A dining room at work. A multi-cultural arena för eating.

Countries all over Europe have faced growing migration figures since World War II. Not least immigration from countries far away from European traditions and culture will make an impact in general and also when it comes to food, meals and eating. The estimation is that more than one out of five Swedes in now living generations has roots in other countries and cultures. Segregation from aspects of ethnic origin in housing areas makes it easier to sustain not only ones language, but also ones cultural traditions when it comes to cooking and eating. In extremely segregated housing areas the clashes between foreign cultural traditions and Swedish traditions in food consumption may not even appear. Almost every inhabitant in the life-span between 20 to 65 years of age has a number of years working in workplaces outside the home. Workplaces are to a considerable extent melting pots for employed of all age groups and ethnic groups. In this pilot study a dining room at a bus company served as a field studying preferences in food, meals and eating during lunch breaks. The dining room situated in the city centre was a place every driver visited at least once during their working day, having coffee/tea, lunch or just a rest. The dining room served as a melting pot for intercultural exchange in discussions, bringing in food stuff, customs around meals and eating. The dining room constituted a place for cultural exchange, getting knowledge about food preferences and attitude formation around nationalities, including Swedes. The methods used gathering empirical materials for the analysis were participant observation, in-depth interviews and a questionnaire