What do you eat when you are not in your country?

Yesterday afternoon I ran into part of the Nigerian team to the IAAF World Championship in Athletics in Berlin. It was at a Nigerian restaurant. From the way they interacted with the staff, and from references to previous days, it seemed that they had been going there everyday since they got to Berlin. This got me wondering how adventourous we are with regards to food. These are Nigerians who’ve travelled to Europe (they probably don’t travel to Europe very often) and who have sought out one of the very few places where one can get Nigerian food in Berlin. Actually, it is the only decent one I know.

While we are on foods, I might raise the point that has bugged me for quite a while. Why is it that African food has not become popular in Europe? Why is it that African restaurants only cater to a very small clientele, namely Africans living in Europe, and Africans who visit Europe (like the Nigerian team above)? I have not fully thought it through, which is why I was excited to see this blog post. It answers it to a certain extent but I think the topic could do with a lot more exploration, at least as it concerns Europe. Also see this article about good-looking food.