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The Food Chain

Factual: Food & Drink

Examining what it takes to put food on your plate

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

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The Food Chain: How a new cuisine is born

Magazines & Reviews

How a new cuisine is born

18/11/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - The Food Chain, How a new cuisine is born

The evolution of ‘Cape-Malay’ and ‘Viet-Cajun’ cuisines

The evolution of ‘Cape-Malay’ and ‘Viet-Cajun’ cuisines.

How is a new cuisine created? Ruth Alexander explores two unique cuisines in South Africa and the USA: ‘Cape-Malay’- a 300-year old tradition born out of colonialism and slavery that unites Indonesian and Dutch tastes; and ‘Viet-Cajun’ -  a more recent phenomenon that has seen the Vietnamese diaspora experimenting with Cajun flavours in Texas. We explore how history’s darkest episodes can lead to some of the most captivating flavour combinations and ask why some people will cringe at the term ‘fusion food’. 

(Picture: Pot lid being opened. Credit: Getty/BBC)

If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Contributors:

Cass Abrahams: Chef and Author, Cape Town, South Africa
Mai Pham: Food writer, Houston, USA

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