Everycountryhasitsownfavouritefoods. Sowhenpeopleleavehomeandmoveto a differentcountry, gettingusedtothenewfoodtherecanbe a surprise.
Foodcanhavestrange-soundingnames. Ifyouknowwhat a toadis, it's ananimalverysimilarto a frog. Youmightbesurprisedtohearthat a famousEnglishmealisToadinthe
Inthisprogramme, we'reexploringpeople's firstimpressionsof a newculturethroughitsfood. We'llbehearinghowtwowomen – one a refugee, theother a dietician – adaptedtothefoodoftheirnewhome. Andasusual, we'llbelearningsomeusefulnewvocabularytoo.
Butfirst, I have a questionforyou, Neil. A Britishsummerwouldn't becompletewithout a traditionalcreamtea – scones, creamandjam, eatenwith a cupoftea. Itsoundslovelybutstrangelytherehavebeenmanyargumentsovercreamteas. Soisthecreamteadebateabout… a. Whethertodrinkteaorcoffee?
b. Whethertoputcreamorjamontothesconefirst?
c. Whetherstrawberryorraspberryjamisbetter?
Well, I thinkthecontroversyiswhethertoaddcreamorjamfirst.
A stapleis a basicandimportanttypeoffoodthatisregularlyeatenby a largeportionofthepopulation. SoNataliaadaptedherrecipes, replacingUkrainianwithDutchingredients, tocreate a newkindofcookingwhichhercustomersloved.
When I cameouttotheCaribbean, I wasreallyinfor a shockwhenitcametoflavouringandseasoningfood. Andseasoningisreally, reallyanintegralpartoffoodpreparation
Heretheseasoningismultiple, multiplelayers. Ittookme a whiletogetusedtoitbecauseeverybodyhastheirownwayofseasoningandtheirownlittletweaksandtherearenoquantities.
Soitreallytakes a lotofpractice, a lotoftrialanderror. And I thinkmyfamilydidnotalwaysappreciatetheerrorsinthetrials.
WhenRachelmovedtoTobago, shewasinfor a shock. Thephrasetobeinfor a shockmeanstobesureofexperiencing a surprisingorunpleasantsituation. InRachel's case, thesurpriseinvolvedseasoning – thesalt, herbsandspicesaddedtofoodtoenhancetheflavour.
IntheCaribbean, seasoningis a bigdeal. Everyonehastheirownseasoningrecipe, includinglittletweaksorsmalladjustmentswhichtheyhaveaddedthemselves. Ittooktimefor
Racheltodevelopherseasoningskills, mainlythroughtrialanderror – a wayofsolvingproblemsbytrying a numberofdifferentmethodsandlearningfromthemistakesyoumakealongtheway.
Whetheryou'refleeingwar, starting a newjoborenjoying a creamtea, itseemsthere's lotstolearnabout a placefromitsfood, includingBritain. So I thinkit's timetorevealtheanswertomyquestion, Neil. WhyisthetraditionalBritishcreamteacontroversial?
Well I guesseditwasbecausepeopledisagreeaboutwhethercreamorjamshouldgoonthesconefirst.
Whichwasthecorrectanswer. Andanyonewhosaysit's jamfirstisjustwrong. OK, let's recapthevocabularywe'velearntinthisprogramme, startingwithcomfortzone – a situationinwhichyoufeelcomfortableandincontrol.
Toadaptmeanstochangesoastosuccessfullyfitinwith a newsituation.
A stapleis a basicandimportanttypeoffoodthatisregularlyeatenby a largeportionofthepopulation.
Thephrasetobeinfor a shockmeanstobeguaranteedtoexperience a surprisingorunpleasantsituation.
A tweakis a smalladjustmenttosomethinginordertoimproveit.
Andfinally, ifyousolve a problembytrialanderror, youtry a numberofdifferentmethodsandlearnfromthemistakesyoumake.