The Founder's Heritage Tour
Travel. Taste. Learn. Share.
We all come from somewhere.
There are names in our families, recipes passed from one generation to another, traditions we continue without always knowing why, and places on a map that somehow feel connected to us even if we've never been there.
I've spent much of my life traveling.
I've visited countries around the world, experienced cultures very different from my own, eaten foods I couldn't pronounce, shared drinks with people I'd just met, and learned that some of the greatest travel experiences happen when you stop being a tourist and start becoming curious.
But there was another journey I hadn't taken.
The journey back to where my own story began.
That became the inspiration for The Founder's Heritage Tour.
More Than a Trip
The Founder's Heritage Tour is a Smoked and Soaked international storytelling project exploring heritage, culture and identity through the people who keep them alive.
It begins with my own family.
My Polish heritage runs through the O'Brachta and Kurtyka families. My Austrian heritage leads to Salzburg and the Voithofer family name. Ireland and Italy represent important pieces of my family's story as well.
These are more than countries I want to visit.
They are places I want to understand.
- Where did our traditions come from?
- What did our ancestors eat?
- What did they drink?
- What did they make with their hands?
- What did a family gathering look like?
- What traditions survived generations, and which ones disappeared along the way?
- And who are the people keeping those traditions alive today?
Those questions are where this journey begins.
Heritage Through People
You can learn a lot about a country by visiting its landmarks.
But I believe you can understand much more by sitting at someone's table.
I want to meet the butcher whose family has practiced the same craft for generations.
Cook alongside the grandmother making a dish without ever looking at a recipe.
Walk through a vineyard with the person whose family planted it.
Talk with the brewer, farmer, fisherman, distiller, baker, chef or craftsman who can explain not only how something is made, but why it matters.
I want to visit the markets, neighborhoods, farms, kitchens, workshops and gathering places where culture isn't being recreated for visitors.
It's simply being lived.
Because those are the stories that tell us what a place really is.
Following My Heritage — And Going Beyond It
My heritage may be the reason this journey begins, but it isn't where the story ends.
The Founder's Heritage Tour will grow beyond the countries connected to my own family.
I want to return to places that have already had an impact on my life and discover places I've never experienced before.
From Poland, Austria, Ireland and Italy to Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam and beyond, the mission remains the same:
Don't just visit a country. Get to know it.
Not through a list of the "Top 10 Things to Do."
Not by collecting another passport stamp.
And not by trying to tell people everything about a country after spending a few days there.
Instead, find a handful of extraordinary people and allow them to tell us something meaningful about the place they call home.
The Stories Behind the Destination
Through Smoked and Soaked and Curiosity'D, the Founder's Heritage Tour will document these experiences through written stories, photography, video and conversations.
Food will certainly be part of it.
So will beer, wine, spirits, fire, cooking, craftsmanship and traditions.
But those are really the doorways.
The people are the story.
The goal isn't for me to tell another country's story for them.
It's to give the people I meet an opportunity to tell their own stories — and then share those stories with people who might otherwise never discover them.
If one of those stories makes someone curious enough to visit that country, seek out that little family restaurant, meet that craftsman, try that food, learn about that tradition or simply look at another culture differently, then the tour has accomplished something meaningful.
A Different Kind of Destination Partnership
The Founder's Heritage Tour is also an invitation to countries, tourism organizations, regions and communities that believe their destination deserves to be experienced beyond the traditional tourism campaign.
I'm looking for partners willing to help me find the stories visitors don't always see.
Not just the famous places.
The unforgettable people.
Introduce me to the family that has been making something for four generations.
Take me to the neighborhood restaurant locals refuse to let disappear.
Show me the craftsman preserving a tradition that may not survive another generation.
Let me meet the person whose story explains something about your country that no brochure ever could.
Those are the people I want to find.
Those are the conversations I want to have.
And those are the stories I want to share.
Where Does the Tour Go Next?
Some destinations will be connected to my heritage.
Others will be places that have shaped my life.
And some may begin simply because someone reaches out and says:
"You need to come here. There's a story you need to hear."
If you represent a country, tourism organization, destination, community, business or cultural organization and believe there is a story waiting to be discovered, I want to hear from you.
Tell me where I should go.
Tell me who I should meet.
And most importantly:
Tell me why their story is worth telling.
Email [email protected] and put "Founder's Heritage Tour" in the subject line.
This isn't about seeing how many places I can visit.
It's about discovering how many people, traditions and stories we might otherwise never know.
The Founder's Heritage Tour
Travel. Taste. Learn. Share.
Life's better when it's Smoked and Soaked.