Inès Akpinar (E23) recently completed a world tour of food habits. Her aim was to understand the specificities of each country and anticipate their influence on the future of gastronomy.

ESSEC Alumni: Which countries did you visit? 

Inès Akpinar: I visited six countries in four continents. Sweden, because Scandinavian countries are winning more and more culinary competitions and we are still unfamiliar with this rarely-exported cuisine. Turkey, because the cultural mix of its population can be seen in its rich and diversified local gastronomy. Thailand, because it is South-East Asia’s most reputed country for food. South Korea, because its culinary traditions are seeing rapid globalisation. Mexico, because there are very strong links between national culture and food habits, particularly during the Day of the Dead. And the USA, because everyone criticises their burgers and fast food, yet almost everyone eats them.  

EA: How did you go about understanding local food habits better? 

I. Akpinar: I gathered some information before leaving, but I didn’t go into depth because I wanted to keep an element of surprise and approach the exercise from that perspective. Once in the country, I contacted various professionals via LinkedIn and spoke to the inhabitants I came across during food events or simply in the street. As part of my fieldwork, I also visited farms, supermarkets, restaurants and so on.

EA: What have you learnt from this experience? 

I. Akpinar: Food has a special meaning everywhere, particularly in symbolic terms. That said, this value is more often than not altered by globalisation and digital technology, which have a tendency to blur differences and create constants that I found in every country I visited. Each destination nevertheless preserves its specificities. From my experience, Sweden seems to be more aware of healthy food; Turkey manages to reconcile generous recipes with balanced meals by making do with fruit for dessert; people in Thailand and South Korea eat more reasonable amounts and smaller portions, while Mexico and the USA have a mutual influence on each other.  

EA: How do you hope to build on the information you collected on your travels? 

I. Akpinar: On a professional level, I’m moving towards catering and I hope to meet with the sector’s players to compare my observations with their vision, because it is always useful to put your analyses into perspective. On a personal level, I plan to invent recipes for fusion cuisine!

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni. 

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