Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorite traditions, full stop. Many of the readers of this blog may know my story already, but for those who don’t, my name is Kenny, and I’m the founder of Eating Europe Food Tours. Despite my love for Italian food, which I hope comes through in our Rome food tours that I began developing way back in 2011, I have to admit that nothing beats the Americana appeal of a turkey dinner with all the fixings.
Even more than the food, though, family, friends and connection over what we eat is what Thanksgiving is all about. It’s what makes not being home in late November so tough.
Fortunately, resourcefulness is a skill that I developed since living in Italy, and a lot of my fellow team members at Eating Europe have as well. We find a way, no matter the circumstances, to bring Thanksgiving to Europe, and to our friends and family.
Ahead of Thanksgiving this year, I chatted with a few American Eating Europe team members from across the continent to get some of their best stories of how they did exactly that. I hope you enjoy them, and Thanksgiving this year, no matter where you spend it.
Emery – Edinburgh, Scotland
In Scotland there is no Thanksgiving, and turkey is nearly impossible to find at a grocery store (whole turkeys, you typically need to order one), so I’ve started doing an annual Haggis Thanksgiving!
We do all the traditional sides, all of which pair well with haggis! It’s a lot of fun and has helped so much with the Thanksgiving homesickness.
Liam – London, England
I should mention right from the off that I’m Canadian, and we have our own Thanksgiving which takes place on the second Monday in October every year. Having said that, a lot of the traditions are the same as American Thanksgiving: roast turkey with all the fixings is the meal of choice.
When spending my first fall away from home in London, a few fellow Canucks abroad had the great idea of combining the tradition of Canadian Thanksgiving with another from the UK: we all gathered to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in the form of a Sunday roast.
As Kenny alluded to, it’s the people that make a Thanksgiving meal special: the fact that my roast was overcooked was beside the point, and the pub will remain nameless.
At the end of the day, it brought people together, and some of the folks I met that afternoon are still very good friends to this day. Long live the Sunday roast Thanksgiving meal.
Izzy – Paris, France
Every year my mom sends me canned pumpkin (impossible to find in France) in a care package to get me through the winter months.
I was flying to Berlin to spend Thanksgiving with my friend and first Parisian flatmate, Vera, who loves pumpkin pie ever since trying it in the US, so I promised to bring her a few cans. In my head canned pumpkin is a solid, so I thought ok, easy, I’ll just stick it in my carry on.
My bag gets flagged. The French TSA agent pulls out the can of Libby’s and says: “What’s this?”
“Canned pumpkin.”
“What?”
“Puree de…potimarron…courge!”
“It’s a liquid, madame, not allowed.”
“It’s not a liquid, it’s like mashed potatoes!”
He holds it up to his ear and shakes the can — “It sounds like liquid.”
5 minutes of arguing about whether he considers mashed potato texture a liquid, I had to ditch three cans of precious pumpkin that had been sent all the way from Portland. Sniff.
Final Thoughts: Happy Thanksgiving from Eating Europe to you
I, and everyone at Eating Europe, always delight in hearing your traditions and culture as much as we enjoy sharing ours with you.
Whether you’re joining us for a tour in the future, or just returned from a European adventure, I’d like to pass on our well wishes for a wonderful holiday season to come with your friends and family. Cheers!
