ABSTRACT
The last decade has witnessed growing academic interest in the activities of ethnic minority and immigrant enterprises in Western countries. It is a wellknown fact that many of these enterprises operate in the food sector, both in Europe and North America.1 The growing involvement of immigrants in the food and catering sector in Europe is discernible, at least in part, from the growth in the ethnic food market. Ethnic restaurants and, more generally, ethnic foods, are a growing sector of the food industry in Europe. According to a recent report, the total ethnic food market in five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain) was worth £924 million in 1997 and predicted to grow in the years ahead.2 The involvement of immigrants in the catering sector is likely to be greater than what is suggested by these numbers, since many of them own catering or other food businesses that deal not only in ethnic foods but also in non-ethnic foods.3
