Rediscovering Europe and national Cuisine. How EU integration is shaping food tastes in Sofia and Belgrade in the 21st century

Abstract

This article researches the Europeanisation of the restaurant scenes in Sofia and Belgrade, capitals of an actual EU member-state and an aspiring one. By comparing the representations of foreign cuisines in aspects such as presumed depth and breadth of customers’ knowledge, incorporation of culinary terms, use of authentic ingredients and presence of native chefs, the research establishes similarities between tastes and lifestyle aspirations in the two cities, but also differences in their realisation. This comparison outlines the structural advantages provided by EU membership with its facilitation of the movement of goods and people.Considering the researched material within the debate over European integration endangering local identities, the article contradicts such claims and demonstrates how the influx of foreign cuisines creates pressures to modernize and reassert national cuisines, integrating them within their culinary region.