Ep 75. Jamie Furniss - From Tunisia With Flavor

Taste of Place

Some of the points we discussed include:

• Jamie’s personal journey from Canada to Tunisia via a love of Arabic culture and music.
• The challenge of low global awareness of Tunisian food compared to Moroccan or Lebanese cuisine.
• Tunisia’s historical focus on beach and desert tourism, with limited support for culinary tourism.
• Creative food experiences designed by Jamie’s company, including olive oil tastings and cooking with local chefs.
• Collaborating with artisans to turn traditional food production into immersive travel experiences.
• The difficulty of marketing Tunisian cuisine in France, where it’s often seen as lowbrow or ordinary.
• Discussion on how fine dining (like Michelin starred restaurants) does not reflect true value in culinary culture and heritage.
• Reflections on tourism trends shifting toward authenticity, sustainability, and deeper cultural engagement.
• The historical layering of Tunisia’s cuisine - from Roman to Ottoman to African influences.

You can learn more about Jamie and his company, and get in touch with him through these links:

https://www.facebook.com/SawaTaste

https://www.instagram.com/sawatasteoftunisia/

https://sawataste.com/eng/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sawa-taste-of-tunisia/