Cultural Codes of Food

With brands starting to commercialise Asian culture, Asian food and beverages are starting to play a performative role on social media. But there is more to Asian food than a lifestyle glow up. Our experience of taste isn’t defined by sensory experiences alone. Decoding cultural codes of Asian food can uncover signs for the future of how food and beverage categories could be experienced.

Code 1: Heirloom recipes as connection to roots

Every Bengali household has a Siddika Kabir book sitting around somewhere passed down through generations. These books are filled with scribbles and notes from parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. When teaching me to cook, my mother would often reminisce about her childhood, spending winters by coal fires making roti recalling the enhanced taste from the smell, warmth and smoke. We all know some dishes never taste good unless made by our mother or grandmother. This is because they carry a spiritual connection to our family and roots. It’s not just the food itself, but the people who make it and those we share it with that shape our culinary experiences.

What if food and beverage was used as a tool for cultural continuity?

Code 2: Food as a symbol of love

Every South Asian know there is something meaningful in parents washing and cutting fruit for you. Cut fruit can mark occasions or serve as a thoughtful gesture. Often instead of saying ‘I’m sorry’, we would get a bowl of fruit after a fight. When we return home after a long time away, someone in the family often buys fresh fruit, cuts it, and has it prepared for us as soon as we arrive.

It’s not just fruit. Congee or variations of congee across Asia resembles a pure form of love, warmth and care. It’s not the food itself but the thought and intention behind the effort that makes it meaningful.

What if food and beverage could be used to amplify small and big moments of gesture?

Code 3: Togetherness through communal rituals

Certain Asian cultures have an order to eating meals. For example, in Chinese meals, meat dishes come first and there is always a large bowl of soup to be shared throughout the meal. These rituals make large groups of people go through a meal with a certain rhythm creating a sense of togetherness.

Then there his how the food is consumed. South Asians eat with their fingers. This is rooted in Ayurveda principles – fingers stimulate digestion and touching your food promotes mindful eating. The history of chopsticks share certain similarities. It’s also a practical way to share a meal among many from one plate and… somehow eating together makes it taste better. Think Hotpots – never taste the same when consumed alone.

What if food and beverage went beyond commerce to connect people and communities together through rituals?

For shorter horizons, consider:

1. Premium and luxury being about preservation and conservation of culture.
2. Food and beverage as a gifting through the product (not just packaging).
3. Food rituals as a way to connect people, passions and communities.