Food seems to be with us every day but nowhere. First of all, when we arrive in a new country, we go in search of the most authentic restaurant of local cuisine, considering it an integral part of the culture, but remember: how many museums and lectures devoted to food have you visited? Why don’t they talk about him?
We greatly underestimate the importance of the gastronomic part of our lives. Russian cuisine especially suffers from this. Try to count how many pizza and wrap restaurants are in your area and how many establishments serve Russian food. No, the pie tent around the corner doesn’t count.
For a long time, going to Russian restaurants was generally considered bad manners. After all, my mom will cook borscht and Olivier at home, why else spend money on something like that?
But if you change the scene, everything changes dramatically. In 2022, many people are faced with moving to other countries. And almost all those who have moved face the “immigrant syndrome”, that is, the basic longing for their homeland. And so, in local conversations, the search for restaurants will begin, where you can eat something strictly in Russian.
It is remarkable that people unconsciously try to return life to its normal course through food. For this they are often reprimanded: you came to another culture, can’t you live without a herring under a fur coat for half a year?
But it’s not about herring, the question here is deeper. As we said at the beginning, food is a huge part of our culture. It’s something that was created and handed down from generation to generation. Besides, they are also our memories. Memories of pouring vegetable oil on brown bread and sprinkling salt on it while they were running around the garden with friends. It’s about the traditional Olivier every New Year. It’s about grandma’s pancakes and mom’s borscht. It’s about sandwiches from my father and a pie I baked myself for the first time, having moved from my family. Food is one of the best anchors for memories. Some are brighter and more special, others are very traditional, repetitive and create a lively background.
So people are not looking for Russian food in a foreign country – people are looking for feelings. And let’s face it, along with the taste of the average borscht on the Thai beach, they have a sense of completeness. I am still alive, my past is not lost, I remember who I was and how good I was, which means you can continue to live in the present.
At the same time, in the survey, people say that they do not eat lard at home very often, do not like salads with mayonnaise and do not drink kefir. But it is on a long journey that this longing emerges from somewhere. However, if we are talking about a short vacation, this problem does not arise. When you come to Thailand or Italy for two weeks, you’ll be happy to eat a tom yam and carbonara.
Our brain reads all the nuances. And the way the table is set, what utensils we eat, the smells that surround us, even the balance of trace elements, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For example, some scientists believe that in the diet of a Russian person there is a predominance of carbohydrates, as well as a lack of important trace elements and fiber. And although this also seems to be part of the tradition – where are the microelements and where is the culture.
Also, food makes everything better. It is not in vain that conflicts have been settled, the ceasefire celebrated, and families created at the table for centuries. When we eat something delicious, we experience positive emotions on both a physical and psychological level, and our life automatically gets better. It’s also about communication: After all, where can you meet someone who speaks your language, if not at a national restaurant?
Food is also about lifestyle. Too often people respond that fast deliveries and regular convenience foods are not available while they are away. And it’s not about taste, it’s about convenience. The simultaneous rejection of any element of our usual routine, or even several, begins to disrupt our peaceful existence. A red exclamation point begins to flash in my head: “Living conditions are getting worse! Dangerous!”
We can certainly consciously choose the countries we will move to or take long trips to. We can love a new place of residence, culture, cuisine. But the way a person is organized is that his past, his national identity and his past are important to him. And that’s fine. It’s good for people to remember their family, home and childhood. It’s perfectly normal to miss out on completely mundane things like boiled potatoes with herring. Even if this may seem like just a silly fad – it’s actually a part of us. And we don’t even realize how big of a role that is.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.