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Exploring cultural influences on world cuisine
The stimulus for the project was the 50th anniversary celebrations of the arrival
of the SS Empire Windrush in Liverpool, bringing the first of the post-WWII
African Caribbean immigrants to Britain in 1948. Black history came to the fore
with events throughout Britain to mark the date and highlight the contribution
of those immigrant communities.
Allotment gardeners of diverse nationalities are very proud of the crops from
their countries of origin, which they have grown on their plots in Birmingham.
The Allotment Liaison Officer realised that the gardeners' skills of growing
and preparing traditional foods are an important aspect of cultural heritage
and should be celebrated as part of Black History Month. This led to Birmingham
City Council’s Parks and Nature Conservation Service (now Parks, Sport
and Events) launching The Changing Taste of Food Project in1999, to explore
the contribution of food and its influence to change in a multi-cultural society.
Making it happen
In collaboration with Local Services Black Workers Groupand Birmingham College
of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, the project gathers information on community
groups and examines how their history, religion and culture influence their
cuisine. For example, Jamaica has a national dish based on food used during
the colonial era to feed slaves. Meanwhile in the Chinese community, there are
many stories surrounding the origins of lucky coins in New Year dumplings.
The Project provides cross-cultural education through cooking and taster sessions
for people from all communities, aimed at reducing barriers and increasing mutual
understanding. In some cases we discover that the food we hold dear to our own
culture is also held in high esteem in other cultures.
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Variety is the spice of life
Each year a different community is featured. The project has so far examined
Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Chinese cuisine. In 2005 the focus will be on Pakistani
food.
Participating groups provide three to six persons from the same cultural background
to prepare and cook one authentic dish each. They research the historical, cultural
and or religious relevance of the recipes and bring the raw ingredients for
a display. They then demonstrate the authentic, traditional cooking methods
to an assembled audience in venues such as the college or community centre kitchens.
In 2001 and 2002 local schools also took part, enabling children to learn about
the cultural range of food growing, preparation and cookery skills. Local businesses
have been involved.
| Presenters discuss interesting details such as the nutritional value of ingredients, the design and function of special equipment and so on. Links to health and the environment are also explored. For instance, the Chinese wok is very sustainable because its shape conserves energy from precious fuels as well as conserving the flavour and texture of foods. This helps to encourage diverse communities to enjoy healthy, environmentally friendly ways of living. |  |
The Future
The newspapers and television give valuable publicity to the project, and resources
have been developed including recipe booklets, with background information about
each culture, plus a video of Caribbean cooking and a DVD of Chinese cooking.
The project is set to involve other community groups as it continues exploring
the cultural influences on world cuisines. It is hoped that in the future it
may attract sponsors for a documentary series on the evidence gathered.
FACTFILE
This Features is available as a PDF files to download and print.
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The Changing Tast of Food |
