Macquarie University ANTH203: Eating Experience Report - Christmas

This report provides an in-depth analysis of an Anglo-Indian family's Christmas eating experience. It explores the cultural significance of food, examining traditional dishes, preparation methods, and the social dynamics surrounding the meal. The report delves into the family's efforts to preserve their heritage, highlighting the blend of Indian and British customs in their culinary practices. It discusses the physical layout of the gathering, gender roles, and the symbolic meaning of the food, illustrating how the eating experience serves as a celebration of identity and cultural values. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of food habits in reflecting a community's cultural specificities and the social relevance of festive eating experiences.

Running head: EATING EXPERIENCE
EATING EXPERIENCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Food is an important part of any culture and the eating habits are an important part of the
customs and value perceptions of the persons belonging to a particular social setting. Eating is a
daily activity and it is also influenced by the social customs and norms of the society. Just like
any other activity or social experience, eating experience is also influenced heavily by the social
customs. By eating experience, the idea which is implied is inclusive of both the daily meal time
practices observed and the eating experiences during the festivities. The normal daily meal shall
definitely have a different assortment of food items on display than on a festive occasion
however the factor of celebrating the social and the familial customs gets heightened, and that is
the essence of the festivity. Thus eating experiences are quite relevant socially from the cultural
perspective (Poulain, 2017).
Statement of Purpose
For this particular essay the focus of discussion shall be on providing an account of the
eating experience to celebrate the occasion of Christmas. The discussion shall be focusing on the
socially relevant issues related to the food items traditionally prepared, and the customs that are
followed. The inputs relevant to the chosen topic has been collected by means of a research
conducted by means of interviewing a family.
The family who has been chosen for the purpose of conducting the research is an Anglo
Indian family who originally hails from a city named Calcutta in India. They have been living in
Australia for two generations now, however their love for their Indian traditions with the
flavours of their city has not faded. They strive hard to keep the culinary and customary

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traditions alive in all possible ways. That is essential not just to cherish the yuletide spirit but
also to cherish their roots and their distinctive identity which as per their account is a result of
amalgamation of the Indian and British customs. In the following sections the cultural
specificities shall be discussed on detail by means of devoting particular focus on the food habits.
Analysis of the chosen eating experience
Like most other Christian ethnicities, even for the Anglo Indians the Christmas
celebrations begin way ahead of 25th of December and the preparation of home-made snacks and
home-made port wine are the prime gastronomical attractions of the community. The homemade
snacks includes a wide variety of deep fried sweet and savoury bite sized munchies, among
which the most aesthetically appealing are the rose cookies, preparing which is a laborious affair.
The rose cookies are made by making a batter consisting of flour, rice flour, semolina, eggs
water and sugar into which metal flower shaped moulds are dipped just up to the brim and the
fried in hot oil. Apart from that cakes baked in large batches flavoured with spices and rum
soaked dry fruits, and the beef pot roast are quintessentially a part of the Anglo Indian, Christmas
special culinary tradition. This goes as far as the food is concerned which can be exemplified as a
mix of the best of the East, the spices and the best of the West, the hearty and sumptuous meals
involving a lot of proteins and alcohol (Banerjee-Dube, 2018).
Physical layout of the chosen place
Christmas in Anglo Indian families are a matter of huge gatherings which has to be in a
familial setting, not at a restaurant where people pay for the services to be availed. Hence the
celebrations have to be at someone’s home and during meal hours the entire family is supposed

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to be present and enjoy the meal together. The usual family dining table is in most cases
foregone for choosing a lawn or a spacious area so that everyone can fit in (Lawrence, 2017).
Social dynamics of the place
The Anglo Indians are as such quite family oriented and each generation has a specific
role to play in the festivities. The elders and the younger generations devote a lot of attention
towards amusing the children and the Christmas gatherings are also opportunities during which
the older generations give gifts to the children of the family. The younger generations make it a
point to express their greetings to the elders first, which shows that seniority is very much
revered and upheld in the exchange of pleasantries. Even during meal hours, the younger
generations usually serve the elders first and then they start eating (Nyman, 2017). The goal is to
ensure that the children and the elders have eaten well to their heart’s content. Another important
factor of the Christmas meal in Anglo Indian families is that the one who hosts the meal are
supposed to do all the serving and they ensure that the guests have eaten first. The best of the
food and the serving of the most generous amounts to the guests are an essential part of the
Christmas meal which is necessary for expressing the warmth and also for the sake of
maintaining the social prestige of the host family (Murcott, 2019).
Gender dynamics of the eating experience
With regard to the gender dynamics in the Christmas meal of an Anglo Indian family it
cannot be possible to provide an exact account of whether it is sexist or gender neutral as both
the factors coexist. Usually the preparing of the snacks and the wine and the roast are done by
the women, the laborious task of cake mixing is done by the men as it involves a lot of strength.
Both the female and the male members however love to take pride in serving the food prepared
by their mothers and their grandmothers, who are considered as important agents in upholding

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the culinary traditions and passing it down the generations. The serving of the food is gesture
which is expected of female members, especially the young ones to be done, however men might
as well also take part. The buffet system is frowned upon and considered as uncouth. People
appreciate more if the female members serve than the male ones (Maji, 2016).
Symbolic meaning of the food
The food as such symbolizes the mix of cultures. The spices of India used in flavouring
of the quintessential British foods like roast meats and even the cakes exemplifies that
amalgamation. Apart from that the food also signifies the celebration of the distinctive identity of
the Anglo Indian Community. The celebration of femininity is also very much immanent in the
eating experience as the presentation of the culinary traditions of the mothers and the
grandmothers are an important part of the festivity. Christmas meals at Anglo Indian families are
more of a cultural affair than a religious one (Maji, 2016).
Conclusion
Thus it can be said that the food habits and the food items are an important mark of
cultural specificities of a particular community. The activity of eating and the eating experience
on a festive occasion is thus a socially and culturally relevant affair.

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Reference
Banerjee-Dube, I. (2018). Modern Mixes: The Hybrid and the Authentic in Indian Cuisine. In
Exploring Indian Modernities (pp. 169-187). Springer, Singapore.
Lawrence, D. (2017). ‘The guests being seated at the dinner table, the lady serves the soup’:
Food and household management. In Genteel women. Manchester University Press.
Maji, S. (2016). Re-viewing the Anglo-Indian Self in Multicultural Australia: A Critical Study of
David McMahon's Vegemite Vindaloo. Antipodes, 30(2), 339-353.
Murcott, A. (2019). Introducing the Sociology of Food and Eating. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Nyman, J. (2017). Home, Memory, and Identity in the Culinary Memoirs by Madhur Jaffrey and
Diana Abu-Jaber. In Displacement, Memory, and Travel in Contemporary Migrant
Writing (pp. 94-113). Brill Rodopi.
Poulain, J. P. (2017). The sociology of food: eating and the place of food in society. Bloomsbury
Publishing.