GUIDEBOOK

Discovering Cultural Cuisine: A Guide to Exploring Authenticity and Personal Connections Through Food

By Hannah Taylor

Table of Context

Opening Remarks

When it comes to exploring cultural food, many people believe that they must travel to the country of origin to truly experience it. However, this is not always the case. Cultural food can be found in a variety of other places besides its country of origin. In fact, food can be an excellent introduction to a country's culture without ever leaving your hometown.

The United States has been described as a melting pot₁ of different cultures, where a range of diverse cultures melt together to create a new culture with different elements from the original cultures. Due to this mixing of cultures, the United States is home to a multitude of cultural restaurants that hold and preserve parts of their culture through the food they serve. These restaurants can be found in almost every town across the country, making cultural exploration more accessible for people in the United States. There is an assumption that these cultural restaurants in the US do not replicate the authentic version of the dishes they are making. However, while some of the food may be slightly changed from the authentic version of the recipe, they each hold different individual stories and experiences in them. These stories and experiences are what make the food authentic.

In this guidebook I will guide you through the process of exploring these cultural restaurants, telling you about my experience in my exploration and offering suggestions on how to maximize your experience at the restaurant. Sharing with y’all my summarized research findings as I went through my previous assignments. Including also the experiences of my friends and family that have gone on this exploration with me, and their experiences without any prior research. As you go through this guidebook and your own exploration, do not forget to document your own thoughts and feelings. As Anthony Bourdain₂ once said, "Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go." So, as my brother said when he heard about this project, “Embrace your inner Anthony Bourdain” and deep dive into experiencing culture through food.

This guidebook was written as the final assignment in a three piece practicum assignment for the McBride Honors Program. To view my previous two assignments and learn more about my project please checkout the rest of my website.

Exploring the Topic: Insights and Findings

During my practicum, I was fortunate enough to dive into the world of cultural food and explore it in greater depth than ever before. As a food lover myself, I was eager to learn more about different cultural food from three different countries, Cuba, Lebanon, and Ethiopia. Choosing these specific countries because of my varying relationship with the cuisine of each of them. Having the most experience with Lebanese cuisine and the least with Ethiopian. From there I picked a different dish from each cuisine to further research. I wanted to understand the significance of these cuisines and understand what makes their dishes authentic through a variety of different lenses. First by researching what makes the dish authentic traditionally and geographically. Then exploring the personal connection that influences authenticity, by visiting cultural restaurants in the Denver area to taste the dished I researched. During my visits, I had the opportunity to speak with the restaurant owners and employees, who provided valuable insights into what they believed made their dishes authentic. They shared their personal connections to the food and discussed the importance of cultural cuisine in their communities.

This experience opened my eyes to the complexity of authenticity in cultural dishes. I discovered that many cultural dishes are actually adapted and transformed from other dishes to create something unique to a specific country. This challenged my previous assumption that authenticity was solely based on a dish's country of origin. Despite this, cultural dishes remain incredibly significant in the countries where they are served, often playing an important role in cultural traditions and celebrations. Furthermore, I learned that authenticity can also be a personal connection. A person's relationship with a dish can make it authentic to them, whether it is a recipe passed down from their mother or something they learned to make later in life. These personal connections to food can be just as important as the traditional preparation and origins of a dish.

Overall, my practicum experience provided me with a deeper understanding of the cultural importance of food and the complexity of authenticity in cultural dishes. Through an exploration of traditional preparation and origins, as well as personal connections to the food, I was able to view authenticity in a new light and appreciate the diversity and richness of cultural cuisine even more. However, there is still much to explore regarding what authenticity is. Whether it is something that we can ever truly define or something that's definition changes based on context. I think the next step in my exploration would be trying to make these cultural dishes at my own home, and documenting my feelings and experience. In your own exploration, continue to explore the definition of authenticity and what else can be added to its complex definition.

Step-by-Step Guide

Now, how can you deeper explore the cultural cuisine in your town? Well, it depends on how in-depth you want to explore cultural cuisine. However, these steps are what I would recommend you follow to maximize your experience. Follow your path, however, whether that means exploring deeper or only doing some of the steps, it's still your journey. One piece of advice that I would offer no matter your level of involvement is to embrace discomfort. There may be points where you are out of your comfort zone, embrace it because it will allow you to grow your perspective. Now here are the steps that I recommend you do in order to explore different cultures and cuisines without leaving your hometown.

1. Find a Cultural Restaurant/Cuisine: This step could be as simple as picking a cultural restaurant you are familiar with. A restaurant that you have eaten at for years and want to explore deeper. However, if you want to explore something new or do not know where to pick you can start here. First, do a quick Google search of different cultural restaurants in your area and find a couple of restaurants you would be interested in going to. Then start calling the restaurants, asking if there would be someone willing to sit down and talk to you about their culture and cuisine. In my experience, more times than not people will say yes. But you will need to be flexible with their schedules because you do not want to come at a busy time for the restaurant.

2. Research: Once you find a cultural restaurant that you want to explore, you now need to research. While this may seem like an obvious first step, it is a crucial one. It will help give context and background to the dishes you will be trying. While looking up the cruise of a country will give you some insight into the culture, try being specific. Look up specific popular dishes in that culture and the significance that they hold. Research how these dishes were traditionally made and the ingredients used. Think about what makes these dishes authentic, and what important aspects of the dish make it culturally significant. This will give you a baseline of knowledge about the dish and the culture. Allowing you to come up with questions to further explore in your explorations.

3. Visit the Restaurant: After researching a few dishes and the connection between culture and food, you will go to the restaurant you chose in step one. This will allow you to try the dishes that you researched. This will also be the time to sit with an employee or owner to ask them what these dishes mean to them. Be sure to ask questions and listen to their stories. These connections are what help bring life to the dishes, bringing new light to the meaning of the dish and helping further deepen the significance of the dish. When you are at the restaurant be sure to document the atmosphere and your feelings while eating the food. If you want to, you can document your experience over multiple restaurant visits to try different dishes. If there are certain customs in how to eat a dish be sure to fully embrace them, to captivate the full experience. These customs can be from your research of the dish or something that the employee tells you and encourages. After eating and the restaurant and maybe talking to the employees go back and think about authenticity again. Note whether your experience at the restaurant impacted and changed your initial definition of authenticity.

4. Share with Others: After going through your exploration by yourself, it is time to share with others. While experiencing and learning by yourself is important, sharing these findings with others is what builds a community. Sharing food with others is significant in most cultures. Bringing friends with you to these restaurants helps create further connections and helps deepen the significance of that dish. Be sure to ask your friends about their own thoughts and feeling throughout the meal.

Conclusion

Exploring different cultures and cuisines within your area can be an enriching and eye-opening experience. By following the steps in this guidebook you can gain a deeper understanding of different cultures and their cuisine. Embracing the discomfort and having new experiences is key to helping you explore your world without leaving your town. Helping you make new connections and deepen the bond of old ones. Through this experience, you can determine your definition of authenticity, by exploring its complexities of it. Now go off on your exploration and enjoy each step in the process. I hope you will send me photos of your experiences.

The experience of exploring cultural food has been a transformative journey for me. Not only have I gained a deeper appreciation for the diverse cuisines of the world, but I have also developed a greater understanding of the unique histories and traditions that have shaped these foods. Through each assignment, I have had the opportunity to dive into the history of cultural food and discover new perspectives. One of the most impactful aspects of this journey has been the chance to connect with people from different cultures and hear their stories. From talking to the owners and chefs to reading about the history of traditional dishes, I have gained a deeper appreciation for the connections that food makes. Through this process, I have also developed a better understanding of what authenticity is. When I first started I thought authenticity was something that only meant one thing. Now I see authenticity as something that evolves from one person/dish to another. Overall, this journey has equipped me with the tools to continue exploring and learning about cultural food. Whether through travel, reading, or conversation, I know that I will continue to be curious about how food connects us.

I wanted to end by thanking everyone who has supported me in my practicum journey. From my friends and family to my McBride professors, y’all have all had an impact on my journey and exploration. I wanted to share a few brief highlights of my exploration below. Again, thank y’all.

Resources

My Practicum Website

Taste of Colorado: If you are in the Colorado area this is a great website to see different cultural food events coming up in Colorado. If you are not from Colorado, see if your state has something similar.

Parts Unknown: Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown is a great place to start in your exploration. I have watched a few episodes of his show and explored the website and it is exactly what I was trying to achieve in my practicum.

Glossary

[1] Melting Pot: A melting pot is a metaphor for a society where many different types of people blend as one.

[2] Anthony Bourdain: An American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition.

[3] Before Assignment: My first assignment in my practicum. I evaluated the history and traditional authenticity of three dishes, ropa vieja, beef tibs, and shawarma. See the Before tab on my website for more information.

[4] After Assignment: My second assignment in my practicum. I went to various cultural restaurants in the Denver area and talked to some of the employees and owners about their experience with the food they serve. See the After tab on my website for more information.

PDF of Guidebook

After.pdf

Download PDF • 934KB