Blog 4

My name is Sydney Vann and I grew up in an Asian household. I had lots of Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese food. I wanted to interview someone who had a different background than me and I would like to get to know more about what they did and what kinds of food they had. Luckily for me I have a friend who use to live in Austria, his name is Dalton Taylor. I decided to interview him to understand what he had to eat every day and how it differed from my culture. I got to know how he grew up and what he did as a child. Here is our conversation. 

Q: What kinds of food did you eat growing up?

A: My diet included cold cuts, fruits, different types of whole grain bread, and a lot of beef and pork. We also drank lots of freshly squeezed orange and apple juice. Where I went to school, there were apple and orange trees, so for school breakfast and lunches we would have fresh juice to drink. All our meals were cooked freshly every day, so we had great food. We had a buffet style when we were at lunch.

Q: Would you cook for yourself or did you have someone cook for you?

A: Ever since middle school, I’ve been cooking my own meals, especially breakfast and dinner. I would be the first one to be awake and the last one in my house so I would have to cook for myself.

Q: What was your favorite meal when you lived in Austria that we don’t have in America?

A: Schnitzel, which is pork, can be turkey, pounded out thinly and deep fried. Usually there are roasted potato wedges and lemon on the side. For dessert we would have Heidelbeer strudel, which is warm blueberry pie with hot vanilla sauce on top.

Q: What was a favorite restaurant of yours when you lived in Austria?

A: There were two great restaurants, Prontos, which was an authentic Italian pizza and pasta in a shady alley in Graz. Second was Urdlwirt, which was a hotel/restaurant. The restaurant would be open to locals only three days a week, and they had freshly cooked food. They had a farm in the back. The Urdlwirt was also known for their pumpkin soup. I would eat there every day if I could.

Q: What were some family meals you had while growing up?

A: We had lots of beef and pork. There were tri-tip, burgers, brisket, and pork chop. There were not many veggies or fruits. Potatoes were a huge thing while growing up, from potato salad, baked potatoes, mashes, etc.

Q: Were there certain foods you ate on holidays?

A: There was nothing specific. For holidays, my family would go out for dinner because my parents hate doing dishes. On Easter and over the summer, my family and I would always go to Buschenschank. There were large homes that would be converted into restaurants in the country, and they had massive vineyards, there were lots of homemade wines, fancy spreads and dips that were native in Austria, there were lots of cold cut, and cheese. My family and friends would drink wine and the kids would have grape juice. The spreads were homemade.

Q: What were some foods or snacks you hated?

A: There were specific ingredients that I didn’t like such as onions and whole tomatoes.

Q: Were there any beverages that were popular in Austria?

A: In Austria, at a very young age, children would drink. They say, “if your feet touch the curb, then you can drink, at least in the house with parental supervision”, so we could sip on wine and drink beer most of the time.

Q: What kinds of snacks did you have?

A: Most of our snacks were crackers such as Ritz and wafers. We would also eat cocoa puffs, cereal was a big thing in my household.