Is Ghana relatively to cosmopolitanism or not?
Answers
Answer: Yes it is related to cosmopolitanism
Answer:
catering businesses is a natural development in the migration process and an important step in regenerating the migrant community. It also enriches the culinary landscape and palates of the host population. African restaurants have remained a curiosity in the United Kingdom despite the large number of (West) African immigrants. The reasons are complex and examined here through the example of Ghanaians in London, answering the following questions: 1) Why did Ghanaian cuisine and restaurants in London remain out of the limelight in the first period of migration (1950s-80s); 2) why have they gradually become more successful on the London cosmopolitan stage? The crux of the article is twofold: an exploration of the social organisation of food and cooking followed by a discussion of meal formats. Ghanaian women have been key actors in the food/restaurant scene and traditional meal formats have hampered wider appreciation of the cuisine. However, new Ghanaian/African fusion cuisine seems more successful.
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Index terms
Mots-clés :migrant, entreprise alimentaire, restaurant, genre, cuisine, repas, modèle de repas, Ghana, Afrique de l’ouest, Londres
Keywords :migrants, food businesses, restaurants, gender, cooking, meals, meal format, Ghana, West Africa, London
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Outline
Introduction
Migration pattern of Ghanaians: focus on gender and the development of food businesses
The eating system framework and the concept of meal format
Methods
Findings
Supply of Ghanaian food and the social organisation of food and cooking in the public sphere in London
Developments between 1950s and early 2000
Establishment of restaurants – early years
Changing attitudes and gender roles
Ghanaian meal format and menus
Present-day developments
Discussion
Gradual shifting of attitudes regarding social organisation of food and cooking
Modernising menus and meals in Ghanaian restaurants
Conclusion
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Introduction
1People migrating to a new country strive to maintain their food habits though change is usually inevitable. In the public sphere, the establishment of grocery shops and eating places is a natural development in the migration process and an important step in regenerating the migrant community (Diner 2001; Hage 1997). Ethnic restaurants, typically established by men, are significant means of cultural identification and an enactment of the past; places where they can “sense home, eat home and dream about home” (Sabar and Posner 2013: 198).
2Ethnic restaurants founded by the first wave of migrants usually serve the immigrant population from that country (Ray 2016). To expand their business, migrant entrepreneurs need to capture the curiosity of the host population and secure a wider clientele. This can be done by adjusting the original recipes to make the dishes more palatable for the uninitiated (cf. Sammartino 2010), or by developing a “hybrid menu”, with a selection of ethnic and host population dishes (Ray 2016: 89). Ray (2016; 2017) describes how migrants became established in New York, creating a taste of home and influencing the American culinary landscape as a result of transactions between producers, consumers, and critics. One of his central arguments is that the changing emphasis of American cuisine can be explained by immigration patterns. He identifies three main waves of migrants – starting with Northern Europeans, followed by Italians and eastern Europeans, then Latinos and Asians – all of whom have left an imprint on the overall American cuisine (Ray 2016; Ray 2017).
3Most of the major minority ethnic communities in the United Kingdom opened up “culinary safe havens” (Sabar and Posner 2013: 198) very early in the migration process, such as the Chinese and South Asians (Basu 2002; Chan 2002; Grove and Grove 2008). Interestingly, the Chinese, the smallest of the major colonial/post-colonial migrant groups, has had the greatest impact on the culinary landscape of Britain. In 2015, Mintel listed Chinese as the nation’s favourite foreign cuisine, followed closely by Indian (see Figure 1).
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1 Seven percent of the total population of London of over eight million is Black African, and West Af (...)
2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-