A great travel snack doesn’t appear out of thin air.
It is the result of foresight, planning and execution. It must serve at least one of two purposes: to tide you over until you reach your final destination, or to entertain you. Ideally both. This is an opportunity to spark joy.
If you’re flying, your travel snack must also follow the limitations the Transportation Security Administration places on carry-on allowance. If you’re driving, it must follow the unofficial rules of the road trip.
With those parameters, what portable morsels rise to the top? We asked some of the world’s most famous tastemakers to share their preferred travel snacks. Here’s what they told us.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Alison Roman
“I’m a salty person, not a sweet person. I’m a BjornQorn classic [person].” — Alison Roman, cookbook author.
Edward Lee
“Does bourbon count as a travel snack? One of my guilty pleasures is eating, you know, snacks and fast food and chips, stuff like that, which I really never get to do in my life. When I’m at the airport, I’m like, yeah, we’re going to go Doritos Cool Ranch. We’re gonna get some Twizzlers. Whenever I see like a local fast food thing, I always stop and get that ’cause it just — it gives you sort of a little identity and flavor of the city, even if you’re just connecting.” — Edward Lee, chef, restaurateur and Netflix star.
Ladies and gentlemen, chef Edward Lee on his favorite travel snacks
Video by JL for @We are a newspaper.
Eric Ripert
“When I travel, I like to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s rare that I have snacks. For me, having a sandwich with Roquefort cheese and butter is a snack. Or eating saucisson sec or pâté or something like that — I consider that a snack.” — Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin.
Hailee Catalano
“I love a Chex Mix or a trail mix. That’s my favorite thing because, you know, it’s everything in one. You only need to bring one bag. It’s got your sweet, it’s got your salty, crunchy. Sometimes you got dried fruit in there. I love it. Bonus if you make your own.” — Hailee Catalano, cookbook author.
Jacques Pépin
“If you have a good baguette and great butter, it’s really hard to beat bread and butter.” — Jacques Pépin, chef, author and PBS host.
José Andrés
“Well, I don’t wanna be sounding and looking too elitist, but — especially when you have friends that give [these snacks to you] — the best travel snack [is] just a can of caviar. The caviar goes well with potato chips. There’s pretty much potato chips everywhere.” — José Andrés, chef, humanitarian and restaurateur.
Ladies and gentlemen: chef @José Andrés’s favorite travel snacks. For more travel tips and news, go to WashingtonPost.com/travel cc @We are a newspaper.
Marcus Samuelsson
“A doro wat empanada. The doro wat is an Ethiopian dish … it travels very well.” — Marcus Samuelsson, chef, author and restaurateur.
Meherwan Irani
“Right now, in my bag, and every time I fly — or even road-trip because I’ll stop at gas stations — jerky. I looove jerky. I think it was being in South Carolina in college and taking the car everywhere — I’d stop at this gas station where they make their own jerky, and I fell in love with jerky. I’d never had it in India … what else do I eat? I always have a chocolate bar, but, like, a really high-quality chocolate bar.” — Meherwan Irani, chef, restaurateur and spice purveyor.
Nancy Silverton
“One is nuts, particularly almonds. And, as of recently, I’ve rediscovered popcorn. I love eating popcorn on the plane. I love the crunch, it fills me up. I do have to say, I don’t eat plane food, and it’s not just because all plane food is bad. I’m saving my appetite for when I get off the plane and I go eat somewhere.” — Nancy Silverton, chef, author and restaurateur.
Rick Martinez
“It’s called Cacahuates Japoneses, so Japanese peanuts. … It’s like salty, umami-y. It’s got a little bit of soy flavor. And then they’re really crispy and crunchy. They’re so good.” — Rick Martinez, cookbook author.
Samin Nosrat
“It’s not exactly travel-friendly space-wise, but it is very light … BjornQorn popcorn, which I have a bag downstairs. If I’m packing it myself to bring in my bag or on the plane … I do like a portable cheese, like a Babybel or string cheese.” — Samin Nosrat, cookbook author
Vishwesh Bhatt
“For me, it’s peanuts. I love peanuts — salted, roasted peanuts. I love potato chips. I make little turkey sandwiches or something like that, but I would put chutney on there, you know, spice-ify it a little bit. That’s a word, by the way.” — Vishwesh Bhatt, chef of Chai Pani DC.
Wolfgang Puck
“Maybe chocolate. I love chocolate. But it has to be at least 70 [to] 75 percent” cocoa. — Wolfgang Puck, chef and restaurateur.
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