Economic globalization in the development of fusion cuisine
Simply, globalization connects different parts of the world. Globalization is most used in an economic context, but it often influences and is influenced by politics and culture. However, in this entry, we will focus only on the economic side of globalization in the United States and how it contributed to the development of Asian fusion cuisine as popular culture.
According to Keupper (2020), there are some benefits of globalization on the U.S economy including technology innovation and foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, these advantages continue to generate more benefits to the food industry, in this case, it’s fusion cuisine. How? Let find out.
![globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/972421_be61dd7de3f14502a67cbda2c46276b9~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_399,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic.png)
Figure 1: Reproduced from: The Balance 2020
Firstly, technology innovation opens more opportunities for fusion restaurants to marketing themselves worldwide. Every business should have a digital profile where customers can find quickly and practically put them on the map. For example, social media gives customers the ability to disseminate the information to hundreds of people in a matter of seconds, especially in the restaurant industry which relies strongly on feedback and suggestions. Take Roy Choi, the well-known Korean-American chef, and his Kogi BBQ food truck as an example. Back in November 2008 when Roy and his friend, Mark Manguera started selling Korean BBQ on tacos in a truck. The sales were fine and people enjoyed it. However, when they were continually setting up shop in different locations, it was difficult to build a word-of-mouth audience. Then Twitter began to explode and Choi started tweeting to let his followers know his location in real-time, and the amalgamation of his addictive and inexpensive fusion street food and the in-the-know feeling of finding the next stop of the truck generated a cultural food trend (Alexander 2019). Furthermore, with technology innovation, culinary businesses can easily find and purchase ingredients globally so that the businesses can continue to preserve the authenticity of fusion dishes from both sides of the globe. With the rise of fusion cuisine, American palate has been altered and the American demands for ingredients from further shores continue to increase (Mishan 2017). For instance, a Japanese restaurant opened in Manhattan, New York City which is famous for its Japanese dishes with a French twist created by the owner and his French-training friend. The restaurant’s reputation relies on two different cuisines coming from nowhere near the land it situates. However, thanks to the automated purchasing tool, fresh ingredients can be purchased and delivered 6,000 miles to the States so that the restaurant can fulfill the customers’ demands and maintain its relevance (Lyness 2005).
![1200x630.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/972421_7217717da927448a8ad0b8e3e725ec7f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_725,h_381,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/1200x630.jpg)
Figure 2: Reproduced from: Thrillist 2019
Additionally, with the existence of foreign direct investment (FDI), many restaurant businesses can reduce their food cost and easily pave the way to the market (The Restaurant Times n.d.). That is also a great solution for small businesses that cannot compete with bigger ones. For example, many Indian fusion food businesses in the United States started and survived with FDI including Meherwan Irani, chef, and owner of an Indian street food hotspot named Chai Pani in Asheville, North Carolina who has earned his name and also his hotspot later-become a restaurant in the US fusion cuisine community with the help of FDI (Meltzer 2019).
![Chai-Pani-5b98bd065c61d.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/972421_98c0b02771ef400196d65bfa13873799~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_535,h_401,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Chai-Pani-5b98bd065c61d.jpg)
Figure 3: Indian food at Chai Pani. Reproduced from: Smoky mountains n.d.
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Reference:
Alexander, K 2019, ‘How Roy Choi kicked off the food truck revolution that changed the way Americans eat’, Thrillist, 11 July, viewed 23 May 2020, < https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/roy-choi-kogi-food-truck-revolution>
Kuepper, J 2020, ‘The impact of globalization on economic growth’, The Balance, 4 April, viewed 23 May 2020, < https://www.thebalance.com/globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic-growth-1978843>
Lyness, S 2005, ‘Japanese cuisine with a French twist’, The New York Times, 3 April, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/travel/japanese-cuisine-with-a-french-twist.html?searchResultPosition=26>
Meltzer, M 2019, ‘A new generation of chefs is bringing real Indian food to the South’, Matador Network, 2 April, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://matadornetwork.com/read/us-modern-indian-food-movement/>
Mishan, L 2017, ‘Asian-American cuisine’s rise, and triumph’, The New York Times, 10 November, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/t-magazine/asian-american-cuisine.html?searchResultPosition=1>
The Restaurant Times n.d., ‘100% FDI in food retail would help reduce restaurant food cost’, The Restaurant Times, viewed 23 May 2020, < https://www.posist.com/restaurant-times/trending/100-fdi-food-retail-help-reduce-restaurant-food-costs.html>
Image reference:
Kuepper, J 2020, 'The Impact of Globalization on Economic Growth', image, The Balance, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://www.thebalance.com/globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic-growth-1978843>
Alexander, K 2019, 'How Roy Choi Kicked off the Food Truck Revolution That Changed the Way Americans Eat', image, Thrillist, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/roy-choi-kogi-food-truck-revolution>
Smoky mountains n.d., 'Chai Pani', image, Smoky mountains, viewed 23 May 2020, <https://smokymountains.com/asheville/restaurants/chai-pani/>