I hosted Thanksgiving as I consulted with an art-technology project, and I believed I would be capable of making an authentic American feast using what is available in the country. The turkey was to be substituted with a whole grilled sea bream, which was the best I could find in proportion and significance. Nobody was surprised when the sweet potatoes emerged purple, the marshmallow turned to a substance that resembled lacquer more than glaze, or my Japanese friends bowed and experienced everything with a sob of great tentativeness. Mid way down a person poured sake into a bowl of cranberry sauce which someone said they put in to make it taste better and it did. In the end it was no longer like an American holiday but rather a shared experiment of art in gratitude. That Thanksgiving dinner made me rethink my perception of Thanksgiving. Not a form of ritual: but a living canvas, rebated every time it transpires a border.
One time, I hosted the Thanksgiving in northern Italy when I was on consultations regarding outdoor cooking equipment. Trying to understand why sweet potatoes had to have marshmallows and why the green bean casserole had to have canned soup became an anthropology lesson. Italians understood smoked turkey at once, but the contents in the side dishes defied their taste in balance and moderation. Instead of tinned soup I made my own bechamel, and searched half Turin to discover anything answering American marshmallows. Guests were enchanted smiling and cracked knives and forks at their food with interest, but their responses showed how negatively geared American Thanksgiving is towards taste and more positive towards nostalgia. All the delicacies are stories of warmth, ease, and a decade-long society. The dinner helped me see that Thanksgiving is not a menu, it is a shared memory with butter, sugar, and tradition attached
The first thanksgiving dinner that I hosted in London was the most scavenging experience as the sourcing of the traditional ingredients turned into a hunt. There was no cans of pumpkin and corn syrup and so I substitute it with golden syrup and roasted squash. To my British friends, I look ridiculous when I offered marshmallow as a side topping of sweet potatoes. Green bean casserole was the cause of a complete discussion of how a soup should be mentioned as a dish in the vegetable section and one of the guests questioned whether the cranberry sauce was a dessert. What started as an effort to share an American holiday was translated into a cultural exercise. I learned that the essence of Thanksgiving overseas is never about an ideal re-enactment, but the experience of being with the weirdly familiar comfort of tradition in a setting that does not identify it as thanksgiving. The mixing, the laughing and accommodating, made it the closest to a real Thanksgiving that I have ever had as a host
Name: Bity Lou Location: Spain Profession: Food Blogger and Owner of Multiple Food Blogs Experience: Hosting Thanksgiving in Spain turned out to be both funny and confusing for everyone. My Spanish friends couldn't understand why sweet potatoes came with marshmallows on top, and they kept asking if it was a dessert or part of dinner. I couldn't find cranberry sauce anywhere, so I made it from scratch, and the turkey barely fit into my small oven. In the end, everyone loved the food even if they still thought Americans have very strange holiday traditions. One of my blogs: Nodashofgluten.com
**Name:** Keldamuzik **Location:** Tokyo, Japan **Profession:** Recording Artist, Actress, and TV Host When I hosted my first Thanksgiving in Japan, my guests were completely puzzled by the concept of marshmallows on sweet potatoes—they genuinely thought I was serving dessert with the main course! The night's biggest conversation starter became me trying to explain why Americans traditionally combine sweet and savory flavors in one dish. I had to get creative with local ingredients since many traditional Thanksgiving items weren't readily available, which turned our dinner into this wonderful cultural fusion of flavors. Everyone ended up laughing throughout the night while learning about American traditions, and they came away with a new appreciation for how inventive American comfort food can be.