Food and Culture: The Universal Language that Connects Us
- James Canter
- Oct 15
- 8 min read
Food is the common thread across the world that binds us together. No matter where you live in the world, there are other cultures and global cuisines to explore within your local community. There is such a wide variety of cuisines, just waiting for you to choose.
Breaking Barriers Through Food and Culture
Back during Desert Storm, I was living and working near MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The base held what they called a Coalition Forces International Gala. Picture this: a massive aircraft hangar, and inside, individuals from over 30 nations, each with their own table piled high with the food of their home country.
That night, you didn’t need a translator; you just walked from table to table, eating your way into someone else’s culture. There’s really no better way to explore another culture than through food. In my opinion, it's really the best way.
Exploring Global Cuisines in Your Local Community
When looking to experience new cuisines and cultures, my first step is to go to restaurants around my local community or areas I am familiar with. I try to spot new foods and restaurants that expose me to various cultures. You, too, can go into your neighborhood and choose restaurants around you to spark your curiosity. You can even start with media, like TV and social media, that showcase different types of food.
You will find what either amazes you or what makes you want to know more about the culture or travel to new places. Or maybe you find out it's not for you and you can keep exploring. The point is to make an effort to see what it is all about. Do the dragons in the art at the restaurant interest you? Or maybe it's the live fire cooking and showmanship that make you stop and think… What is it all about, and what does it mean within that culture?
You don’t truly know the cuisine or culture until you travel to those places, but you can get pretty close to building that foundation by visiting restaurants near you. It's not always about being comfortable; it's about going outside your comfort zone, which can be scary, at times, but just take one step, one foot outside what you are used to.
Food and Culture as a Bridge Across Borders
Food can be a personal journey, and it is so accessible in so many ways. The levels of experiences and communal activities can be different based on your individual needs or within a cultural custom. Even trying simple switches in common places like McDonald's when you travel can give you unique insights into where you are visiting.
When my family and I visited Rome, I spent my time visiting local cafes, drinking coffee, and talking with chefs, often while my family was still asleep. It was my “me time”. Here we are, right by the Colosseum in Rome, and my family insists on having McDonald’s. So I went with my son, and to my surprise, they offered special menu items you could only find in Italy. There was a fresh bakery, and the McDonald's even sold tiramisu. We left with our order, and I even left with some macarons. After building a relationship with the local restaurateurs, I couldn’t bring myself to walk through the neighborhood holding the McDonald’s bag, so I had my son do the “walk of shame” through the street on the way back to the hotel.
As we passed by, we heard with disappointment, “Cheeeeeffff”, almost as if asking, “What are you doing eating that?”. Food brought us a mutual understanding, even though we were from completely different countries and cultures. Food mirrors the same conversations on today’s important questions about society. Who are you? Where do you come from? What is your cultural heritage? And as a person, food shares what interests you and even lets those around you understand your family values.
Preserving Cultural Identity Through Food
Many people do not realize the role food plays in preserving culture and identity, and even touching on hard topics like displacement, political struggles, and migration. Food, a lot of the time, especially in the older times, was part of oral culinary traditions and practices, passed through generations. When you have that way of recording cultural practices and continuously practicing and tweaking family recipes, and you share them with other people, people are really taking their knowledge and adding to it. With each generation comes more knowledge and the curating of these dishes with what foods are available.
Oral retelling of food preparation and family or cultural recipes preserves the idea and meaning behind food, family, tradition, sustenance, creativity, and ancestral heritage. It preserves so many different things in the grand scheme of life, family, and community. There is no better way to know someone than by what they choose to put on their plate. When food comes to the table, you can learn about the people and who they are just by the types of food on the plate and the way they display food. Food is influenced by the culture you grow up in, but also individualities, personalities, and the way we express ourselves are often preserved and reflected through food as well.
Cultural Expressions of Food and Hospitality
When we talk about what food reflects, it also communicates love, respect, hospitality, and celebration without words. Korean culture is a great example of that. It is all about showing love, respect, and care in food form. When I was trying to learn Hangul, as with all the languages I’ve tried to learn, I always started to learn “How are you doing?”.
In Hangul, there are literal translations, but because the culture is centered around nourishing your guests with food and drink, they don’t ask “How are you doing?” but more “Have you eaten today?” It's a response to make sure your needs and hunger are met, a way to show love, care, and concern. There is nothing more welcoming than truly understanding the personal needs of others and trying to meet them. In Korea, "서비스" (pronounced "service") has a special meaning, referring to something given for free as a gesture of appreciation. This practice is deeply embedded in the Korean food scene, especially in restaurants and cafes. These are tangible actions tied to family or personal values.
These practices aren’t just in Korea. When I lived in South Texas and traveled within Northern Mexico areas, their culture also had specific ways of welcoming you and expressing their feelings towards you. When you attend an asada (a traditional barbecue gathering where meat is grilled outdoors), they welcome you with a cold cerveza (beer), and the abuelos (grandparents or elders, who often hold respected positions in Hispanic families) make sure you're comfortably seated and well-fed, all these gestures showing you that you truly matter to them.
In Japanese restaurant culture, when you enter an establishment, staff members often greet you with a synchronized 'いらっしゃいませ' (irasshaimase, meaning 'welcome'), promptly seat you, and serve warm miso soup. This traditional broth made from fermented soybean paste is considered a staple comfort food and is given without you having to order it. This immediate hospitality demonstrates their appreciation for your patronage and embodies the omotenashi (Japanese philosophy of selfless hospitality) tradition of making guests feel valued from the moment they arrive.
Staple Foods in Culture and Civilization
Just like the miso soup mentioned before, many cultures have “staple foods”. I feel like most cultures have some sort of starch, something to put some heft on you. These starches give longevity to your energy, which historically helped you in physical laborours activities. Rice in Asia, potatoes in Ireland, and breads from Europe would be considered staple foods in my opinion. These staple foods emerged from ancient necessity, cheap, accessible sustenance that could fill hungry stomachs while providing the energy needed for daily survival. These food staples from a variety of global cuisines are what kept civilizations alive.
Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone With Food and Culture
As you think about food and culture, step out of your comfort zone, try that new dish! Be brave. Make it your focus to find a certain type of restaurant in your community, learn about the culture behind it, and dive into the food. Try a culture or language exchange that revolves around food: share your traditions, learn from someone else’s, and discuss one of your favorite aspects of your cuisine with someone outside your culture. Sparks of conversation often appear in the most unexpected places. That’s what cultural and language exchanges are all about: challenging what we know, opening our minds, and learning from one another.
Food, Empathy, and Global Understanding
The learning and growth process is a lifelong journey. As you expand your experiences, you gain a broader perspective of the world and the people in it. With this comes understanding and empathy; you start to see life through a wider lens, appreciating similarities, struggles, and joys beyond your own culture, but recognizing similarities within your own too. We are all human, and empathy and compassion are among the greatest benefits of stepping outside your comfort zone. They help you make better choices in every area of life and give you a superpower: seeing the world without snap judgments. Culture, travel, and exploring cuisines enhance this lens on a global level, helping you truly understand others.
The Power of Food and Culture to Change the World
By sharing food, language, and experiences, we humanize one another, and that simple act has the power to change the world.
If you want to change the world, there's no better way to do that than the thread of food! At the core of existence, we all gotta eat!
Food, Culture, and My Journey Through Guerrilla Gourmet
For me, food has always been more than just nourishment; it’s been a way to connect, to teach, and to build bridges across cultures. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of creating experiences where food sparks conversations, invites curiosity, and gives people a taste of the world in unexpected ways. Through Guerrilla Gourmet, I’ve been able to share that vision, whether in the form of a grand championship paella, a pop-up Cubano sandwich, or simply serving stew to a community in need.
Stories From the Table
Local Flavors, Global Perspective At Guerrilla Gourmet, we set out to create experiences that bring people together through diverse cuisines and perspectives.
Grand Championship Paella Cooking paella isn’t just about rice and seafood—it’s about the fire, the community, and the cultural history simmering in that pan.
Tampa-Style Cubano Pop-Up Sometimes, food travels with you. Bringing my Tampa-style Cubano sandwich to San Antonio was about sharing a part of my story with a new community.
Resilience Through Cuisine Food doesn’t stop when life gets hard. Even when hurricanes and setbacks hit, I learned that feeding people is also about hope.
Stewing Through the Storm After Hurricane Harvey, we kept serving—because a hot meal can mean stability when everything else feels uncertain.
New Concepts at Pearl Farmers Market Food keeps evolving, and so do I. Launching new ideas at Pearl Farmers Market was another step in connecting people through flavors and community.
All of these moments remind me why I believe so deeply in the bond between food and culture. Every dish tells a story of resilience, migration, creativity, and community. Whether it’s a paella pan, a Cubano sandwich, or a bowl of stew after a storm, food is how we show love, build trust, and preserve memory.
That’s the heart of my journey and why I’ll always believe that the power of food can change the world, one plate at a time.
What a great read! You've inspired me to visit a few restaurants I've been eyeing in my neighborhood.
Well said