Meet Co-founder of Kalamata’s Kitchen and the Taste Bud Travel Guide, Sarah Thomas!
As co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Kalamata’s Kitchen and the Taste Bud Travel Guide, Sarah is on a mission to inspire kids and families to experience the whole world through food adventures.
The daughter of two south Indian immigrants, Sarah grew up in the rural town of Somerset, Pennsylvania, and was surrounded by food from a young age. Her parents very much kept their Indian culture alive through the food they cooked, and Sarah would spend summers in Kerala visiting her grandparents, forming some of her earliest food memories.
Sarah’s love for food eventually led her to the hospitality industry, and after working at various bars in Pittsburgh—where she lived at the time—she obtained the prestigious Advanced Sommelier certification and would go on to be the sommelier at New York City’s acclaimed Le Bernardin.
Along with food, books also played a special role in Sarah’s upbringing.
Like many first generation kids, Sarah grew up with what she felt were two conflicting identities, with her strong Indian heritage seeming to contrast against the mostly white rural town where she lived, and books became a way for her to escape into another world.
Through her storytelling work with Kalamata’s Kitchen, Sarah hopes to create a confident character that other children of color can see themselves in, while also encouraging all kids to look at different foods and cultures with a sense of curiosity and compassion. Through The Taste Bud Travel Guide, Sarah further treats families to exciting food adventures, sharing curated guides to kid-friendly destinations—from food trucks to fine dining—that treat families like VIPS and offer unique, delectable food experiences for Taste Buds of all ages.
“I wish this character had existed when I was a child, so I could have seen my Indian culture (and especially our food) as something to be celebrated and shared and also so the kids around me would have had a character to inspire them to want to learn about it. I want this for all kids, all foods, and all cultures everywhere.”
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