Food Interview/Observation Report

Food can be seen predominantly as the need for the human life; a way the human body

uses the assets around itself with the end goal to endure and fuel everyday activities. However,

notwithstanding survival, sustenance can likewise recognize and speak to a culture, reflect

one’s way of life, and even one's financial status. Despite the fact that the meaning of food

itself will never be as simple as a recipe from a cookbook, it will dependably be tied in with

various social philosophies and characters. Given that every single culture is different and

unique, food decisions are frequently subject to change. As for the motivations behind this

report, I have talked with two people, who originate from two different and culturally diverse

backgrounds with the end goal to delineate the likeness, contrasts, and impacting factors

between their food culture and decisions.

The first individual I interviewed was John Lee who is a Korean international student

currently studying at Ohlone College in Fremont. I became friends with him through a local

soccer meet up where we play every Tuesday and Friday. John has been in the United States for

a little less than a year now, and being an International student living on his own, he finds

himself cooking meals similar to those that would be cooked for him back in Korea. Although he

enjoys going out to eat and try new Western foods like pasta, burgers and burrito’s, he still

often finds himself in Korean restaurants as it’s a way for him to be reminded of home. During

the times he is at home, the meals he would make for himself always include rice, various herbs

and spices as well as either meat, fish or poultry. With the exception of certain products like

seaweed and dried fish, John usually finds all the ingredients needed for his meals at Costco,
Lucky’s, or Safeway. When it comes to specific Korean products he is after, he mentioned that

there was a Korean store nearby his apartment which had everything he needed.

When it comes to comparing my own culture to John’s culture, I would say that they are

somewhat similar. In both Indian and Korean culture, rice is often the staple food found in

meals. Both cultures also make a lot of fermented food, in the case of Korean cuisine, kimchi is

an example of this, and in Indian cuisine, dosa and idli are examples of this. Both cultures also

use a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and spices as well as other seasonings. Spiciness is a

must for both food cultures as they often find it to be more flavorful. Although both cultures

love rice, the items that is ate with it is completely different. Indian meals usually consist of

watery stews comprised of a wide range of herbs, spices, vegetables and accompanied with

various papadum’s. In comparison, Korean’s typically couple rice with a few side dishes of

vegetable and meat based dishes. As India is somewhat quite a religious country, I would say a

large portion of people are vegetarian as there are many beliefs of why it is wrong to eat animal

based products.