Lo and Behold

Anita Lo is broadening her horizons and sharing her culinary talents through trips around the world.

- Ashley Day

THERE ARE TWO THINGS that haven’t changed for Anita Lo in 24 years: her global sensibility and her favorite pastime (fishing), both of which define the way she cooks. When Lo was named a 2001 F&W Best New Chef, she was recognized for “her knack for weaving far-ranging influences” into the menu at Annisa, her restaurant at the time of the award, and her love for fishing. Two decades later, the Detroit-born, Paris-trained chef is cooking and angling around the world, from Moriches Bay near her home in Long Island, New York, to Portugal, where she leads group trips with boutique culinary travel company Tour de Forks.

Lo has worked with Tour de Forks since 2017, planning, promoting, and hosting weeklong culinary tours to dozens of countries. The trips aim to foster a sense of connection between participants and the communities they visit through food, with itineraries full of foraging, fishing, and cooking classes using ingredients from each locale. “When I go on a trip, I act as a local food expert,” says Lo. “It’s the best job in the whole world. It’s my dream job.”

When we spoke, she had recently returned from Puglia and Japan and had trips lined up to Yucatán, Mexico; Valencia, Spain; Sardinia, Italy; Copenhagen; and Portugal—the last of which would involve harvesting clams at Alqueva Lake in the Alentejo region.