Diversity spreads the choy

AUSTRALIA has profoundly changed as a consequence of 60 years of Mediterranean migration.

Jellett

AUSTRALIA has profoundly changed as a consequence of 60 years of Mediterranean migration. However, the relationship between Anglo Australians and the new arrivals was initially tetchy.

We regarded what they ate as "wog food" and said as much. It wasn't until the 1980s we realised that their food was better than ours. And by the 1990s we started to emulate their lifestyle, eating out on the footpath as they do the piazza, the plaka.

I have spoken to the children of Italian migrants who say that when they were children in the 60s if someone visited their home during meal times they would disguise the fact they were eating polenta; apparently their parents regarded polenta as peasant food. Today it is served in our best restaurants and priced accordingly.

The social impact of migration is not just measured by the peaceful co-existence of different cultures, it is also measured by the way migrant values, lifestyles and consumer preferences are absorbed by the host population.

A distinctive trait of American and most certainly New York culture is a can-do mentality imparted by generations of migrants looking to improve their lot in the new world.

This notion was underpinned by what I call the "immigrant imperative": migrate with nothing, work hard (both parents) at one or maybe two jobs and invest in your children's education.

Migrants measure their success by the success of their children. And look at what the Greeks, the Italians, the Vietnamese, the British and others have contributed to this nation within a single generation. The daughter of a proud pound stg. 10 pom is now Prime Minister.

However, I suspect there is also a burden of expectation that applies to migrant children: they feel compelled to do well to vindicate their parents' sacrifices and decision to migrate. Any migrant child who does well is a role model for the extended family here and back home.

Evidence of the migrant influence on Australian society is everywhere. The Mediterranean preference for beverages shifted our palate from tea to coffee in the early 70s. Although Anglo Australians were at first happy with instant coffee in a polystyrene cup, within a decade we were telling Italians how to make latte.

However, with the recent emphasis on Asian migration, especially from China and India, I am expecting something of beverage revolution in the 2010s with a tea counter-offensive.

I live in the suburbs of Melbourne. In 1998 the local Woolworths supermarket was renovated. At the end of the makeover I went into the fruit and vegetable section and was confronted by something I had never seen before. A whole bay had been given over to bok choy (otherwise known as Chinese cabbage but popularly used in Vietnamese cooking).

The Vietnamese had been in Melbourne less than a decade and in that time they had shaped mainstream culinary preferences. I might add that bok choy sometimes goes by the alias pak choy and recently has been joined by the delicate choi sum and bonsai (or baby) bok choy. There's an entire family of choys we might not have known had it not been for our diverse immigration program.

I understand there is some angst about the level and composition of migration to Australia. But perhaps a minor contribution to this debate is the observation that social cohesion is not always achieved immediately. It takes time for cultures to understand each other. I think it took Anglo Australians 30 years to fully appreciate Mediterranean culture and vice versa.

Having said that, and from past evidence, it would seem that one way for new ethnic groups to be absorbed by the mainstream is through food.

Indeed, I regard this as a lead indicator as to which cultures are making most progress towards not so much integration but to something quite unique, cultural fusion.

And do let me know if you come across any more choys in the supermarket. As you can see, I have developed quite a fascination with this family of vegetables.

Bernard Salt is a KPMG Partner.

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