A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the country. There's a Cambodian couple in Lowell, Massachusetts, and their efforts to re-create the flavours of their lost country. A Uyghur cafe in New York's Brighton Beach serves a noodle soup that seems so very familiar and yet so very exotic - one unexpected ingredient opens a window onto an entirely unique culture. A beignet from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, as potent as Proust's madeleine, inspires a narrative that tunnels through time, back to the first Creole cooks, then forward to a Korean rice-flour hoedduck and a beignet dusted with matcha.

Sixteen adventures, 16 vibrant new chapters in the great evolving story of American cuisine. And 40 recipes, created by Lee, that bring these new dishes into our own kitchens.