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Aashi Vel wants to bring people together with a great experience—and a great meal.

In 2011, on a trip to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, Aashi Vel-32 years old, with a professional training in art and design, but a passion for food and travel - had a moment of 'aha'.

On that trip, Aashi found himself struggling to find authentic Mexican food. "I was asking friends for recommendations and looking at review sites, but all too often the restaurants ended up being touristy or not authentic," he recalls.

Then, one day, on the way to a restaurant, Aashi passed a local house and saw a woman through the window cooking dinner. "I remember thinking, 'I wish I could eat with her, hear her stories and share her food.' A bulb went out. "

In 2013, Aashi and her co-founder Steph Lawrence, whom she met at UC Berkeley a few months after their trip, founded Traveling Spoon, a technology travel company that does exactly what Aashi would have wanted to do that day in Mexico 2011: Conecta To people with pre-approved hosts who welcome travelers into their homes for private, home-made meals.

Travelers register at Traveling Spoon to book homemade meals, cooking classes or market tours in more than 22 countries from China to Morocco from $ 20 to $ 170. This summer, the company will launch in Europe. "We wanted to stop that industry by offering local food experiences," says Aashi. So they did.

Traveling Spoon also offers hosts the opportunity to make money doing what they love, learning new languages and meeting people from different generations and from different parts of the world, explains Aashi. "They become micro entrepreneurs."

It is a business that is much more than just food.

"Very often, people go to a city and mark benchmarks, but leaves the feeling that they do not understand the culture," says Aashi. "Food is a wonderful way to open up and learn about other people. It's a catalyst that informs meaningful connections. Breaking bread is so important to make the world a smaller, connected place."

Take an experience that Aashi had in Bali with a host named Dewa, who is a gardener at a local resort. After learning the medicinal benefits of Balinese herbs and spices, cooking coconuts from scratch and cooking with traditional utensils on an open wood stove, Aashi asked Dewa why they could not eat another papaya as they were plentiful in The nearby trees. He replied that in Balinese culture, you take only what you need. They would leave the extra papayas, he said, for the monkeys.

Later, she asked about the pattern on a black and white checkered apron that struck her. Dewa told him that in every person and in every situation, there is good and not so good. The apron is a constant reminder that people can be some way out one day, but that does not necessarily mean they are not a good person.

"In a few hours of a cooking class I learned a lot about life and life and perspective and balance, as well as having the best food at home," says Aashi. "That's my goal: to get people to experience meaningful adventures and food in their lives. It's gratifying to have been able to touch people's lives, even in a small way."