Why Immigration Was the Best Thing to Happen to Food
Or how the traditional food of your homeland might not be as traditional as you think
A Brit abroad is famous for missing their food and I am no exception.
But quintessential British food like pies, fish and chips and Sunday roasts never enter my mind.
Nope, I miss curry. Specifically that British version of curry you can find in every single town up and down the country. Curry makes me homesick like nothing else can even though I am a white British woman who has never visited the Indian subcontinent.
But curry is British. Quintessentially so. Chicken Tikka Masala was even named our national dish.
We live in a world where protectionism is commonplace. Countries want to close borders. They want to protect their “traditions.”
That includes food.
But history has shown that’s not how it works. There will always (I hope) be a movement of people and that will always influence cuisines.
When people travel, food travels. It morphs when it finds a new home. And what you might think of as your food heritage might be a far more recent invention than you realise — or it may not come from your country at all.
