This week's guest is Shannon Smith. She’s a cook, teacher, and traveler based in Tulsa, OK. She's traveled to more than 50 countries, meeting and cooking with people, from home cooks to restaurant chefs, while documenting it on her blog. She also uses her travels to teach women how to cook, and helps to finance their businesses using micro-loan programs. Her charity work includes Vizavance, a program that provides eye care to the homeless, as well as Hope Haven Rwanda, a school for impoverished children in Rwanda. She's raised over $500K for her charity work by donating epic dinner parties at her home. On the show, we talk about how she became a world traveler and cooking instructor. She explains how the micro-finance loan program works, and some of the charities she’s been working with. She’s currently working on a forthcoming cookbook, THE HIDDEN TABLE, a collection of stories and recipes from her adventures around the world, which is set to be released next year. SHANNON SMITHShannon's InstagramShannon's WebsiteCHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTSIf you enjoy the show and would like to support it financially, please check out our Sponsorship page (we get a commission when you use our links).  Get the Chefs Without Restaurants NewsletterPrivate Facebook groupChefs Without Restaurants InstagramSponsor- The United States Personal Chef AssociationOver the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at aprather@uspca.com for membership and partner info.Sponsor- Chemists in the KitchenChemists in the Kitchen by LabX, is a YouTube video series spotlighting the power of chemistry, and how science and food can bring people together.In each episode, real scientists walk you through things like making your own pickles, the chemistry behind ceviche, the formula for perfect homemade pretzels, and more.It's a love letter to science, cooking, and individuality, with some great tips on how you can apply real scientific principles to your everyday cooking. Season 2 is airing now, and you can catch up with every episode for free on YouTube by searching “Chemists in the Kitchen” or going to Youtube.com/LabXNAS Sponsor-MeezStill keeping your recipes in docs? Doing your costing in spreadsheets? You should try Meez—the recipe tool designed for chefs by chefs. Founded by professional chef Josh Sharkey, Meez transforms your recipe content into a powerful digital format that lets you organize, scale, train, and cost like never before. See why Meez is loved by over 12,000 culinary professionals. Sign up for a free account today at getmeez.com/chefswithoutrestaurants.