Cultural Foods
Angela
had always known of her passion for food and cooking. She explored the opportunities in the food
industry by receiving her diploma in culinary arts in 2015 at age 56. With central European roots, being raised in
the melting pot of America, being married to a Mexican-American, and love for
travel, it is clear that her experience with a variety of cultures would
provide her as a suitable candidate to interview in order to understand the
importance of culture and its relationship to food. She was asked questions regarding her own
culture, the exploration of other cultures’ food, and her perspective on the
cultural importance in food.
Her
European heritage was more prevalent in the cleanliness of her surroundings and
meticulous behavior of her German mother.
When it came to food, she was familiar with the comfort food of her
heritage although she noted it as being “bland” compared to other cultures
foods. She most regularly integrates
Latin cuisine in her everyday life being that her husband is Mexican and
“living in California” it is easily accessible.
When eating or preparing food of her German or Hungarian culture, she
noted that it is “connected to memories” of when she had visited relatives in those
countries.
In
studying culinary arts, traveling, and trying new restaurants, she is regularly
exploring the cuisine of other cultures and getting hands on experience with
the unique flavors and techniques they use.
She was recounted being intrigued by Ethiopian cuisine noting that it
had “lots of flavor and spices” that she wasn’t expecting. She often attempts to replicate what she
tried when traveling. She mentioned her experience
in Italy and interest in learning the techniques they use with making different
breads, pizza, and pasta dough. Asian
cuisine is something she is more unfamiliar with and she understands the
complexity and depth in flavor.
When
it comes to exposure of other cultures through food, she noted that now that we
are a “global society” it is increasingly important to explore so that we can
relate to people of different cultures.
When seeing a new country she stressed the importance of experiencing
the local cuisines, seeing where the food comes from and how locals use their surroundings
in their food. It can be a way to learn
more about that specific place. In an
article by Stingfellow, MacLaren, Maclean, and O’Gorman (2013), it was stated
that there is a “symbiotic relationship between the cuisine and cultural
context of the destination” (p.77).
There is a close connection between the localities of agriculture to the
cuisine that is produced within a particular culture. Angela was familiar with this and recalled
her visit to Greece where she was able to see where the food was coming from
and the relation to the foods that the locals were consuming. Angela provided great insight with her
experiences with other cultures and her professional background in culinary
arts.
Erik- Filipino
Assimilating in America
Erik
is a 22-year-old student attending CSUSM.
He is a San Diego native and is closely tied to his large Filipino
family. He was interviewed and provided
personal anecdotes of his experience with his own culture, his exploration with
food from other cultures as well as his perspective on the importance of
cultural cuisines.
Within
his own Filipino culture he noted that the culture itself is closely tied to
the food. Many of their gatherings
revolve around a large meal with exotic and colorful dishes that might not
typically match the aesthetic of western cuisine. He most regularly eats other Asian food and
uses techniques of Asian cultures when preparing food. These include Japanese and Chinese, often
preparing rice, ramen or cooking with tempura.
He noted that growing up, the food that was prepared for him by his
mother was more westernized where they would eat predominantly American or
Italian dishes. An article noted that “cultural dominance in general can be delegitimized through
over-popularization” (Stringfellow et al., 2013, p. 83). When growing up, Erik saw the dominance of
American culture, however among his family, he was regularly exposed to
Filipino culture. Being that Filipino
dishes were more popular within his family unit, the dominance of American
culture was invalidated.
Erik
is very open to trying new foods and exploring other cultures through their
cuisine. He recalls being exposed to
Jerk Chicken and Paella and noted being very impressed with these dishes. He wishes to explore more Middle Eastern
cuisine being that he is more unfamiliar with the culture in general and the
food of that culture might open his mind to other aspects of the culture.
Erik
stated that being exposed to other culture’s food is important because it can
act as a “bridge between cultures”. The
article marked “the chef as a cultural agent at the centre of the social order”
(Stringfellow et al., 2013, p.80).
Through food, the chef is able to convey the essence of the
culture. Erik was able to understand the
different backgrounds of his childhood friends by sharing meals provided by
their families and being able to try the foods that they valued. He noted that he would tech the next
generation about his Filipino culture through pride in the culture and the
food.
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