New York City A Representation of Multiculturalism in the Food Industry.

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New York City: A Representation of Multiculturalism in the Food Industry.

Introduction

Cultural diversity has been one of the most popular topics in the recent times. This may partly have resulted from the fact that the world has essentially become a global village with people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds travelling to other parts of the world and settling there. As much as some cultures and ethnic groups may be predominant in certain parts of the world, it is extremely difficult to find areas where only one culture lives or areas which are solely composed of one ethnic group. This has essentially informed the policies of governments, as well as those of the societies. Scholars note that once a new ethnic culture is introduced in a particular area, some of its aspects are inculcated into the people of that area. While there are variations as to the magnitude of changes that occur on either side, the fact is that “both the entrant and the “original” group are changed in certain ways especially with regard to the manner in which they relate to each other” (Jayaraman 4). On the same note, the business world has not been spared by the cultural diversity occurring in many parts of the world. Given the changes in the ethnic or cultural composition or demographics of the population in particular regions, businesses have had to change their tactics in order to retain their relevance, as well as safeguard their long-term sustainability and profitability (Berger and Samuel 23). This has been extremely evident in the case of New York City, especially in the hotel, restaurant and food industry, where the menus are always a reflection of the ethnic and cultural diversity represented in the city.

New York City represents what is arguably the most vibrant, as well as sprawling metropolis in the entire world. It takes up five boroughs, each of which has its own unique identity. This should not come as a surprise especially considering that “the five municipalities, which include the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and Manhattan, were each autonomous municipalities prior to the historic 1898 consolidation” (Berger and Samuel 17). Nevertheless, New York can be said to be the ethnic culinary, culture, as well as food capital city in the entire globe. As the world most incredible “Melting Pot”, the city is well endowed with the rich traditions pertaining to diverse, as well as authentic ethnic cultures and foods. This culture and food is celebrated by millions of old and new immigrants connected to each other by their religion, culture, nations, as well as language origins from the various parts of the globe (Jayaraman 13). New York has had to change in order to align itself to the culinary preferences of people from the varied parts of the world. In essence, it is not difficult to come across world cultures and foods, be they African, Asian, European, American, Middle Eastern, and Latina without stepping out of the five boroughs of New York City (Jayaraman 17).

New York City is home to an estimated 24,000 restaurants of different classes and with different menus. The restaurant industry in New York City is heterogeneous, operating a wide range of services ranging from full-service fine dining establishments to take-out restaurants, mid-priced ethnic restaurants, myriad coffee bars, and national chain fast-food establishment among other food serving establishments (Skinner 6). A large number of the restaurants in New York City are small with research in 2004 showing that approximately 72% of the establishments had less than twenty employees, while only 15% surpassed that number (Skinner 6). There are also variations in the form of ownership of these establishments. It goes without saying that the foods in these restaurants have different prices, in which case “price would be a differentiating factor” (Albala 12). However, the key distinguishing factor in this case is the variation in the dishes offered in the different restaurants. Research shows that more than 40 per cent of the restaurants offer foods and cuisine from diverse cultural backgrounds. These may be offered on specific days or all-through (Albala 17).

There are numerous international restaurants that offer intercontinental dining. Anyone looking for Cantonese cuisine would have their craving satisfied in Jing Jong Restaurant along 20 Elizabeth Street. Italian cuisine is offered in the Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca at 110 Waverly Place, while South African foods can be found at the i-Shebeen Madiba at 195 Dekalb Ave. In addition, Pakistani cultural foods may be obtained from the Pakistani Restaurant at 478 9th Ave, a restaurant that offers Middle Eastern and Indian platters (Burke 9). On the same note, an individual with an appetite for Russian foods would satisfy it at Firebird Russian Restaurant, a relatively expensive restaurant on 365 W 46th Street, while Moroccan cuisines are offered at Sahara East restaurant on 184 1st Ave. Complementing the picture is the Darbar restaurant on 152 E 46th St., an Indian restaurant that offers a wide range of Indian favorites, as well as the Bona restaurant that offers Polish cuisines (Burke 17). Others include the Bolo restaurant offering Spanish dishes, Shun Lee Palace that offers a wide range of Chinese delights from various regions in China, Flushing restaurant that offers Taiwanese foods, St Marks Place for Japanese foods, Absolute Bagel for Chinese foods and many more. These restaurants are simply a portion of the close to 12000 restaurants offering foods from different parts of the globe either as their main dishes or as part of their menu. While there are variations on the prices and the representation of the varied cultures of the world, it is indeed difficult to lack food from any part of the world. This underlines the fact that New York has retained its nature as a multicultural city.

On the same note, this multicultural diversity in the food industry is not restricted to restaurants and establishments. Mobile food vendors have also embraced the aspect of multicultural representation in the foods that they offer. New York City is home to more than 5000 mobile food vendors selling their foods at the sidewalks of the city’s streets. However, given the increased competition that they face from each other, as well as the key establishments, they not only have to maintain high standards of sanitation but also diversify in the types of dishes that they offer. Research shows that more than 65 per cent of the mobile food vendors offer a mix of foods from different cultural backgrounds ranging from Tibet to Morocco, Japan, China, India and the Middle East among other parts of the globe. On the same note, New York often has tours where individuals can sample foods from different backgrounds offered by the mobile food vendors. In 2012, for example, New York City had Jackson Heights Food Cart Tour, which offered individuals an opportunity to sample the diverse foods offered in Queens neighborhood (Serjeant and Brunnstrom 1). The foods on offer included Tibetan, and Indian, as well as Mexican cuisines. For less than a hundred dollars, the tour that allowed an individual to sample foods from around the world could be done within a single afternoon. The foods offered in New York City’s “Eat The Street Tours” provide an opportunity to sample the life of immigrants in the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the world including foods such as Uruguayan cookies (known as alfajors) and Tibetan dumplings (termed as momos) (Serjeant and Brunnstrom 3). These dishes are not only a representation of the cultural diversity of the individuals in New York City but also underline the nature of the city as a global capital and the most vibrant representation of cultural diversity in the world.

In conclusion, cultural diversity has been an extremely popular topic in the recent times. This is especially considering that the demographics of different parts of the globe have been changing as they gain individuals from different parts of the world. This is the case for New York City, which may be termed as the most vibrant metropolis in the entire globe. While there are varied elements of cultural or ethnic diversity in the city, the most prevalent one remains the food industry. New York City is dotted with more than 24000 restaurants, a large percentage of which offer dishes from different cultural backgrounds either as the main dishes or in combination with others. On the same note, there are more than 5000 mobile food vendors in the five boroughs of New York City, more than half of which provide dishes from different cultures. These are cemented by the “Eat the Street Tours” that allow for the sampling of foods from different backgrounds at less than a hundred dollars.

Works cited

Albala, Ken. Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. Print

Berger, Peter L, and Samuel P. Huntington. Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.

Burke, Damian. Top International Restaurants in New York City. Ezine Articles, 2005 accessed 7th May 2013 from HYPERLINK “http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-International-Restaurants-in-New-York-City&id=751943” http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-International-Restaurants-in-New-York-City&id=751943

Jayaraman, Saru. “In the Wake of Sept. 11, NYC Restaurant Workers Explore New Strategies.” Asheville Global Report, No. 238, 2003. 7-13. Print

Serjeant, Jill and Brunnstrom, David. Jackson Heights Food Cart Tour Dares You To ‘Eat The Street’. The Huffington Post, 2012. Accessed 7th May 2013 from HYPERLINK “http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/eating-the-food-cart-stre_n_1589210.html” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/eating-the-food-cart-stre_n_1589210.html

Skinner, Curtis. The hospitality industry in New York City. New York: Pelliparius Consulting, 2004. Print