The Effects of a Global Culinary Culture on Thai Cuisine

Thai cuisine has become a rockstar of culinary world. Thai flavors have spread to nearly every corner of the globe over the past half-century and have grown widely-beloved the world over. This year CNN held an international poll asking readers for their fifty favorite foods, and six of the fifty chosen dishes originated from Thailand, more than any other single country (Cheung). In 2010, Bangkok was listed as the third most popular urban tourist destination in the world, beaten out only by London and New York City (Brenmer). In the World Tourism Organization’s 2013 rankings, the nation of Thailand was ranked the tenth top tourist destination in the world, attracting 26.5 million international visitors, and by 2016 that number had risen to 32.5 million (UNWTO). Thai restaurants and chefs, both local and international, regularly win international culinary awards, such as American chef Andy Ricker’s restaurant Pok Pok receiving Michelin stars in 2015 (Adamczyk). Despite the immense economic and cultural pressures that such thriving culinary tourism and international attention bring to an underdeveloped country, Thai cuisine has remained remarkably resistant to change; this resistance is a function both of the singular tastes of the local Thai population and of a conscious effort to retain the “authenticity” of Thai dishes. Read More