Cooking abroad : between instant noodles and fancy restaurants

For many students, going abroad means putting aside a part of one’s culinary culture, and making room for another. I join Giada in her kitchen, busy preparing dinner for her and her friends. As an Erasmus student from Italy, she was confronted to this change of habits.

A culinary challenge

For Giada, cooking is a passion and coming in Germany did not stopped her to exercise it, but has impacted her way of doing it. The selection of produces is the first thing she was confronted to : “At home I have my garden where I cook vegetables in the summer, so I always have fresh food. Because I don’t have the same products than in Italy, I’m also more limited in the range of products and usually cook the same things.”

In addition, the selection of her products had to be readjusted to the low price, as one of the biggest problems students face is budget. Especially in Munich, “the prices of groceries are higher here.” To deal with this problem, many students choose to reduce or completely stop their meat consumption. “Here I cook only vegetables, pasta or rice. Instead in Italy I know where to buy the good meat that comes from my valley. As my aunt and my cousin are hunters, I can’t find any better.” As I look around, I notice that Giada is lucky to have a nice kitchen, which is not the case of every students who also have to deal with the lack of facilities.

Enjoy cooking

Despite this necessary adaptation, she still takes as much pleasure in cooking, a passion that comes from her family : “When I was little, my mom used to be at home with me and my sister until I was 3 years old, and she used to cook everything by herself, from pesto and ragù to cough syrup. She never bought biscuits and prepared dishes, even when I grew up, I used to drink Coca-Cola two times in a year ! And it also comes from my grandmother who cooks very generously with a lot of fat, I cook more likely to her.”

For some people, cooking can be seen as a burden, but making it fun can change your approach to it. Being abroad is an opportunity to meet new people and for Giada, it is always an honor to share her culture with the food : “Every week I invite someone at my home to eat and prepare something for them.” Cooking for someone is a nice thing, and it is even more when they are not familiar with your food. She also enjoy going to restaurants with friends, which can be a nice way to introduce oneself to the local cuisine, even if it is more pricey.

Unlocking creativity

It is not always easy to find inspiration to cook when the produces we have differs from usual. Giada usually sticks to the produces she has and is not afraid to invent new ways of mixing them. She however stays open to try new recipes, and it is on Instagram that she finds them : “I follow a lot of cookers influencers on Instagram (only Italian ones of course) and a lot of vegetarian ones. But something about me is that I never follow the recipe as they are, I always change them because I need to put my personal touch in every recipe.”

She knows how difficult it can be to eat balanced when our eating habits are disrupted. “I used to have a diet to follow when I was an athlete. From that period I learned how to balance fat, sugar and proteins. It is always about compensating.” Nonetheless, one should not feel guilty about having lazy moments and going back to their comfort food : “Mine is tortellini with ragù. I either already have homemade tortellini and ragù in my fridge, or I buy it. I usually add butter and parmesan on top.”

But as everyone, it happens to her to have fails : “Some days ago I tried to make a bread. It looked perfect from the outside, but once I cut it in half the inside was not ! But I tried again twice and now it is very good.”

Be patient, be creative with what you have, and one day you will know how to cook as well as Giada.