AN INTRODUCTION:

Food is everything to us. No seriously we need food along with water to live. However, beyond keeping us going food does so much more. Food provides us with a wide range of emotions, joy, nostalgia, sadness, awe, these are all often linked to memories, past experiences that we forever associate with a certain meal or snack. With those memories certain foods can hold even further special value due to their importance in your culture. 

Cuisine is one the biggest parts of culture. All across the world different ingredients and styles of cooking can be found and enjoyed. Foods that you may grow up and love, may be entirely unfamiliar and fascinating to someone across the world. That fascination is the specific factor that can lead to where food shines, cultural exchange. 

TAKE A LOOK AROUND YOUR TOWN:

Bearing witness to the way food bridges the gap between cultures all you have to do is a quick little of restaurants in your area. Just from that you’ll be able to see how cuisines of all different kinds can be found. Chinese, Italian, Thai, Greek, and many more can likely be found in close proximity. There are many reasons as to why these varying restaurants find themselves in foreign locations. For starters you can look at the owners, likely immigrated from their homes to America, and they open these restaurants with an understanding of how people love experiencing and enjoying the foods of many different cultures. Another reason being that these restaurants often find impressive business as not only can other immigrants find comfort in their own new homes in America, but locals can enjoy trying out new foods. 

Beyond new restaurants showing up, you can even look at restaurants you grew up with and find them expanding and showing up all across the globe. The SocialStar blog wrote an article titled “How Has Cultural Globalization Influenced Food Over the Years”. In this article they bring up the relevance of popular fast food chains across the world such as McDonalds and KFC. The article states “These fast food giants have been successful in adapting their menus to suit local tastes and preferences, integrating elements of local cuisine into their offerings (SocialStar, 2023)”. It has become somewhat of an internet wonder to look at these restaurants across the world. The little things such as vegetarian options to be found at Indian locations of McDonalds, Burgers with rice patties replacing buns in Japanese McDonalds, you can even order McSpaghetti at MDonalds in the Philippines. And again these unique choices are multifaceted. These offerings provide local consumers to enjoy their own local cuisine at these restaurants, and tourists get the enjoyment out of trying these fun locally exclusive items. And finally the corporate sides of these restaurants are well aware of how there is likely plenty of revenue to be found in adding these local favorites.

HOW NEIGHBORING PLACES CAN BUILD CULTURE OFF ONE ANOTHER:

Many countries can often find influence and developments of their own culture assisted by neighboring countries or regions. Certain areas would find cultural developments through occupying nations that held the land in the past. Pat Hathcock of Texas Monthly wrote an article addressing this phenomenon, specifically involving Vietnam. When Vietnam was under Chinese rule it grew to adopt multiple of the cooking practices and Concepts from China. Hathcock writes “The national palate has been shape by the gourmet traditions of occupying powers: the chinese, from whom the Vietnamese adopted cooking with a wok and eating with chopsticks (Hathcock, Texas Monthly, 1990)”. While a nation like Vietnam may adopt elements from another nation’s culture like China. They can then utilize those elements to build their own culture from it. They still grow their own cultural identity, including their own special ingredients and elements.

FOOD AND CULTURE HELP WITH GLOBAL BUSINESS RELATIONS:

Many different cultures often use food to help build relationships and gain trust with one another. This can be amplified when entering into business oriented situations. Whether you’re getting transferred to a new job across the world, or involved in building a relationship with a business across the water. Jackson Ridl, student at the University of Minnesota detailed his experience regarding being sent to work at a consulting firm in Hong Kong through the Carlson School of Management. He enjoyed his experiences through Dim Sum, and Hot Pot, traditional chinese meals that he enjoyed with his new coworkers. These meals are designed to be trust building and social affairs. Small bites spread across a larger meal with plenty of time to get to know and bond with one another. Bonding over food is always a positive way to build relationships with one another especially in business settings. Trust is of the utmost importance, and Food is often a perfect place to converse between enjoying dishes, and educating visitors about your culture through food. Another SocialStar article further showcases the value that comes with social interaction and food. Stating “In mediterranean countries, the tradition of gathering around a table for a long, leisurely meal is a cherished cultural practice (SocialStar, 2023)”. Food shows to be synonymous in so many cultures in regard to spending time and befriending people. Food applies a very similar phenomenon to that of showing a friend a show you like or a hobby you love. 

THE CONCEPT OF FUSION: FOR BUSINESS AND EXCHANGE:

Another recent development of the food world has been the increased growth of fusion restaurants. The concept is simple. Combining two different kinds of cultural cuisine together. For example things like Sushi Burritos, SouthWestern Eggrolls, all sorts, the simple act of combining two foods to create an entirely new one. It’s a simple concept but one that society as a whole finds incredibly fun and inventive. However it also does hold an important benefit of being a physical representation of Uniting cultures, often at its most simple forms. It is part of why globalization and tourism can be such valuable and beautiful things. People can find inspiration by enjoying cuisine from another culture, and then take that inspiration back to their home and find unique ways to mix and match their food with food from places they’ve visited. You can even find certain foods simply adapt into new variations due to a new location. A common example of this is americanized chinese food, which many consider to be it’s own unique cuisine. Escoffier states “one of the first americanized dishes was Chop Suey. A combination of meat, eggs, and vegetables that can be served to customers relatively quickly. What many Americans considered to be “Chinese Food” would likely never pass the authenticity test in China (Escoffier, 2022)”. The fusion of cultures and cuisine effectively builds it own subcuisines, creating new foods through a beautiful cultural exchange. In fact as previously mentioned in the previous chapter, when a country finds itself under rule those elements and ingredients can become a constant long after the nation breaks free. Exquisite Taste brings up the Banh Mi from the aforementioned vietnam, which utilizes the french baguette, which was brought to vietnam during French rule. 

Works Cited:

“The Cross-Cultural Power of Food: Coming Together over Food.” Carlson School of Management, 28 Sept. 2016, carlsonschool.umn.edu/news/the-cross-cultural-power-food-coming-together-over-food.