The local cuisines of a place often reflect its history of intertwining with foreign elements, while those that stand the test of time and popularity become traditional dishes, the others remain foreign or simply forgotten. The creative nature of local cuisine thus becomes a medium for studying the geopolitical forces that influence and modify a culture, as this project intends to do.
While dishes like risotto alla Milanese and ossobuco use ingredients that were seen as exotic at one point in history, they have now become the quintessential dishes of Milanese cuisine, albeit mostly for tourists. With today’s ever-changing global political and social landscape, which Milanese dishes reflect the times in which we live? And above all, what are the basic conditions that led to the existence of these dishes?
Anas Chao proposes a project that begins with a workshop that brings together different residents of Milan to verbally exchange their dishes. He believes that such interactions can help us understand and acknowledge socio-economic differences, those that have divided people into closed communities in the past. This by no means means means that at the end of the workshop we will all be holding hands, dancing around the table and singing ‘we are the world’, but at least it will give us a glimpse into the various layers of Milan.