Different Foods from Different Places
After studying in Madrid, Spain for the past four months, needless to say it was wonderful to come home. Having the amazing opportunity to live in Spain and travel to several other European countries opened my eyes to new things and gave me a greater understanding of different cultures and traditions. Two obvious dissimilarities compared to the United States are the preparation of food and the act of eating, which vary greatly in Europe, particularly in Spain.
To start off, when eating breakfast in Spain, you are introduced to different kinds of meats, cheeses, olives, crostini’s, smoked fish, and warm milk to accompany your cereal. This is unlike the typical American breakfast consisting of omelets, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausage or cereal. Another difference is the importance of lunch in Spain. People take a couple hours to prepare and enjoy their mid-day meals, usually including a glass of wine or a beer. To them, this is the most important meal of the day, as they spend their time relaxing and catching up with friends and family. Oftentimes, employees take a lunch break of an hour and a half to three hours during the workweek. In contrast, the United States puts a stronger emphasis on having extravagant dinners instead of lunches. Because lunch is the main meal in Spain, Spaniards do not start eating dinner until around ten in the evening.
Not only did the time at which we ate differ, the selection on the menu did as well. Ham is the most prevalent type of meat in Spain and chicken is harder to come by. I loved Manchego cheese, which comes from the La Mancha region of Spain. One of my favorite unhealthy dishes was the Croquettas, consisting of cheese, chicken, and potatoes. Another beloved entre was the seafood paella, containing whole shrimp and prawns. These shellfish needed to be taken apart before eating. Also, in the Spanish region, olives, olive oil, and bread are very common with each meal.
Foods were unique in each country that I had the pleasure of visiting this fall. In Munich, sausages and pretzels are hugely popular. When staying in Paris, crepes could be found on almost every busy street corner. Something interesting that I came across in Rome is the lack of chicken included in pasta dishes.
All these different types of foods can relate back to the meetings or events that we plan or produce in the United States. If you are working with a company that has many foreign employees and attendees, acknowledge their culture and traditions. Make an effort to include some foods that may be more comfortable to them. For example, if there are attendees from Europe, include sliced meats, cheeses, olives, and crostini’s for breakfast. Another way to integrate the culture of the attendees is through the theme of the event, which could be an “Around the World” buffet, by providing dishes and stations from the different countries that the attendees are from. Play along with these ideas. The attendees will greatly appreciate the effort that was made to recognize their cultural backgrounds.
