What we talk about when we talk about colombian food: the perennial expat/local discussion

I was browsing Facebook last night, as you do, when I stumbled upon this rather comical video featuring the lovely Sofia Vergara and the rather less-than-lovely Gordon Ramsey:

It was interesting for two reasons. Firstly because this is one conversation that comes up all the time between expats and locals: food. Colombians are typically ferociously proud of their local cuisine, whereas those from other countries can be more difficult to convince. Just take a look at Paul and JL’s arepa debate from a previous post, and Paul and Chris struggling to get through some rather un-delicious fried ants. Colombian food can be a divisive issue, although many people, local and foreign alike, don’t really realise it until the discussion is had.

I remember particularly one night discussing with Marcela who had the better cuisine out of Britain and Colombia. It lasted for a fair old time and, needless to say, the argument was not settled. The funny thing is, most Colombians would look at me, like Sofia Vergara does to Gordon Ramsey, and wonder what the hell I’m on about: Colombian food is vastly superior, they would say. That’s down to opinion, of course, but it does make for a fun debate since there are many factors that swing in favour of both cuisines. Just don’t start this debate with a French person.

The other interesting factor is that these rather mundane conversations we have from day to day are now finding their way onto television. Yup, where Colombian food would previously have conjured very little in the global imagination, now at least people are beginning to discuss it on international TV. See Anthony Bourdain in Colombia for more proof. That’s good news, eh? Exactly what Marcela and I were debating over a beer and, ironically, fish and chips in the Britannia (Bogotá) is now the material of guest show hosts on the Jay Leno show. My! How we’re growing!