Huaraz, Ancash, Peru: The central market of Huaraz, Peru, is busy each morning with vendors crowded in and around the building. Baravelli found his way to this bread-seller by following his nose.
Phong Dien, Can Tho, Vietnam: This unusual perspective gives a sense of the enduring appeal of street food, “the true soul of a city," according to Ram. Watching the vendor work, he writes, “was as much fun as eating."
Ciążeń, Poland: Abramiv explains that the work this farmer has done for decades “brings him great pleasure.” Here he works with his son to prepare tomatoes for the local farmers’ market.
Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar: Shoppers can find a dazzling array of merchandise for sale in Doha’s Souq Waqif. It’s also home to dozens of food vendors, such as this enticing creperie.
Almograve, Odemira, Portugal: Family tradition can be passed down through food. “I learned to make this cake with my father,” writes Melão. “Now I'm teaching the recipe to my niece.”
Langkawi, Malaysia: This mouthwatering image depicts not only the beginning of a delicious meal, but also a reunion of loved ones, “the most important celebration of home and family,” writes Teo.
Bulgan, Mongolia: Barbecuing is a team effort here. Heated river rocks pack in lamb in the center tin. Though the rocks are removed, Warner warns, “small pieces of stones may remain and add an unpleasant crunch.”
Wamena, Papua, Indonesia: Here, Teh Han Lin shares a rare glimpse into how people of the Dani tribe cook pig and staple crops, such as sweet potato, in a traditional earth oven filled with heated stones.
São Paulo, Brazil: A family enjoys a home-cooked lunch in Botucatu, in southeastern Brazil. Even the cat got its share, according to de Sousa.
As Salt, Balqa, Jordan: When, like Larmour’s family, you’re living in a van and travelling through the Middle East, home is where you park it, and “dinner is wherever you make it—sometimes with a magnificent view.”
Kashan, Iran: The concentration on the face of this chef at Kashan Grand Bazaar, coupled with the sense of action, underlines Tapshanov’s caption: “It is getting crazy busy for lunch time.”
Babiyataro, Nepal: In Nepal, pancakes are a popular and filling breakfast, especially for trekkers fuelling up for the day. Hubert explains that this villager is cooking them over a fireplace on the floor.
Harrison, Arkansas, United States: This restaurant used to be a KFC but, Fondriest explains, the new proprietor has given it an idiosyncratic makeover by adding his own hunting mounts and a buck painting by a local artist.
Paris, France: In Paris’s 13th arrondissement, the Quartier Asiatique is Europe’s largest Chinatown, packed with Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants. Hungry travellers seeking a meal can’t go wrong here.
Tropie, Poland: A simple lunch brings generations together. Adamczak writes that she stayed in this vacation house as a child; now her own children visit to eat apples collected from the trees outside.
Gailai, Guizhou, China: Food can also provide an entrance into cultures different to our own. Leong writes that he was volunteering in a rural area when the residents invited his group to join their lunch.
Bangkok, Thailand: There’s no lingering over a long lunch at Jek Pui Curry, a no-frills food stall in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Saengchai compares the experience to musical chairs: “Grab a seat as fast as you can.”
Beja, Portugal: A family gathers around the table to share a Sunday meal. “And to everyone's delight,” writes Melão, “the matriarch of the family made cozido de grãos,” a traditional Alentejo chickpea stew.
Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy: Food connects us to our ancestors and the places we come from. In this image of his grandmother, Pellicano describes the art of making pasta as “the tradition of my land.”
Hung Yen, Vietnam: The Vietnamese hamlet of Ban is famous for its soy sauce, made from large-grain sticky rice and small-grain soy bean. With hundreds of jars filling residents’ yards, its production is a spectacle.
Mysore, India: Tagliarino’s composition complements the simple neatness of this Mysore market vendor’s display of potatoes and onions, sharing a sense of pride in work.
Kiruna, Sweden: Onstott didn’t just find typical street food fare in Swedish Lapland. This truck “sells cheesesteaks with moose or reindeer meat,” he writes, for which diners “brave subzero temperatures.”
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China: Sööt’s carefully composed image shows a young vendor singularly focused on preparing her products. It’s a moment likely missed by most other passersby, rushing through the city’s streets.
Bangkok, Thailand: Market stall staff share a hearty breakfast in Talat Mai, in the heart of Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown. “The photo was taken before I put my camera down and joined them,” writes Saengchai.
Nizwá, Ad Dakhiliyah, Oman: Capturing this dramatic image of a young Omani man preparing red sugar proved challenging for al Farsi, due to the small space, the steam, and the humidity in the room.
Macau, China: Leong’s use of contrasting light and shade draws the eye toward the table, examining it with focus almost equal to that of this butcher at work in a Macau market.
Shenzhen, Guangdong Sheng, China: A small store’s bright lighting and colourful wares illuminate a dark nighttime street in Shenzen, catching the eye and enticing this passerby to reach for a drink.
