I had a rather parochial upbringing in Buckinghamshire in the 1970-80s: never ate garlic or other funny foreign fare, never went abroad, hated French lessons. Mid-1990s I got into Scottish dancing and met this lovely lass with a Scottish accent. When asked which part of Scotland she came from she laughed because she comes from a very rural part of former East Germany.
She was in Edinburgh as a student. Hungarian Goulash was the first meal she ever cooked for me, the first time I’d ever had sauerkraut or even paprika and caraway. Even diced pork (rather than beef) was unusual for me.
Looking back 22 years later, I see that ‘exotic’ meal as a turning point in my life, one of real enrichment. We are now married with four bi-lingual kids: multicultural food being a big part of our life.