The Complexity of Food Culture

Adam Gopnik’s piece, “Is There A Crisis In French Cooking?” provided me with a space to consider how deeply intertwined cooking is to culture and the many ways in which we make use of our food to demonstrate a certain pride or statement about our culture. When looking at our own culture and nationality, I cannot help but pause and consider how absent food culture and tradition are in this country. It is more than a matter of age, as Europe is much older than America, but more a matter of trying to escape from the ties of European cuisine we came here with, and attempting to create something entirely different.

America is often viewed as a melting pot of different cultures, traditions, religious beliefs, backgrounds, and more. We come from every corner of the world and bring with us the culture we are accustomed to, in order to make the place we are in now feel like home. Our differences and the vastness of our country’s exploration of cultures are what have identified us as a nation independent from others. While we have given ourselves a national identity that enables us to be seen as unique and independent from Europe, we seemingly lack roots for food culture and tradition. To fill this void, American’s are very well known for using food as a statement.

Food can be used as an exploration, statement of nationalism of pride, defense, or power. As Gopnik touches on in “Is There A Crisis In French Cooking?” food in American is most often used as a statement of power. As Americans, we are always looking to do something bigger and better, to create something new and unfound. Our world of food and cooking is competitive and declarative. We like everything to be fast, efficient, and provocative to consumers. The food industry is what drives our economy and gives people an appetite to create as well as consume.
In his piece, Gopnik discusses the polar differences between American cuisine and French cuisine, yet he spends more time talking about the culture of French cuisine and how differently they view food and cooking. For the French, food is less an industry than a culture. The aim is more for nourishment and pleasure instead of entertainment and profit, which drive the world of food and cooking in America. The French possess tradition and deep roots from their heritage that America lacks.

While American’s strive to create something tangible for everyone, creating the allusion of a culture, France possesses a culture from the very start. American’s are constantly trying to escape their national culinary tradition, to lose the traditional ways of cooking and presentation of dishes from the past. We want to create something new and push the envelope even further. On the other hand, the French desire to hold onto their heritage and take pride in the traditions of their French cuisine and culture.

Gopnik’s piece is one that helps us to realize how culture and traditions are formed and what role food plays in our nationalism and pride. He brings to our attention the ways in which food can be used as a statement, especially in America where we are constantly attempting to re-create and lose the culinary traditions of the past. Understanding these concepts are what help us to see nations and cultures in different lenses, allowing us to derive meaning and appreciation from a diversity of food culture and tradition around the world.