ABSTRACT
Nevertheless, some aspects of difference are perceived as less challenging to the status quo than others. Food is one such signifier of cultural diversity. At the centre of a cosmopolitan lifestyle, the availability of exotic and varied cuisines is, for many, the most palatable and digestible form of multiculturalism. Not only does the establishment of ‘ethnic’ restaurants contribute to the development of a multicultural city, food is a mode of cultural expression in which everyone can participate. It can be argued that interesting and unusual foods enrich and enliven existences which are otherwise mono-cultural, unadventurous and boring. Accordingly, this aspect of migration is an asset, but only to the extent to which it reduces the threat of other more challenging expressions of difference and diversity. Indeed, food has been described as the thin edge of the multicultural wedge.
