About food culture - what does a king, potatoes and Maslow have in common?

by Michael Jones & Stephan M. Leuschner

Michael: Stephan, what does it mean for you to see different food cultures coming together?

Stephan: Good afternoon, Michael, I believe it is important to get a better understanding about food culture, why we cook and the reasons why people prefer the one or other cuisine. It is exciting how food can be a bridge of cultures, to know where it came from and why people prefer or not.

Today, eating is more than just getting fed for most people. Cooking and eating It is driven by many needs besides simple hunger, whether convenience, health, or as a status symbol. It is about curiosity, sensual experience, and memories.

Michael: Very true. I guess we all remember a specific dish our mothers or grandmothers cooked for us and the memories behind those...

Stephan: Absolutely Michael. One thing that always fascinates me is that whichever place you got, even if it is foreign country where you cannot speak the local language, you always can enjoy authentic food and, by that, experience local culture. All chefs face the same situations, the same stress, the same demands from their customers when preparing food and their goals is also the same.

As pictures speak more than words, just let me just show you a little video which I brought for you.

Stephan: … “When it tastes great, we all speak the same language” ... that describes very well what I meant before.

Michael: A lot of great stories in that video and, given your companies 50th anniversary, a great example of how RATIONAL AG has managed to become a key part of professional cooking across the world.

Stephan: Yes, and off course very proud to being a part of that. Making cooking easier and more effective, independent of the cuisine or food was always our goal.

But let’s come to that later, first I would like to investigate some interesting facts which shaped the eating, and cooking culture, therefore.

Given today’s discussions about globalization, you can argue that the first literal globalization was related to food and already happened hundreds of years ago.

Some of the most popular ingredients we use for cooking nowadays had their origins in foreign countries and had to make their way first.

Let’s look for example to potatoes and tomatoes. Two prominent food items in nearly every menu of the world and considered absolute mainstream.

In the 15th century they were brought from Central America, respectively the Caribbean to Europe. They were considered to be poisonous or at least unhealthy (… people did not know better and ate the leafs which was not too good of an idea though.)? it took a while since they prevailed onto the daily menu.

Another legend is whether Sir Walter Raleigh who eventually introduced the Potato to England, or if Sir Francis Drake did, when he returned from South America – and was maybe more likely the one to do that first.

Another one is about King Friedrich the Great of Prussia, who according to the myth, gave his famous “potato order” that it is forbidden to cultivate potatoes in his kingdom… a clever move to make it extremely popular, as it only took few years until the potato was planted off course everywhere and since then became the number one vegetable in Germany, which helped to fight famine and poverty.

Whether true or not, Potatoes became a part of our European food culture and were introduced back to many other countries such as India or North America years later.

Given these examples, nearly every country has their signature dish based around the potato:

Poutine in Canada – Fish & Chips in England – Patatas bravas in Spain – Potato Roesti in Switzerland – Nikujaga in Japan... you could count endlessly.

Michael: The humble potato certainly has earned its place on global menu. But there are so many exotic foods still. And this is perhaps where food cultures truly differ, right?

Stephan: Exotic is a question of point of view of course. There is always a fight between curiosity and skepticism when it comes to food you are not used to.

What is considered exotic in your cultural circle is maybe mainstream in another. Now, for roughly since 100-200 years people have been eating “foreign dishes” and embracing new flavors. Before that it was quite common to only eat local food.

Eating something different has always been something of a statement. You could show that you could afford to eat exotic foods, that you were presumably well-traveled, and that you were superior to those eating simple food… Remember King Louis 14th and his legendary banquets in Versailles. The extraordinary menus of that time where the foundation of today’s gourmet food, nouvelle cuisine and experimental food preparation such as the molecular kitchen.

The aim however was always the same: create a unique experience before it becomes mainstream.

Michael: You are right, and we get used to it fast. I still remember the first time I had sushi, which was felt like a truly exotic experience at the time. Nowadays, you can get it at any retail store – and in sometimes very questionable quality. It can be great, but perhaps it’s note seen as something special anymore.

Stephan: You are right Michael, but let’s take a vice versa example. When going to places like for example Singapore or Tokyo, buying simple bread can be an experience and sometimes creates a similar excitement when going to some “western style” artisan bakery.

But back to the question what happens when food cultures meet?

The answer is adaptation!

Whether you call it fusion food or simply creativity, chefs around the world tend to combine and modify ingredients to match but still create a new experience. Once the one or another recipe turns out to be successful, it may become mainstream and offered anywhere.

We all know the typical examples… Thai curry, Hummus, Burgers… or a mix of all of them…

Michael: True, but there are also a lot of so-called trends which maybe do not prevail.

Stephan: For sure, Michael… Bubble Tea anyone?

But also, social, and once again cultural trends shape the future of food. The vegan and vegetarian cuisine, which is getting more popular day by day (at least in western countries) is also a result of our perception to eat healthier and sustainable.

You can argue that 200-300 years ago when we had no choice rather than to eat the locally grown and breed food which came probably from not more than 10 miles distance, we already were at that point.

The regular diet was always using less protein, simply since people could not afford meat or fish every day. In terms of vegetables, we followed the seasonality… For sure there were no strawberries at Christmas time.

But given that everyone is expecting to get his favorite food anytime, this opened a lot of opportunities for gastronomy and retail. The latest food delivery development, virtual brands and ghost kitchens are just a result.

Michael: Which cuisines are the most popular ones today, do you think?

Stephan: There are for sure different opinions regarding these questions, but undisputedly Italian cuisine has been named as the number one food style people love most.

And the reason might be quite simple. Both, the Roman empire as well as the Renaissance Italian states like Genoa or Venice had one thing in common, they were interacting with foreign cultures and integrating them, whether by conquering, exploration, trade, or assimilation. Few of today’s beloved Italian dishes actually have their roots in Italy.

The iconic pizza for example presumably derives from traditional flat breads as made in Middle Eastern or Asian countries and brought to Italy via the Greeks eventually. Originally being a dish to use up “leftover food” by topping the dough, the final version of Pizza with the tomato sauce was only possible as potatoes were brought from the Americas to Europe.

Pasta, as the legend says, came from Central Asia, today’s China presumably, whether brought by Marco Polo or others was a great success as it was easier to prepare than baking bread and could be kept long if dried.

And those are just a few examples of how internationally influenced today’s food is.

Michael: How can we estimate which food will be popular in future? Are there any clear trends?

Stephan: Once again, I believe we need to differentiate between some areas of the world to estimate any trends. Mostly we see development out of our local view.

I believe looking back and comparing with Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs can give a hint:

-???????? On the first level it was all about getting fed. Eat what you can get: the absolute basic need.

-???????? The second stage already sees a focus on safety and health. People started to cook and prepare food to make it safe to eat or better to store for some time without getting sick.

-???????? The third phase was to have tasty food, enhancing the preparation and to use spices and herbs to make the dishes tastier. Hundreds of years ago spices and salt were worthy as gold as they were necessary to fulfill this.

-???????? Then the focus was on getting the freedom to eat whatever I want wherever I want. Full convenience and choice. A phase where all the restaurants as we know them today emerged, including fast food and any possible kind of cuisine.

-???????? Nowadays and in future, the focus will be on better feel for you and the environment. People are moving away from industrial food wherever they can afford and try to focus on fresh ingredients. Sustainability and transparency are getting more and more important. People want to know what they eat and where it comes from.

-???????? But what of the future? According to this logic, people may want to influence what they eat, be creative and design new flavors and textures themselves. Food printing is a word heard very often nowadays. Let’s see. Not everyone is born for creativity but rather likes to consume only.

?

One interesting detail I found was about the most popular food ingredients per country. Therefore creating “the perfect brand” may also be a question of research.

The most popular food ingredients worldwide are actually:

1)???? Olive oil

2)???? Butter

3)???? Garlic

4)???? Onions

5)???? Soy Sauce

6)???? Tomatoes

Well, that is start already. Let’s continue to be creative. Finally, it just brings me back to the sentence I mentioned before.?“When it tastes great, we all speak the same language!”

Michael: A great closing sentence, Stephan. Thank you once again for such an interesting discussion.

watch complete recording of TrendTalk session - "When food cultures meet"