Du bist, was du isst?

Ernährung und Identität bei österreichischen Migrantinnen in Großbritannien seit 1945

Abstract

In the life of every migrant, connections to the homeland play an essential role. Food, in particular, with respect to the products used and the preparation of traditional dishes, illustrates how, or rather to what extent, the migrant has adapted to society and customs of the receiving country and how much the migrant still distances him- or herself. The particular ingredients, as well as the different preparation of dishes are a way of distancing oneself, of being different. This is strongly linked to the overall integration and assimilation process. This chapter demonstrates the role food and the preparation of traditional dishes play for the creation of identity. The sources include interviews conducted with Austrian female migrants, who, for personal or professional reasons, came to Britain between 1945 and 1960. Furthermore, it also becomes apparent that for the former Austrian migrants and their families, food can serve as way to preserve their Austrian roots. The personal interviews will provide an insight into the strategies the women applied, particularly immediately after 1945, in order to get familiar food products. The chapter will also examine whether these Austrian women, who have lived now for more than 40 years in Great Britain, have created a new Austrian-British identity, reflected in their cuisine and taken up by the next generations, who preserve their Austrian background through food.