Culinary travel feeds the soul

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2022 (1194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As travel emerges from the pandemic, studies have led a number of tourist boards to focus their marketing efforts on their national cuisine.

While food has clearly always been an important aspect in the selection of a preferred destination, it has now seemed to have taken a higher profile in the decision-making process, and promotion efforts. Three countries that have really taken hold of this new direction in their campaigns are Turkey, Indonesia, and Malta.

One of the favourite and enjoyable food experiences my wife and I had was in Turkey — when we enrolled in a cooking class with an organization called Cooking Alaturka. After a morning of chopping, shaping, squeezing and finally cooking — our entire class enjoyed our creations over a glass or two of wine and new friendships conversation.

While cooking classes have grown in popularity over the past pre-pandemic years, they are ever more popular now.

Why this extra interest in national cuisines now? Experts believe that food delivery services such as Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats may have in part been driving factors. People who were stuck at home so much of the time during the height of the pandemic — ordered food in more frequently than ever before — and apparently began to experiment with new tastes. Clients were ordering new, to them, foreign dishes —without have to go to a restaurant where they were unsure of the menu or the environment. The newly acquired tastes seem to have whited appetites to try these and similar dishes — not just through home delivery apps — but on holidays in the country of their origin.

Cooking channels and major television shows such as Stanley Tucci’s on CNN — featuring Italian and other nations cuisine—have helped put travellers at ease about the foods they might find at new destinations.

In a Global Consumer Study undertaken last year, almost half of those surveyed said they found “the broader availability of cuisines the most appealing reason to consume food and drink outside of the home, highlighting the global appetite for experiencing new flavours”.

Considering the number of restaurant closures here and around the world, it seems incongruous that one of the toughest periods for the food and hospitality industry, may have created the door opening to an entirely new and broader range of business opportunities worldwide.

While the past months may have been the zenith for the home delivery market, the survey responses also revealed a very real and deep desire to return to in-restaurant dining.

Fully a third of the respondents wanted to go back to be able to socialize with friends and acquaintances while eating and drinking. Similarly, they want to be in the location itself to try the drinks and food, which are difficult to recreate at home. Home delivery may be relatively fast and efficient, but people want the superior taste and quality of food cooked and served fresh from a restaurant kitchen.

As a part of another growing trend, a significant percentage of people felt restaurants do a good job of providing a greater variety of plant based and dairy alternatives.

Across the board — respondents still feel that restaurants provide good value for the money they spend.

While not a part of this specific research project, other comments people frequently make about home delivery services, is that they take too much for commissions from the restaurants making it difficult for them to make money on the meals they prepare, while often not sharing enough of what they do take with the delivery drivers they hire.

Countries this new trend of cuisine travel is likely to benefit (of course include Italy) — but the food of Greece also has no end to great tastes. Travelling through Argentina will open a new range of tasty dishes for the dedicated beef eater. One of my favourite beef dishes is steak tartar. I don’t know if it was invented in this country, but they certainly have refined the taste experience.

There are some national dishes which many will never have heard of, while others may never want to hear of them — like Guiney Pig, a delicacy in Peru, or horse steak in Switzerland. But by trying these new dishes you gain a broader appreciation of how foods vary from nation to nation. I tried them all and have always been happy I did so.

While travelling brings people from around the world together in countries beyond their own — when we see and meet fellow travellers in restaurants and around other food service outlets it builds a sense of understanding of the global community in which we all live.

pradinukr@shaw.ca