Besides the inclusion of food in art, it is essential to reflect that food and foodways are a product and reflection of society. In this case, it implies the eating habits and culinary practices of humans. It refers to all the food-related activities shared by a particular group of people. This includes production, consumption, and circulation of food, as well as the correlation to political, cultural, economic, social, and religious ideologies. Central to maintaining life, it implies issues that expose relationships between people and their communities, including diasporas.[6]  

Rituals performed around food are essential to the social structure within diasporas; from the preparation of meals in the kitchen and the passing down of family recipes to dinner gatherings around the table, the environments created by food rituals become pathways for the continuation of cultural traditions. Throughout a meal, not only do family and friends dynamics take place, an intimate climate is fostered for dialogue about shared memories, identity, religious ceremonies, heritage, and political views. Culinary rituals within diasporas strengthen community ties, serving as a space to connect the past with the present. Sharing a meal is a time-honored ritual that helps with the construction of self-identity; it bonds diaspora members together while adapting to changes produced by relocation.

At the same time, a feast or a meal functions as an essential connector to learn about diasporas and their cultural identity, as well as those outside the diaspora. Breaking bread carries a significant role in social interaction and a vehicle for cultural exchange; a traditional dish becomes fundamental for collaborative social relationships and further understanding about the people who have cooked and served the meal. The cultural importance of ingredients and recipes, linked to their personal stories of diaspora experience, plays a significant role in self-perception and engaging with others.

Derived from the Greek word diaspeirein, “diaspora” addressed the concept of exile and dispersal of the Jews in the translation of the Septuagintscriptures (ca. 250 BCE).[7] In the twentieth century, the term diaspora relates to the involuntary and voluntary dispersal and exile of specific populations. Since the 1980s, scholars expanded on the exploration of the term to analyze the experience of particular migrants, their descendants and their broad historical and cultural background. The word diaspora carries particular associations with human suffering, assimilation, preservation, and the course of history, however, the concept is culturally specific rather than universal.

Diaspora refers to the experience of populations displaced by migration, colonialism, and slavery. Not simply does it imply people’s displacement, scattering, and transplantation from a place of origin, but it also entails their relationship to the new places they inhabit.[8] Hybridity takes place as a consequence of the intersection between two or more cultures; this becomes an essential component in the continuous construction of diaspora identity. Eating is a primarily social activity that generates and strengthens social relationships. Food, for a member of such a population, often becomes one of the most viable ways to affirm their identity and establish a sense of acceptance, integration and belonging among the members of the same group, while maintaining a link to their traditions.