Global food, local identity: the rise of burgers, pokes and kebabs puts traditional cuisine to the test

Bep Al·lès/Ciutadella - The figures are striking and speak for themselves: a profound shift in eating habits. Each year, more than 550 million hamburgers are consumed in Spain, a figure that translates into an average of about a dozen per person annually. Behind this volume lies much more than a gastronomic preference: it reflects a cultural, economic and social transformation that has placed fast, globalized food at the center of everyday diets.

The phenomenon is not new, but it has intensified. Alongside burgers—whether from large chains or “gourmet” versions—other successful formats such as kebabs, tacos and pokes have emerged, finding their main audience among younger consumers, without leaving aside industrial pizzas and hot dogs. These are quick, versatile options, too often associated with a modern and informal image. Their massive integration into our way of life has ended up shaping an increasingly homogeneous and impersonal gastronomic landscape.

This expansion, however, raises fundamental questions about the future of traditional cuisine. Dishes that require time, technique and local produce compete with an offer designed for immediate consumption. The result is a growing tension between speed and rootedness, between globalization and identity.

In Menorca, this reality is especially evident. The island, renowned for a gastronomy that combines sea and land with recipes such as lobster stew, seafood rice dishes or seasonal cuisine, is also experiencing the impact of these new trends. International offerings are gaining ground, often driven by visitors seeking familiar references and who, due to their purchasing power—this must also be said—look for fast food as well as ready-made meals from certain supermarket chains. At the same time, however, there remains a network of restaurants that defend local produce and traditional cooking as a distinctive element, still attracting a loyal clientele—though increasingly older or with higher purchasing power, as dining out is nowadays becoming a luxury.

The debate is not so much about replacement as it is about coexistence, but with important nuances. The dominance of certain formats may end up displacing the local gastronomic narrative if the values that sustain it are not reinforced. Traditional cuisine not only feeds, but also tells a story—a way of understanding the territory and a relationship with food that goes beyond mere consumption.

At this point, a critical look at ourselves is needed. In Menorca, it is increasingly common to see institutions, organizations or the Horeca sector itself promoting competitions to choose the best burger, the best pizza or the best signature sandwich. Initiatives that undoubtedly generate activity and visibility, but which also raise an uncomfortable question: are we promoting what makes us unique, or are we reinforcing an offer that is already global and that ends up swallowing our rooted cuisine?

This is no minor question. While we celebrate the island’s best burger, we rarely organize competitions with the same ambition to champion the best lobster stew or the best oliaigua, the best local rice dishes or the most representative recipes of our culinary heritage. And this places us in front of a mirror we already know well.

In the 1960s, during the height of tourism development, we already made the mistake of adapting to visitors’ tastes by offering them what they already knew. The result was, in many cases, the marginalization of our own cuisine on restaurant menus. Today, decades later, the risk of repeating that mistake is real, even if it appears in a more modern and sophisticated form.

Promoting burgers or pizzas is not, in itself, a problem. The problem arises when these initiatives overshadow or replace the promotion of our gastronomic identity. If we do not value what is ours, others will hardly do so. Why don’t we organize competitions that highlight our traditional cocs (sandwiches) filled with meatballs, cuttlefish or meat in sauce...?

Therefore, rather than choosing between global and local, the key once again lies in balance. But a conscious balance—one that does not forget where we come from or what we want to be. Menorca has a clear opportunity: to lead a gastronomic model that integrates trends without renouncing its roots. The question is whether we will know how to seize it, or whether, once again, we will end up serving others what they already have at home.