Gourmet Food Nation

Most people today have a much greater level of sophistication about what they eat than a similar demographic little over a decade ago before the avalanche of cooking shows and internet cooking videos from all parts of the world.  In my first trips abroad I found the foods to be a total mystery yet today I think that people everywhere would recognize staples like a Greek salad, Peruvian ceviche, enchiladas, paella, a salade niçoise, etc. We’ve come a long way, baby. I think that Americans and Brits have probably come the furthest in our appetite for new foods and especially in rediscovering the lost art of cooking, something people here in the Mediterranean basin never forgot.

I think that a lot of people here in Spain would be shocked to learn how well many Americans eat these days. It’s not about hamburgers and hotdogs for scores of people intent on catching up to the finest cooks in the world—although most Spaniards have never had a really great hamburger or hotdog. After generations of abandoning our food traditions people all over America and the UK are determined to revive cherished old recipes as well as experiment with cooking from all over the world. If you have any doubt about this just look on the shelves of most American supermarkets and you will find an astounding array of diversity.  Everything from Greek yogurt to Spanish olive oil to Thai chili sauce can be purchased almost everywhere in the United States without even mentioning the explosion of Mexican ingredients available in even the remotest communities. Long Live Food Diversity!