Main content

Culture shock

How moving abroad changes what you eat and cook.

Imagine not recognising the food in the shops, markets and restaurants around you. Moving to a new country to live and work can come with some culture shocks and food can be a big part of that.

Ruth Alexander speaks to people who have lived in different countries. Listener Jen Ballantyne in the UK has taught in Japan, Tanzania, Azerbaijan and Brunei. Chinese Canadian chef Kelvin Cheung has lived in Belgium and India and today has a restaurant called Jun's in Dubai. Miwa Kishi is a Japanese cookery teacher living with her family in The Netherlands. We also hear from listener Juanita Ruiz a Colombian chef living and working in a small ski town in British Columbia, Canada.

(Photo: a man wearing a blue shirt pushing a supermarket trolley and looking at the shelves of food in a confused manner. Credit: Getty Images)

If you'd like to contact the programme you can email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Beatrice Pickup and Rumella Dasgupta

Available now

26 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Sep 202617:32GMT

Featured

  • .

Broadcasts

  • Thu 24 Sep 202603:32GMT
  • Thu 24 Sep 202612:32GMT
  • Thu 24 Sep 202617:32GMT
  • Thu 24 Sep 202621:32GMT
  • Thu 24 Sep 202622:32GMT
  • Sun 27 Sep 202608:32GMT
  • Sun 27 Sep 202617:32GMT

Food Chain highlights

Food Chain highlights

Tea, coffee, spices, chillies ... snack on a selection of programme highlights

Podcast