somebody whomay be like American cook with
American seasonings and all ofthat what's one kind of
seasoning the way you like, hey,put it put all the Lawry's down.
Try this
Kene/Lokoskales (25:21):
I'll say the easiest one is America,
Americans cannot handle theirchilies. And what I mean by that
is chopped chilies, you know,from different regions in
Southeast Asia. Yeah. Chiliesreally make the difference in a
lot of cuisines whether it'sIndonesian Chinese, Malaysian,
(25:42):
Indian, you Malaysian, right?
Because a lot of a lot ofAmericans, they think, oh, I'll
just add my cayenne pepper orCajun seasonings. I'll put a
little bit, maybe I'll put dropa habanero. And if I'm trying to
use a Mexican sauce, and theythink that's spicy, no, no, when
you put in a chili, it makes adifference in your digestive
system. Right? And if youactually put in the chilies
(26:04):
properly, it actually improves aflavor what your'e cooking.
Right? So that I'll say I'llkeep it simple for folks. The
chili chopped chilies make ahuge difference between American
cuisine and internationalcuisine. For sure.
Jess (26:21):
Well that's all I have, thank you so much for being a
part of the show. I really enjoytalking with you and learning
about kind of world cuisine. Sowhere can people find you on
social media?
Kene/Lokoskales (26:33):
Yeah. So I'm on all platforms. Twitter, YouTube,
TikTok Instagram, biggestplatform is Instagram. My handle
is Lokoskales, LOKOSKALES Andmy focus, like I mentioned
before, it's really about thattrue experience of visiting and
seeing the world from local ornative persons on eyes. But
(26:58):
yeah, thank you so much. Just Ireally enjoy the conversation.
I'm a big foodie fan, obviously,and to be able to meet somebody
that I can really speak II onthrough really, I enjoyed this
conversation this Sunday. So
Jess (27:10):
thank you so much. Okay, everyone that was a local
scales, he know where to findhim on Instagram and all the
other platforms. And we're gonnathank him so much for being here
today. Alrighty, everybody eatsomething delicious and treat
this episode like gossip or thegospel and tell somebody about
it. Alrighty, have a great week.
Hi, it's Jess. Welcome to another episode of The flaky
foodie podcast. The only showwith a discussion is delicious
and they're chatter to chew on.
On today's episode, we're gonnatake flight yet again as part of
our Foodies Take Flight series,where I talk with people who've
either been all over the worldor who live all over the world
about their food experiences.
(00:33):
Today on the show, we haveLokoskales dubbed "the black
bourdain" game, he has beentraveling for 15 years, been to
countless countries, and youprobably have seen at least one
of his social media videos andprobably don't even know it. So
sit back and enjoy the flight.
After a brief message, we'll sitdown and talk about food and
solo travel with Lokoskales.
(01:02):
Is all this talk of good foodmaking you hungry? Get fresh
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(01:24):
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(01:51):
Foodie podcast? If so help mekeep it going by becoming a
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There you will find several waysto support the show. You can
either make a donation throughPaypal or buy me a coffee, you
(02:13):
can buy some of my merchandisein my merch shop, or you can
make your brand a part of theshow by becoming a Flaky Foodie
sponsor. Either way you decideto do it, I am eternally
grateful not just to have you asa supporter, but also to have
you as a listener. Thank you.
(02:39):
Welcome back. Today we have Keneof lokoskales He's @lokoskales
on all social media platforms.
He travels all around the worldand has been doing so for about
the past 15 years or so. Sowelcome to the show.
Kene/Lokoskales (02:53):
Hey, Jess, pleasure to meet you. Thank you
give me a chance to talk aboutsome very interesting topics
today.
Jess (02:57):
Awesome. So how did you start this kind of becoming a
world traveler? How did you howdid that begin?
Kene/Lokoskales (03:03):
Well, it's kind of interesting. When I graduated
from university, I had theopportunity to do an
apprenticeship forentrepreneurship. So learning
how to start your ownbusinesses, and particularly was
done overseas. So I had theopportunity to either do it in
North America or Latin America,or do it overseas in the Middle
East/Asia region. And so I wasone of 80 African Americans who
(03:26):
were given this opportunityafter graduation. And I was the
only one decide I want to learnhow to grow a business overseas.
So they said, really? I'm like,Yeah, and so they stationed me
in the Middle East, in theUnited Arab Emirates. And that's
why I started my start, and Ireally love living overseas. And
I just came back about two yearsago.
Jess (03:46):
Wow. So was it kind of like an instant love for for
traveling? Or did it just take alittle while to where you were
maybe there a month and was justlike, you know what, I like
this.
Kene/Lokoskales (03:56):
It was kind of instant. Because you know, for
one thing, the minute that Imoved overseas and lived in Abu
Dhabi and Dubai, UAE, you know,I my mindset as to how life was
really changed pretty quickly,because over there, you know,
here in the States, people, theyhave this mindset of living to
work, right. But overseas,whether you're in UAE, or in
(04:20):
China, Indonesia, or Malaysia,or even Russia, for that matter.
The mindset is, I'm just workingto live, but it's not my life,
you know, Sam was saying, and soit kind of gave me this
perspective where I reallywanted to visit each country in
the other half of the world'sreligions and how life was
really like, you know, what foodis really like, what was it like
(04:41):
to really just relax on weekendsand, you know, speak and see
what how people were thinking,based compared to other
countries around the world. AndI fell in love with it, and I
really didn't want to come back.
Unfortunately, due to thepandemic. I had to come back.
Jess (04:56):
So how was the how was that adjustment?
Kene/Lokoskales (04:59):
Oh, man. Huge, huge, huge. Well, I left 15
years ago. People were so muchhappier here. Yeah. And you
know, when you get here now,it's like folks are a lot more
stressed, a lot more angry, alot more confused as to what's
going on, and I get it. Right.
But it's totally different fromhow it was back when I
(05:22):
graduated. So it's taking somegetting used to.
Jess (05:26):
So where is home for you?
Kene/Lokoskales (05:29):
So I'm originally from Houston, Texas,
USA. Yes, yes.
Jess (05:33):
So from the South to all over the world, that can be kind
of a huge leap.
Kene/Lokoskales (05:37):
It is. And, you know, the, and the crazy thing
is, you know, African Americansare very rare overseas, outside
of those African diasporacountries. So, you know, if I'm
in the Middle East, or if I'm inSoutheast Asia, or even in
Europe, you know, people kind ofturn their heads and I'm like,
very tall, like six foot two ortwo meters. And so they're like,
(05:59):
Can I take a picture with you?
It's very random, but it happensa lot. And I'm like, Yeah, sure.
And, you know, you see thesephotos where, yep, it's very
tall guy. The other person islike half your height. It's just
like, it's a common thing. Butit's, it's funny to see and it's
really a joy to enjoy. Soawesome.
Jess (06:17):
So on all your social media, you have Black Bordain in
your about me. And that's afterthe late Anthony Bourdain. So
where did that name come from?
Is he one of your inspirations?
Kene/Lokoskales (06:30):
He was originally I followed his career
from the beginning when he was achef, all the way through when
he started his TV shows. And,you know, he, there was an
article he wrote, for the timesA while back, where he talked
about privilege, right? Where heunderstood he had the
opportunity to really show theworld to people based on his
(06:50):
privilege. I think thedifference between me and him
is, I have the opportunity toprovide that world view travel
expert perspective of lifeoverseas, from a black
perspective, right? You know,I'm sure you know, black travel
is like over over $140 billionindustry, but we're the lowest
(07:11):
demographic when it comes to theamount of travel done, right. So
having an opportunity to show,you know, African Americans or
even Africans in the Africandiasporic countries, what it's
like to travel, what is thatexperience like? What is life
like for people who actuallylive in these countries, right,
it really means a lot to them.
And that's a lot of folks in mycommunity really appreciate. I
(07:32):
don't do like luxury travel oranything like that. I just
really provide that verymemorable, personal aspect that
people really love, just likeBourdain did, but a lot deeper,
you understand. And a lot offolks appreciate that globally.
But he really inspired me a lotto my journey.
Jess (07:51):
So tell me a little bit more about the most recent
countries that you've been towhere have you been to
necessarily like in the last sixmonths or so? Oh, time in the
Kene/Lokoskales (08:03):
I had a laugh, because, you know, when the when
past.
the pandemic started, I kind ofpromised myself if I ever
survived it, that I was gonnamake sure I saw the world and
shared it as much as possible.
And I started my journey sharingthat about seven months ago on
(08:23):
social media. Yeah. And so Isaid, I want to make sure I
traveled to at least one or twonew countries a month, right out
of my own pocket. So you know,this past month, I'm right now
I'm currently in La Paz,Bolivia, the capital of Bolivia.
I've been here for the last twoweeks. Before that I was in
Colombia and Cartagena. Prior tothat I celebrated New Years in
(08:45):
both Rio de Janeiro, Sao Pauloand parati, Brazil. In December,
I was in Peru all over so Lima,Waka Cina Cusco. And then prior
to that, I spent a lot of timein the Middle East. So I was in
Jordan. So Petra Wadi Rum, andthat's the Dead Sea area and in
(09:08):
Egypt, both Cairo and Siwa, fora while. Yeah. And yeah, that
same thing, just really focusingon meeting people locally,
really dive into enjoying whatthe street food is like is I
don't eat it, like look forrestaurants. When I go to these
places, these countries, I likereally hit up the street food
(09:29):
vendors. So like really hands onseeing how they cook it, talking
to them about what thecommunities are like, what their
life is like. And it really it'sa big turn off for me to do
those type of things. So, yeah.
And next month in March, I justposted a poll on social media.
I'm actually heading to EasternEurope. It's kind of funny. You
(09:51):
know, this war with Russia inUkraine was happening. I was
actually planning to visitUkraine and oh, man, I have a
couple quite a number quitegood. Following of Ukrainians,
they're asking, well, it's gonnabe coming. And, you know,
they're amongst five or sixcountries I was visiting in
March and it's kind of broke myheart. I took a break from
social media once the invasionhappened because it kind of felt
(10:13):
like heartless doing like postsand content while the invasion
was happening. So I just startedtoday posting stories just to
see just to say alone, it's aI'm still here. But it's tough.
It's tough. I'll be in EasternEurope next month. I won't be
able to visit Ukraine,obviously, but I'll be visiting
for sure. Hungary, Romania,Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and
(10:39):
Poland. I know, a couple ofcountries are some refugees. But
you know, some folks who askedme to go there and just show
what life is like over theredespite what's going on in that
part of the world. So
Jess (10:50):
So what country are countries in the ones that you
visited so far, where his foodkind of resonated the most with
you because I don't like to saythat the food is the best. It's
just what kind of stuck out onyour palate.
Kene/Lokoskales (11:04):
So recently, I probably say, Peru, and Bolivia,
Jess (11:10):
I just I interviewed gallivanting wellness, and she
just mentioned how great thefood in Peru is. So
Kene/Lokoskales (11:17):
yeah, yes.
Yeah, it's kind of interesting.
I visited Colombia the firsttime back in June of last year.
And you would think there wouldbe like more. I know, strong
strange to say Colombianinspired cuisine. But no, the
dominant cuisine in Colombia wasPeruvian really, right? Yes, it
(11:41):
was, it wasn't Caribbean food.
It was Peruvian, right. And nomatter if you're in Midian, or
an Cartana, you know, the largercities and a Colombia. I was
like, This is really weird. Andwhen I went to these Peruvian
restaurants, I understood why. Imean, the meat was good
spectacularly, you know, thecompliments of vegetables, the
way they seasoned it, right? Ofcourse, always drink a nice
(12:02):
glass of wine with it. It wasfantastic. And so I told myself,
you know, when I have a chance,I'm going to visit Peru and
really see what it's likeactually central there. And when
I did, I was blown away. When Ivisit Cusco, I visited one of
the number one restaurants downthere in Peru. And the thing
that really stuck out to me, Ididn't have beef while I was
there, right? Their specialtywas how they cooked llama meat.
(12:27):
Okay, so you can imagine, hereI'm in this restaurant, it's
alongside the river down there.
Next in the Machu Picchu region.
I'm just tasting the softest,softest cooked, llama meat well
seasoned I've ever had in mylife, right. And it's probably
the second or third time havingthis thing. And I couldn't even
(12:49):
tell as llama until they told meit was right. And then when I
went down to Bolivia, I was in aUnuyi, which is I think about 10
hours south of the capital of LaPaz. My tour guide there Jose,
not only was he a tour guide forthe region, but he also raised
llama and grew quinoa So forlunch. He he asked me if I ate
(13:14):
meat. I was like, Yeah, a littlebit. And he said, Okay, the meat
is I like no, don't tell me whatthe meat is. I just, I'll try it
right because I don't have anybiases against whatever. Right.
So it was a it was, it was ameat that came from this farm,
righ t, an animal that he grewvegetable medly Right. I think
(13:34):
it's a mirepoix. And then withquinoa, right? And so he told me
everything you see on this platecomes from my farm, right? I was
like okay, so I tried the meat.
I was like, Man, this isfantastic. Meat is very
succulent. Well season. What isit? He's like, it's llama from
my farm I raised. I was like,why? Are you kidding me? Are you
(13:56):
for real? He's like, Yeah, andthen I tried the quinoa? And I'm
a big fan of quinoa. I have itevery morning for breakfast. But
this one it wasn't as grainy. Itwas very soft, right? Like
almost like regular rice. And hewas like yeah, this quinoa codes
my former as well. I was like,Man, you got some great
(14:16):
techniques for how you grew yourstuff. He's like yeah, I'm proud
of what I what I do. So yeah,but Bolivia and Peru really
opened my eyes
Jess (14:24):
I was just going to ask you how fresh grown quinoa would
taste as opposed to what we getto United States.
Kene/Lokoskales (14:32):
Night and day, night and day, they do some
extra they do some extra I tellyou what they do some extra
processing here in the Statesreally upsets me yeah. And I
have to deal with it every timeput the quinoa in my mouth. But
you can tell where it's a lotlighter over there from the
original source. Yeah, comparedto when it gets to you know,
import it into the into thestates. Yeah, the big
(14:54):
difference.
Jess (14:55):
So what are some other dishes -- since you've most
recently been in Bolivia, whatare some other dishes that you
eat in there to have been likedelicious? Or on your top? 10?
Kene/Lokoskales (15:07):
Uh, I would say for now definitely the llama,
llama is very common here. Yeah,for sure. But outside of that,
you know, it's funny. Myfavorite dishes don't
necessarily come from Australiajust noticed that come from this
part of the world north of SouthAmerica. It's more in the
southeast region, where I reallyjust, I feel like I'm in heaven.
(15:28):
Whenever I visit thesecountries. Jeez because the way
they do their sauces, the rice,vegetables, even the meat and
fish are totally different.
They're very more... they feellike more family. Sunday family
dinner type food, right? There'sa lot more. You can really feel
the love in it when it's beencooked. Yeah. So.
Jess (15:53):
So what's been like your most adventurous food
experience?
Kene/Lokoskales (15:58):
Ah, jeez. Seven years ago, when I was in
northeast China, I was at one ofthese family restaurants very
small restaurant. And they had aback they had the vegetables.
Everything is shared. Yeah. Andthey brought up the meat for
(16:22):
everyone to share. And I waslike, this tastes almost like,
kind of interesting. I couldn'ttell what the meat was right? It
looked like chicken. Was itchicken? I asked is is this this
chicken? Oh, no, it's notchicken. Just try it. And I was
like, Okay, this is kind ofgood. I was like, so what does
(16:43):
it matter? Like, it's cow brain.
I was like,
Jess (16:45):
and it tasted like chicken. That's very
interesting.
Like, well, it's the how theyseasoned, it though. Right? I
didn't get to taste it. While itwas the the original meat itself
just cooked by itself. So yeah,that was that was probably the
most adventurous dish I've hadso far in my life. So far.
(17:06):
This is the big question. Didyou have seconds?
Kene/Lokoskales (17:10):
I mean, the way they could. I mean, I just said,
You know what? I'm just gonnacuz it was it was cook like
ground chicken. Right. And soit's like, does everything is
served family style. I just tooka scoop of the meat scoop of the
vegetables scoop of the sauce,put it in my bowl, and I just
ate it. I was like, I was like,Oh, Enh. Just started digging
(17:34):
into it. Yeah.
Jess (17:35):
So you mentioned that you were home for a little while
because of the pandemic or thePanini, I like to call it. So
were there any kind of globalingredients that you could find,
you know, back home that youkind of add it to your cooking?
while you were at home? Or areyou a big cook at all at home?
Kene/Lokoskales (17:53):
Yeah, of course, of course, just like
Bourdain, I cook everything athome. The only time I go out is
maybe on weekends, or if I'mtraveling, right. But I cook
everything, fresh breakfast,lunch and dinner. I do a lot of
meal prep, usually on theweekends that I don't travel,
right. So I used to cook two orthree meals on Saturdays and
(18:14):
Sundays, right? I all I have alot of international food stores
near my place, whether it'sAsian, Indian, African,
available, and from there, Iusually get the ingredients,
spices, sometimes some meats aswell, based on what it's based
on, but I may need or sauce forsauces or additives, right. For
(18:39):
example, guan zhen is not goingto be available in HEB or
Walmart, right, you got to getto go to local food store, and
also food store get this otherthings. So I'm pretty picky
about my ingredients. And Ireally liked spending the time
on weekends, especially in theafternoons, evenings, popping
some jazz, open up the recipesand start cranking out the fire
(19:01):
and cooking. So I really loveit.
Jess (19:03):
So you kind of mentioned that when you eat out don't do
luxury restaurants, you eatstreet food. So kind of how do
you budget while you're takingthese trips? How does How do you
keep on your stay within yourfood budget? And do you have
like any tips for somebody whomay be traveling and you know
they have to put their food orwhat they eat on a budget?
Kene/Lokoskales (19:22):
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things is you
need to do the research beforeyou travel. Because they're
based on the country. And ofcourse the cost of living over
there. You can eat very cheaply.
For example, in Bolivia, you caneat very cheaply, Peru, you can
eat very cheaply, very easily ifyou want to. Even in Brazil, you
can eat cheaply, right? Andstill get good quality food,
right? But it's also based uponyour taste level as to how much
(19:44):
you want to spend. So if you doyour research, you can find
those locations, not the sort ofstreet vendors you have to ask
when you get there, where to go.
But for certain restaurants, youcan find some budget options,
right? But if you're reallyLooking for like the, they call
the $3 for dollar $5 $5 signlevels, you're not really
(20:07):
budgeting anymore, right? So Ialways do my research as to
which, whatever foods I want tocheck out in the, in the
regions, or cities or towns thatI'm visiting, I always check out
the recommendation checkoutrecommendations, I asked around
on social media. So this iswhere I really have that close
connection with my community. Iasked folks that live in those
(20:28):
regions has a very globalcommunity. A Where do you
recommend checking out? Arethere any street vendors or just
areas where they are yourecommend for me to check out
and from there, I share theinformation, do the research,
and I just slice a certainamount my travel budget for
that, right? But you can, youknow, even if you don't have a
(20:49):
lot of money while traveling,you can eat pretty well in
different countries, relativesfrom the east west or south
america regions. Yeah, prettywell.
Jess (20:59):
So your solo traveler traveler most of the time? Do
you have any general safety tipsor any tips to enjoy your trip
when you're traveling alone?
Unknown (21:08):
Yes, for one, I know, I know, I mentioned it before,
please, for goodness sakes doyour research you need to and
what I mean by that is sociallynow with the Panini going on,
I'm going to use your term,Jess. you need to really
understand what's required ofyou, before you leave from your
(21:30):
home country, you need to knowwhat's required of you, before
you even leave the country thatyou're about to visit, you need
to know what the security islike, in those city towns or
countries where you're visiting,you need to understand which
areas you should stay insocially as a foreigner, right.
And you also need to understandfrom a health perspective, you
(21:52):
know, what is okay to eat ordrink from a quality
perspective. For example, inBolivia, the water quality here
is not very good at all. I mean,I had locals literally telling
me a do not even touch whatevercomes out the top. Okay, so grab
a huge bottle of water from thelocal food stores, it's cheap.
(22:14):
And just do just deal with thatduring the day, right. And I
also recommend, of course,always keeping a copy of like
your passport, and your yourtesting information available,
especially now. You know, it'svery often where a local
official may stop you, right?
And ask for your paperwork andsee what's going on. Right. So
whenever you're travelingbetween cities with public
(22:36):
transportation, right? Yeah,yeah. But please just do your
research know what you'regetting into before you visit
countries. Because you know,it's funny, there are a lot more
younger travelers, they're goingout now. They're new to travel.
Yeah. And one of the biggestmistakes they make is not
checking and doing the research.
And that ends up getting to getto them into a lot of trouble,
(22:58):
especially when they're tryingto get out of the country.
Jess (23:00):
Yeah. So what about just kind of enjoying your trip? You
know, a lot of people think, Oh,I'm going to be lonely. If I go
here if I travel by myself, howdo you kind of prevent that from
happening?
Unknown (23:11):
Not at all. I think so, I think I've had the biggest the
best experiences traveling alonecompared to being with someone
or with the group. The reasonfor that is, it gives you an
opportunity to really, and wementioned, I mentioned it
earlier, really get that fullperspective as to what life is
really like, in these countriesyou're visiting, right? And it
also gives you an opportunity toif you do your research, to
(23:34):
really see everything that thatcountry or city is all about
right? Outside the landmarks,you understand, right? So you
know, if you're going to be solotraveling, I mean, if you're on,
for example, social media, Imean, just reach out to some of
these influencers, or peoplethat live locally and say, Hey,
I'm gonna be visiting yourcountry. X, Y date, would you be
(23:56):
interested in showing me around,right? And all these folks are
be very open to that and bevery, and very happy to do it.
You know, cuz like, every, everytime I come to these countries,
or I'm about to go to thesecountries, you know, I get
messages and say, Hey, welcometo Morocco. Yeah, or welcome to
Kenya, Tanzania. People are verywelcoming. Yeah, they're not
(24:16):
scary. Yeah, they're justpeople, right. And they like it
when people from another countrywants to come visit because
they're very proud of theircountry. And they like to share
what it has to offer compared towhat may be shared on media or
what may be shared by word ofmouth. They'd like to show
people that coming into thecountry, what they and the
country are all about, right?
And you don't get thatexperience if you're just
(24:37):
traveling solo, right? If youtravel to a group, you're really
just doing a touristy vibeexperiencing and I wouldn't say
it's shallow, but it reallydoesn't give you the full
experience of seeing what thatcountry or city or town has to
offer for you if you traveledsolo,
Jess (24:55):
okay. And you kind of mentioned this earlier that you
cook a lot. What is somethingthat Like, hey, you got to kind
of, especially with somebody whomay be like American cook with
American seasonings and all ofthat what's one kind of
seasoning the way you like, hey,put it put all the Lawry's down.
Try this
Kene/Lokoskales (25:21):
I'll say the easiest one is America,
Americans cannot handle theirchilies. And what I mean by that
is chopped chilies, you know,from different regions in
Southeast Asia. Yeah. Chiliesreally make the difference in a
lot of cuisines whether it'sIndonesian Chinese, Malaysian,
(25:42):
Indian, you Malaysian, right?
Because a lot of a lot ofAmericans, they think, oh, I'll
just add my cayenne pepper orCajun seasonings. I'll put a
little bit, maybe I'll put dropa habanero. And if I'm trying to
use a Mexican sauce, and theythink that's spicy, no, no, when
you put in a chili, it makes adifference in your digestive
system. Right? And if youactually put in the chilies
(26:04):
properly, it actually improves aflavor what your'e cooking.
Right? So that I'll say I'llkeep it simple for folks. The
chili chopped chilies make ahuge difference between American
cuisine and internationalcuisine. For sure.
Jess (26:21):
Well that's all I have, thank you so much for being a
part of the show. I really enjoytalking with you and learning
about kind of world cuisine. Sowhere can people find you on
social media?
Kene/Lokoskales (26:33):
Yeah. So I'm on all platforms. Twitter, YouTube,
TikTok Instagram, biggestplatform is Instagram. My handle
is Lokoskales, LOKOSKALES Andmy focus, like I mentioned
before, it's really about thattrue experience of visiting and
seeing the world from local ornative persons on eyes. But
(26:58):
yeah, thank you so much. Just Ireally enjoy the conversation.
I'm a big foodie fan, obviously,and to be able to meet somebody
that I can really speak II onthrough really, I enjoyed this
conversation this Sunday. So
Jess (27:10):
thank you so much. Okay, everyone that was a local
scales, he know where to findhim on Instagram and all the
other platforms. And we're gonnathank him so much for being here
today. Alrighty, everybody eatsomething delicious and treat
this episode like gossip or thegospel and tell somebody about
it. Alrighty, have a great week.
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