National food traditions are built on the opposition homemade oriented (Russia) vs restaurant oriented (Nordic countries). The first finds its best expression inside the house walls, the second in restaurants. https://twitter.com/brothius/status/1254519932282380289

For example, Russia restaurant cuisine is mediocre at best and a rip off of french cuisine with less quality ingredients. But Russian homemade food is incredibly delicious and no one knows about it.

Scandinavian food is notoriously bad, but there are a lot of Michelin stars in that part of Europe. That is because the culinary culture is oriented towards a different approach: at home you eat to be survive, if you want something good you go to the restaurant

Cultures homemade oriented are the ones where family values are stronger. 40% of swedish households are composed of just one person. For whom to cook? Companion= com+panis - that with whom you share bread with.

Ofc traditions move on the spectrum. Italian is homemade but also good restaurants; french is less homemade than Italian but not as restaurant oriented as Finland for example. Med culture is usually homemade oriented.

If we see culinary traditions as culture, or an expression of it, it becomes easier to understand why they work in "opposition"