ezzidin_48-49r2.qxp_Special Report 2/3/22 12:30 PM Page 48
Special Report
Food, Culture and Identity: On the Importance of Rolling Grape Leaves By Toqa Ezzidin
JEFF GREENBERG/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Burger joints and fried chicken restaurants have been expanding at an exponential pace in recent years across the region. These “restaurants” are no longer solely run by big corporations, such as KFC and McDonald’s, which started penetrating the market in the 1990s. Rather, local entrepreneurs have begun emulating their business philosophy by opening their own fast-casual concepts. These restaurants are willfully steering toward a model that is efficient, capable of mass production and requires little to no culiThe Texas Chicken fast food restaurant in a Dubai mall food court in the United Arab Emirates. nary mastery. A GROWING BODY of evidence shows that food—and the methThere are multiple elements that explain the rise of fast-food ods we use to prepare it—is an inseparable part of personal identity, restaurants in lieu of traditional food. Studies have shown that culture, politics and history. This is an important reality for the people younger generations have different eating habits than those of their of the Middle East to reflect on, given the recent massive influx of elders—a result of globalized mass media and immigration flows, Western eating habits into the region. among other factors. The association of a dish or cuisine with a country or even locality In an increasingly fast-paced world, there is also a fading urge to is common. It’s more than just taking pride in traditional food—it also invest large amounts of time in preparing and cooking food. Syrian influences domestic policies and global politics. But what happens food researcher and writer Antonio Tahhan told the Washington when food is simply about money and convenience? Report that the process to prepare traditional Middle Eastern food Envision this: A food menu that is tens of pages long with countis rather lengthy. For instance, it takes a lot of time to roll warak enab less food items that are largely unrelated and lack relatedness to (stuffed grape leaves), a popular Middle Eastern dish. Given the one single cuisine. This style of menu is obviously not uncommon growing adherence to the “time is money” capitalistic mantra, many across restaurants in the United States. However, this U.S.-centric now view rolling warak enab as a waste of time, or simply an unexperience has been steadily gaining traction in the Middle East. necessary inconvenience. The rise of fast food is doing more than merely diversifying the cuisine of the region—it is also changing the way people engage Toqa Ezzidin earned her master’s degree in intercultural and inter‐ with each other. Tahhan points out that the preparation of traditional national communication from American University’s School of In‐ dishes usually happens over family gatherings. While cultures ternational Service (SIS) in Washington, DC. Ezzidin, now living in Egypt, is interning with the Washington Report. across the Middle East have historically embraced large extended 48
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MARCH/APRIL 2022
