The Perception And Attitude Of African Students Assignment Sample

Introduction Of The Perception And Attitude Of African Students Towards Ethnic Cuisine In The Uk

Food has a vital role in shaping different kinds of cultures, and food also has the ability to reflect the personal belief of an individual and also the costumes and values of a community. Some people believe that some kinds of food can only be eaten and enjoyed under certain circumstances (Naccarato & LeBesco, 2013). It is obvious that the people of different communities are accustomed to different kinds of cuisine. This research paper will discuss the attitude and the perception of the students of Africa towards the cuisine that is ethnic and belongs to the UK. The traditional cuisine of the UK includes trifle, apple pie, scones, Victoria's sponge cake, sticky toffee pudding and many more. Most people in the UK love to have cheese. On the other hand, the people of Africa love to have food that is spicy.

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1.2 Background context

The attitude and the perception of the students, who come from Africa to the UK for the purpose of study, need to suffer in terms of having food. The students of Africa are emotionally connected with Africa's traditional cuisine. Their preference for food mainly depends on the background of their culture and the experiences they have gained through their past life. It is natural that the cuisine of Africa is very much close to their heart, not only for the taste of the food but also because they are emotionally connected to the taste of the food. One of the main reasons behind it is that the people of Africa are very particular about their food. They have a habit of having different kinds of food at all kinds of festivals, and the people of Africa are very emotionally connected with the festivals (Owusu-Frempong, 2005). These are the reasons why the students of Africa need time to cope with the food habits of the UK.

Some students may be curious about the cuisine of the UK as adventurous people love to try new things in their life. As some students from Africa love to try new cuisine, it was evident that they would like at least some kind of food. The students who have the habit of traveling to different parts of the world and trying new cuisine will benefit. Otherwise, it is tough for them to find the ingredients needed to make authentic food in Africa and get the same taste as the food they habitually consume. One of the reasons is that there is a complex history behind every traditional food in Africa (Cusack, 2000). Another critical reason is that the students not only suffer from the problem of food but also need to suffer from the problem of learning a new language.

1.3 Research Aim and Objectives

Research aim

The main topic the research paper will offer is the attitude and perception of African students who come to the UK to study. There are some kinds of food items that are available in the UK and also preferred by the students of Africa, and this study will identify that particular food item and discuss that. There must be some ingredients for the food that can influence the taste of the students of Africa, and the study will identify the ingredients also. In terms of better understanding the research subject, the study will explore the perception of the students in Africa towards the quality and flavor of the food they like and that is available in the UK.

Research objectives

• To understand the factors that influence the student of Africa to prefer the ethnic and specific cuisine of the UK
• To justify the authenticity of the cuisine of the UK that the students of Africa in the UK have
• To justify the cultural significance of the ethnic cuisine and the attitude of the African students towards it
• To understand the difficulties that the students of Africa face in terms of finding ethnic food of Africa in the UK

1.4 Research questions

• What are the factors that have the ability to influence the taste of the African students, and they started preferring the authentic food of the UK?
• How can the authenticity of the UK's food be justified as per the taste of the African students?
• What is the significance of ethnic cuisine and African students' perception of it?
• What are the difficulties that the students of Africa can face in terms of finding ethnic food in Africa in the UK?

1.5 Rationale

There are a considerable number of students who come to the UK for the purpose of the study. They need to face the problem of having food daily as the cuisine of Africa is quite different from the cuisine of the UK. The purpose of the study is to identify the problems that are faced by them and also the food item that is available in the UK and they prefer to have the ethnic food. The main reason for conducting the study is to gather information and inform the students so that they can be prepared to face any kind of difficult situation in the UK. The education system of the UK is modified and relevant nowadays. As a result, the number of students who come to the UK for studying is increasing. The main aim of the study is that the students can stay safe and healthy in the UK.

1.6 Problem Statement

Problem statement in a research paper defines the problem that is faced by the researcher while conducting the research and some problems also occurred while conducting the research study, which is based on the topic of the attitude and the perception of the students, who come from Africa in the UK for the purpose of study, towards the ethnic food of the UK. The main problem that the researcher has faced is that some vital information was not available in the journals and also in the data which are already existing.

1.7 Significance of the study:

The topic of the attitude and the perception of the students who come from Africa to the UK for the purpose of study, towards the ethnic food of the UK has great significance nowadays. There are a considerable number of students who come to the UK every year for studying and suffer from the problem of having food. Through this research paper, they can gather information about the actual situation and prepare themselves for any kind of situation.

1.8 Dissertation Structure

1.9 Summary

The research paper will cover the topic of the attitude and the perception of the students who come from Africa to the UK for the purpose of study towards the ethnic food of the UK. Students from Africa to the UK face problems due to their food. The people of Africa love to celebrate different kinds of festivals throughout the year, and also, they love to enjoy the food which is related to the festival. In the UK, it becomes difficult for them to find the proper ingredients as the UK is a new palace to them, and their language is also unfamiliar. The research study will discuss the problems and their favorite cuisine in the UK.

Literature Review

2.1 Importance of literature review

The literature review refers to the part of academic writing that helps demonstrate knowledge and helps understand the academic literature on the topic that will be discussed in the research paper. The literature review can include the evaluation that is critical of the material of the research topic, which is why it is called the literature review. The main aim of the literature review is to collect evidence on the research topic and help the research to get completed on time. The literature review can also summarize the information gathered during the research, which can be very helpful to the researcher. The literature review also prepares new arguments regarding the topic for providing a better understanding of the topic. It will definitely help the researcher to conduct the research that is original.

2.2 Understanding of the factors that influence the student of Africa to prefer the ethnic and specific cuisine of the UK

As per the statement of Bunce et al., (2021), the number of students who are from the community of minority and black people and come to the UK for higher study. According to research, the number of students from Africa who come to the UK for the purpose of studying is increasing by 29% every year. The number is more than the expectation for the higher authority of the UK. But still, now, there is an inequitable and significant gap that can be seen between the achievement of the people of the black community in comparison to the people who belong to the community of the white people. In a report, it has been proven that 63% of people in the black community get a first or second-class degree, whereas the number for the same purpose for the people of the white community is 78%. The people who have the authority to control the campus have also been partial sometime and provide benefits to the white people. They do not provide food that is kosher or halal. Sometimes it can also be seen that people make an arrangement for events that are basically based on the consumption of alcohol.

As per the opinion of Nemeth et al., (2019), food has a vital role in every culture and from the food, it can be identified that an individual belongs to which community. According to some of the researchers, the food habits of the UK and Africa are entirely different such that it can be mentioned that the culture of Africa is to sit together and eat. The people of Africa do not prefer to eat alone. On the other hand, the people who belong to the UK eat their food according to their hunger, and they do not mind eating alone. The average time in which people consume their meals is also different in the UK and Africa. These are the main reasons that the students of Africa face problems in Africa.

As per the statement of Anusha Siddiqui et al., (2022), there are so many countries in Africa where the people love to have insects as their source of nutrition and also the insects play an essential role for the people who live in the rural area of Africa. But on the other hand, the people of the UK love to consume food that is based on plants. The people of Africa are facing challenges to get sufficient amounts of insects, which is why they also started a diet based on plants. Some of the students of Africa also like the taste of plant-based food.

As per the opinion of Banerjee, (2021), the market of food that is related to ready-to-eat is growing day by day. A survey was conducted about the topic of the growing market of ready-to-eat food and the result of the survey states that the food industry of ready-to-eat is going to be boosted by a percentage of 2.9%, in the year of 2025. The most growing market of the ready-to-eat food industry can be seen in the UK and also in America. The United States Food and Drug Administration described the condition of the new criteria in the food market and they have also paid attention to the guidelines related to the ready-to-eat food industry. Most of the people who live in the UK are busy and they do not get sufficient time to cook and that is the reason that the market for ready-to-eat food is growing and the sector has been expanded both in the animals and the plant-based food. The scenario in Africa is quite different from the culture of Africa.

As per the opinion of Bashir, (2019), the food habits of the people who are from the community of Africa prefer the halal food and the area of South Africa can be considered as one of the largest manufacturers in the world. South Africa is popular for the exportation of halal food in different parts of the world and the community people of Africa are considered to maintain friendly relations with the community of the Muslims. Although the industry of halal is one of the growing sectors all over the world, halal food is not that much available in the UK and one of the main reasons behind that is that the community people of the UK do not like the food that is spicy. There is no doubt that halal is a very spicy food.

As opinionated by Barons et al., (2022), Food security is one of the most important matters that gets attention from higher authorities of the UK and the reason behind it is that they want to provide a sufficient amount of food to all the people who are living in the UK. At the same time, they also pay attention to the fact that all the people get equal access to the food. One of the most popular foods of the UK is fish and chips and the students of the African community of Africa, who come for the purpose of studying in the UK, prefer this food item.

2.3 Authenticity of ethnic cuisine in the UK perceived by Africans

2.3.1 Authentic perception on the Yorkshire Pudding as an ethnic UK dish

According to Migliori et al. (2008) Yorkshire Pudding has emerged form culinary experimentation in the British households. The findings if the paper suggested that contemporary puddings that were filled with meat were being replaced by the filling of batter pudding and its roots can be traced back to UK households. It is one of the key strengths of the paper. It is because this is one of the articles, which demonstrate the contemporary and traditional fillings of pudding. The prevalence of such findings is attributed to the fact that during the industrial revolution in UK, customers with African origins were not able to afford beef based meat pudding and batter filled with cheap cut meats Yorkshire Pudding was a cheap alternative. In the findings of Garnett et al. (2021), it is supported that the high prices of meat was one of the major reasons behind its downfall. On the contrary, Muggleston (2016) has argued that other pudding had also consumption preference in UK. The previous findings are limited in terms of credibility as the researcher have failed to conduct data triangulation which undermines the quality of the research findings significantly and posed as a critical drawback for the study. Therefore, it is analysed that the Yorkshire Pudding is an authentic UK dish that has emerged due to the effect of Industrial revolution.

In UK, the Yorkshire Pudding is also considered as food which is not only served as a dessert, but it is also served during the main course, which is different from how Africans perceive pudding. The author suggested that the pudding is consumed as a delicacy in authentic British cuisine as opposed to a side dish or dessert. The reason behind such consumption is related to the taste and palatability of Yorkshire pudding. It is because most of the UK households prefer food items that are less sweet and Yorkshire pudding meets such requirements extensively as it is known for its low sweet palate. In the findings of Reynolds (2017), it is supported that the Yorkshire pudding has a positive association with reduced sweet taste. Therefore, it is observed that the perception of reduced sweetness has driven the emergence of Yorkshire Pudding as an authentic dish which possess ethnic roots to UK.

2.3.2 Viability of Fish and Chips as an ethnic UK cuisine

As per the findings of Murcott (2013), it is observed that the Fish and chips has emerged as the national food in UK. The author has also commented that the fish and chips as a culinary delicacy emerged in Lanchashire and London during 1800. It poses as one of the majors strength of the study as the previous authors have not provided credible evidence about is location of origin in UK. The prevalence of such finding is attributed to the fact that the British population like African natives has always preferred comfort foods that can be used quickly and potato, which is one of the important ingredients of chips, could be cooked with relative ease. Similar evidences can be observed in the works of Erlich et al. (2012) as the authors suggest that people in UK prefers the consumption of foods that are healthy and take less times for preparation. In opposition to the above findings, Atkinson and Deeming (2015) have argued that British illustrate more preference to the exotic cuisines. The previous statement lacks in terms of viability as the author has used limited sample size, which adversely affects the feasibility of the study and is one of the major weaknesses of the study. Therefore, it is proposed that the Fish and chips have evolved as an ethnic cuisine in UK due to its relative ease of cooking.

However, the origins of Fish and Chips are also related to the food items that were being sold by the small scale business in UK during the 19th century and was favourite amongst Africans . Other author related to origin has poised debatable arguments. However, such uncertainty and sceptic perception related to its origin has been subjugated with the modern empirical findings from the contemporary authors as it has been clearly stated that the growing industrial population and increasing trade in UK was one of the major factors behind the invention of the fish and chips. Therefore, it is analysed that the Fish and chips has positive association in terms of being a ethnic UK cuisine.

2.3.3 Reliability of Shepherd's Pie as an entity of culinary ethnicity of UK

Shepherd's pie has emerged as delicacy in UK in the 18th century with influence of Gaelish and Irish culinary practices. According to Sosa and Hough (2016), the Shepherd's Pie is composed of unused meat and potato as crust, which is one of the favourite combinations. This poses as the key strength of the paper. The prominence of such results is driven by the local folks need to make use of the leftovers. It is because poverty for the locals was growing during industrial revolution and they were not willing to waste food. This led the local folks in UK to conjure a dish from the leftover meat and potato, which is an affordable items, in an attempt to sustain their livelihood during the tough times. In the findings of Feldman et al. (2016), it is observed that the needs of meeting their daily nutritional requirements during financially challenging times influenced the discovery of several new food menus in UK. In opposition to the above findings, Derek (2017) has argued that evolution of ethnic dishes is limited as compared to the intregration of exotic dishes. The previous perception casts an air of uncertainty on its viability as the research has a imparted a solitary focus on the adoption of qualitative data sources which subjugates the credibility of findings and illustrates as one of the major disadvantages of the study. Therefore, it is observed that the low cost of Shepherd's Pie has been essential in promoting it as a culinary dish of UK.

2.4 the cultural significance of the ethnic cuisine and the Attitude of the African students towards it

Johnston, (2021), has supported the fact that in the UK, the food sector plays one of the most crucial roles in the well-being of the economy. A report states that in the year 2017, the consumers of the UK spent more than £219 Bn on drinks and food for consumption. More than 3.9 million jobs are being done to a vast number of people only in the food industry sector. There are so many foods that can be considered as the traditional food of the UK, and the community people of the UK also love the foods. The foods that can be considered as the traditional food of the UK are the English Pancakes, Black Pudding, Shepherd's Pie, Trifle and many more. Most of the people of the UK love to have food that is based on plants.

As per the statement of Balakrishnan et al., (2020), there is a huge importance of ethnic cuisine, and it also helps to identify the food as it considers the food as an icon of the culture of a particular community. Ethnic cuisine also refers to the process in which the societal representativeness that is regional and the trans-local are reshaped and merged. Therefore, in the space of multiculturalism, in which food can be considered as an element related to politics. The industry of food is also related to the industry of tourism. Many people come to the UK for tourism as the UK is one of the most beautiful places. There are some people in the world who are addicted to adventure, and they love to try the cuisine of every place in the world. In this way, the economy of the UK gets impacted positively.

As per the statement of the O'Halloran et al., (2020), the students of the school and colleges consume a huge part of their daily nutritious food while studying in the organization. There are a considerable number of students who come from Africa for the purpose of studying in the Uk and the higher authority of the UK has decided to take care of the matter. The food environment of the school defines a setting that is effective to the choice of food of the students of the organization. The board of the school paid attention to the structural drivers for the acquisition of food. The environment of the food in a school is defined by the “United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization” and the organization has come to the conclusion that students consume 40% of their daily energy in the educational organization and that is why it is needed for the students to build an environment of food that is healthy for them.

2.5 Difficulty for African students in finding traditional ethnic cuisine in UK

According to Jones et al. (2004), several diners and local eatery businesses have opened up in UK to serve authentic UK culinary items. The author also suggest that the access to restaurants that specialises in ethnic dishes have grown significantly. This serves as one of the major advantages of the study as the previous authors have not illustrated the limitations of accessibility of these restaurants by considering the cuisine type such as exotic and ethnic cuisine. The presence of such opinions from the author could be derived from the high rate of influx from the African customer in these restaurants. It is because most of the African students are international students who has limited knowledge about the local diners and the growth in their numbers indicate that local UK diners have become highly accessible. Similar instances can be observed in the works of other authors as they indicate that existence of high accessibility to restaurants is one of the insignificant challenges that African students face while studying UK. However, Hyams-Ssekasi et al. (2014) has argued that the African students have perceived fees as one of the crucial difficulties while pursuing education in UK, which includes high expenses in food. The previous result have its limitation in the domains of feasibility as the author has reflected on a sample size that does not consider UK local diners as part of the survey. Therefore, it is analysed that it is not difficult for the African students to find ethnic cuisine in UK due to their high accessibility.

2.6 Literature Gap

The literature review has been effective in evaluating the factors that influence the student of Africa to prefer the ethnic and specific cuisine of the UK, justify the authenticity of the cuisine of the UK, identify attitude of the African students towards ethnic UK cuisine through scholarly perception. However, the assessment of Difficulty for African students in finding traditional ethnic cuisine in UK through empirical findings of previous authors has not been conducted extensively and poses as an area of further exploration. This serves as a gap in this literature review. However, Derek (2017) has not conducted reliability and validity analysis, which demonstrates absence of reliability and poses as one of the major limitations.

2.7 Summary

The literature review has been exemplary in drawing credible inferences from the peer review journals. From the literature review, it is concluded that the African students prefer less spice in their cuisine as compared to the ethnic UK cuisine. The section also indicates that the Shepherd's Pie and Yorkshire pudding are authentic cuisines that shares their roots to British ethnicity.

Methodology

3.1 Research philosophy

The research philosophy is one of the major aspects of the research as it provides the platform for creating proper research objectives. There are three forms of the research philosophy which comprises of the positivism, interpretivism and the realism. The positivism philosophy assists in analyzing the research objectives with logical interpretation. In this research, the positivism philosophy has been used. It is because the research objectives involves the identification of the factors that influence African students to adhere UK cuisine which requires logical evaluation to differentiate the drivers such as taste, flavor and spice perception and such requirement is met by the positivism philosophy. It is because the positivism philosophy has been known for its efficacy in driving scientific interpretation. Park et al. (2020) have supported that the positivism philosophy is endowed with the proficiency of logical evaluation and is one of the major strengths. Furthermore, the research is conducted through survey and positivism provides appropriate framework to design survey questionnaire. Therefore, the selection of the positivism philosophy is justified.

3.2 Research approach

The research approach is essential for conducting effective study as it serves as the framework for conducting proper literature review and designing of the research variables. The research approach is characterized by two types which comprises deductive and inductive approach. In this research, deductive approach has been used. It is because the research objectives of analyzing the authenticity of the UK cuisine in the perception of African students requires the deployment of theoretical concepts such as taste and ethnicity and such requirement is met by the deductive approach as the deductive approach is known for its efficiency in integrating theoretical concepts to analyse research objectives. In the findings of Woiceshyn and Daellenbach (2018), it is supported that the deductive approach plays a key role in providing framework to introduce theory, concepts within research and emerges as one of the major advantages. On the contrary, Hyde (2016) has argued that deductive approach is not suitable for qualitative research and serves as a disadvantage. This limitation is not applicable for this research as it cannot be implemented. Therefore, the use of deductive approach is justified.

3.3 Research design

The research design serves as an essential component for a successful research as it provides the researcher with the scope of completing the study within stipulated timelines. The research design are categorized under three types which are mainly the descriptive, exploratory and explanatory research variables. In this research, the descriptive research design has been selected. It is because the research objectives of identifying the factors that influence African students to prefer ethnic UK cuisine requires statistical interpretation to understand the variable (factor) which has the highest effect and such requirement is addressed by the descriptive research design It is because descriptive design has the process of designing a research that is able to draw empirical evidences through the integration of efficient statistical interpretation. Siedlecki (2020) has supported that the descriptive research design shares a positive association in drawing statistical evidences from the research and serves as one of the advantages. Furthermore, the research consider the deployment of survey and the descriptive design supports the development of such data collection platform. Therefore, the use of descriptive research design is justified.

3.4 Data collection

The data collection has a significant contribution to the effective completion of the research as it provides the researcher with the information to analyse the research objectives and develop results. The data collection are two types which include secondary and primary data collection method. The primary data collection involves gathering opinions from the participants whereas the secondary method revolves around the collection of data from peer reviewed journals and scholarly articles. In this research, the primary data collection has been used since the research emphasizes on understanding the perception of African students about UK cuisine which can only be addressed if opinions are collected from the African students. The research has made use of the survey to collect data from the respondents. It is because the research objective of analyzing the significance of ethnic cuisine and African students' perception requires numerical interpretation to understand the effect and such requirements are met by the survey. It is because the survey is endowed with the benefits of collecting data that can be put to extensive statistical analysis. Young (2015) has supported that the survey has been effective in gathering information that supports numerical evaluation and is one of the major strengths. On the contrary, McNeeley (2018) has argued that the survey, based on ethically sensitive topic, suffers from high refusal rate and is one of the major weakness. This drawback is not applicable for this research since the research is not working on ethically sensitive topic. Therefore, the use of the survey is justified. The survey has been carried out during the final week of July. The research was conducted in UK. The information was collected with the distribution of questionnaire to the African students. The questionnaire was developed with close ended questions. The questionnaire was created on the Google forms and shared via the email ID of the students as an attachment along with the consent form. The students were asked to fill out the consent form before completing the questionnaire.

3.5 Data analysis

The data analysis for the research has been conducted by the deployment of descriptive statistics since the research focuses on identifying the factors which have the highest effect on the perception of African students about UK cuisine which requires percentage and frequency calculation and such requirement is accommodated by the descriptive statistics. It is because the frequency and percentage calculation are one of the critical elements of descriptive statistics. Therefore, the use of descriptive statistics is justified. The analysis has been conducted with the help of SPSS software.

3.6 Sampling

The sampling strategy is an important aspect of driving effective outcomes of the research as it plays a key role in selecting study population that is relevant to the research topic. The sampling strategy are of two types which involves the probability and non-probability sampling technique. In the research, the non-probability sampling technique has been used. It is because the presence of any biased responses would make it difficult to understand the perception of African students towards UK cuisine and such challenge is mitigated by the non-probability sampling technique. Taherdoost (2016) has opined that the non-probability sampling technique is bestowed with the benefits of eradicating biased responses and is one of the major advantages. Therefore, the selection of the non-probability sampling technique is justified. The sample size of the study is 100 respondents. The respondents are African students in UK. The African students have been selected as the respondents for the survey as the research focuses on understanding the perception of the African students about UK cuisine. The respondents were contacted via email and were debrifed about the project purpose before asking about their interest to participate in the survey.

3.7 Ethical considerations

The collected data and the results of the research have been stored in the electronic databases by maintaining compliance with the regulations that are specified by the General Data Protection Right (GDPR). No means of coercive force was used to manipulate the opinions or the final findings of the research. Voluntary participation of the respondents has been sought in the survey by distribution of consent form.

Findings

• What is your age?

The findings indicate that the age bracket of 22-25 years have been more interested in the survey as 34% of the students have participated in the survey. The reason behind such participation might be their extensive knowledge about the differences in UK and African cuisine

• What is your gender?

From the survey, it is concluded that the female participants have been more appealed by the research topic as compared to the male respondents as female responses have accounted for 63% of the overall responses

• Which African country are you originally from?

From the survey, it is observed that African student representation in UK share more or less equal distributions in terms of nationality except Tanzania as each nationality accounted for more than 20% of participants in the survey as compared to Tanzania (4%).

• How long have you been studying in the UK?

From the figure, it is observed that the students with an experience of less than 6 months and up to 1 year of academic experience in UK have shown significant interest for the survey as the each of the categories have amassed 30% of the overall responses respectively.

• Do you think the availability of specific African cuisines in the UK positively influences your food choices?

The findings indicate that the availability of specific African cuisines in the UK does not have a positive influence on food choices in UK cuisine as 44% of the students have denied the presence of such influence. The prevalence of such opinion might be related to the fact that African students prefer UK cuisine for their own distinct aroma and taste.

• Do you find the taste of African cuisine available in the UK authentic and similar to the food from your home country?

The results suggest that the African student does not find the UK similar to the food in Africa in terms of taste as 51% of the participants deny such coherence. The reason behind such opinion might be influenced the difference in the extent of gravy in UK and African dishes.

• Do you agree on the fact that cultural significance attached to ethnic cuisine makes you more inclined to try and enjoy it while studying in the UK?

The results suggest that the cultural significance plays a key role in enjoying ethnic cuisine as more than 30% of the African students have confirmed its influence. The opinions could be driven by the fact that ethnic cuisines are prepared by recipes that conforms to several cultural customs.

• Do you believe that the presence of African cuisine options in the UK enhances the overall experience for African students?

The findings suggest that the African cuisine does not a share a positive association in creating a positive experience for the students as 40% of the students have strongly disagreed to the existence of possible relationship. The opinion could be influenced by the fact that the number of African diners are insignificant in raising such overall experiences.

• Do you think that the ingredients used in African cuisine available in the UK contribute to a favourable taste for you?

The findings suggest that the ingredients are quite different in UK and African cuisine as 40% of the students strongly deny the use of ingredients in African cuisine makes the taste favourable for UK cuisines. The finding could be driven by the difference in the extent of spices used in both of the cuisines.

• Have you face difficulties in finding authentic African food items in the UK, which affects your food preferences?

The African students have faced difficulty in finding authentic African food items as more than 30% of the students have agreed to it. The prevalence of such opinion is related to the lack of African food outlets near academic institutions in UK.

• Do you think there arefactors that influence the student of Africa to prefer the ethnic and specific cuisine of the UK?

The result suggest that there are several factors which influences the student to consume ethnic UK cuisine as 42% of Africans have strong acceptance for it.

• Do you thinkcultural significance of the ethnic cuisine can attract the attitudeof the African students towards it?

From the findings, it is observed that the 33% of the African students have been attracted by the cultural significance of UK ethnic cuisine. This indicates that the cultural significance has a positive effect on the attitude of adhering to UK cuisine.

• Do you agree that thestudents of Africa faces difficulties in terms of finding ethnic food of Africa in the UK?

Approx. 40% of the students have affirmed that they have faced difficulty in finding ethnic food of Africa in the UK. This might have also played a crucial role in switching over to UK ethnic cuisines due to lack of authentic Africa cuisine.

• Do you feel that UK ethnic cuisine is more attractive than that of the African cuisine?

The findings indicate a mixed response from the African students in terms of appeal of UK and African cuisine as 33% of the students agree UK cuisine as a more attractive option whereas 27% of the students deny such competitive edge in terms of appeal. The mixed opinions could emerge due to the differing preferences amongst African students in terms of addition of spices.

• What are the factors that have the ability to influence the taste of the African students, and they started preferring the authentic food of the UK?

The findings indicate that adaptation and assimilation, availability and accessibility are the two major factors that have positive influence in aligning the preference o African students to UK cuisine. It is because both of these options have accumulated 25% and 41% of the overall responses respectively.

Discussion

The results illustrate that the African students have adhered to the consumption of the UK cuisine due to its distinct flavor as compared to the influences of food choices available in African cuisines. The primary findings comes in the support of the result as 44% of the African students have shared positive views on such perception. Similar findings can be observed in the works of Sheard et al. (2014) as the authors suggest that the preferences of consuming ethnic foods in UK such as sausage meat is driven by the personal experiences of reveling in diverse flavors as compared to other factors. Therefore, it us observed that the flavor of the UK cuisine has played a key role in driving the African student's persistence of consuming ethnic UK cuisine. The prevalence of such perception is attributed to the distinct taste and aroma of UK cuisine. Several authors have stated the significance of aroma and taste of ethnic cuisine are critical as elements of flavor within the dishes. Furthermore, it has been supported that the aroma and taste share positive relationship with the adherence to ethnic foods (Kwon, 2017; Yin et al., 2017). Therefore, the aroma and taste play key role in driving a positive perception towards ethnic UK cuisine amongst the African students.

The primary findings also indicate that the adaptation and availability are the two major factors that have been influencing the higher adoption of UK cuisine amongst the African student. The reason behind such perception is attributed to the low number of restaurants that serve African cuisine in UK. Similar evidence has been observed in the works of Ojo (2018) as the author has suggested that the existence of diners, based on African cuisine is a scarcity and proves to be a major accessible issue as Black African dishes are not accepted by British citizens which renders the idea of African restaurant to be unfeasible. In the support of the above findings, Alloh et al. (2018) have also agreed that Nigerian students have cited accessibility to food as one of the major challenges while studying in UK as they have been facing dietary issues. Therefore, it is observed that the primary findings of the research are in coherence with the empirical evidences of the previous scholarly works. Hence, it is implied that the availability has a positive association with the increased adoption of the UK cuisine.

The findings of the paper indicate that the differences in the perception of how much spice needs to be added has been a major factor that has influenced the decision of African students in avoiding UK cuisines. Similar observations are accounted in the works of Sadiku et al., (2023), the cuisine that is loved by the people of Africa are complex, rich and the food definitely consists of flavours on a deep level. The people of Africa and also the cuisine of Africa have invented a lot of recipes that have influenced a lot of people all around the world and one of the basic things that is always involved in the cuisine of Africa is the aroma of the spices. But the people of the UK do not prefer spicy food and that is the reason the students of Africa have to suffer in terms of having food in the UK. As per the opinion of Muoni et al., (2019), most people in South Africa have the habit of eating halal food of halal, and they also love to consume food that is spicy. Still, the preference of the people of the UK is completely different as they do not love to consume food that is very spicy. The people of the UK mostly depend on the food that is plant-based, and on the other hand, the people of the community of Africa love to have insects as nutritious food. Therefore, the primary observations of the research are in alignment with previous empirical studies and signify a possible relation of the extent of spice and adherence to UK ethnic cuisine.

The above findings might shed light on the fact that the African students have a different perception about the ethnic cuisine in terms of spice and flavor as compared to traditional African food. However, such findings cannot be extrapolated to the generic population as African continent is vast and comprises of diverse cultural ethnicities who have different types of traditional foods, which might share resemblance with the ethnic dishes of UK. For example, in terms of spice, the Nigerian cuisine lacks the use of high amount of spices, which refutes the primary findings of this research that supports African perception about the African cultural food being spicier. Furthermore, Moroccan cultural recipes are more based on the usage of simple ingredients like the UK ethnic cuisine as compared to complex dishes. This scholarly opinion contradicts the primary findings of this research as one of the survey results indicate that the African food is more complex than UK ethnic cuisine. Therefore, it is observed that the consideration of cuisine in African nation as a singular entity is not appropriate for drawing conclusions about their perception of UK ethnic cuisine.

Mascarello et al., (2021) supported that the food model hybridization gets the preference and it depends on the different factors. The preference that has been provided to the hybridization of the food includes the market that has been globalized, and it also includes the migration that helps one population to get in touch with the people who belong to the other population. The market of the ethnic food has become very important in different places in the UK. The reason behind the increasing market of the UK is that the lifestyle of the people of the UK has changed a lot. The students of Africa who come to the UK are suffering from the problem of food and the changing behavior of food is the reason behind this. The accessibility issue for the African student has also been lowered in terms of finding local UK cuisine. One of the major reasons behind such decline is related to the fact that many diners have opened their shops in close proximity to the institutions in UK. This initiative has been driven due to the student's preference of local English cuisines and potential scope of earning higher revenues.

Conclusion and Recommendations

6.1 Conclusion

With an emphasis on their preferences for the ethnic and regional cuisines offered in the UK, the study have examined the attitudes and perspectives of African students studying in the UK in this study. This research was able to pinpoint a specific food item that is popular among African students and looked at the key factors that affect their taste preferences. We also considered how African students felt about the quality and flavour of food served in the UK.

According to our research, African students in the UK greatly favour certain foods with deep cultural roots. Their favourite foods gratify their palates and evoke pleasant memories and warm feelings from their own cultures. These menu options are essential for fostering a welcoming environment and facilitating their transfer to a new setting, which improves their general wellbeing and contentment throughout their stay.

6.2 Limitation

One of the major limitations of the research are the consideration of students from just five African community and assumption of African cuisine as a generalised component. It is because the Africa nation has immense cultural diversity and each ethnic tribe in Africa has their own set of traditional food items. Therefore, the presence of generalised perception about the differences between the African cuisine and the UK ethnic cuisine from the African students, belonging to only six different communities would not be able to draw proper conclusion as several ethnic communities that have not been involved within the survey might bear resemblance with the UK ethnic cuisine. It is because the research sample has students from six communities whereas there are more than 200 ethnic communities in Africa. Therefore, it is one of the major limitation that restricts the outcomes from the survey.

3.2 Recommendations

It is suggested the following adjustments in order to improve the gastronomic experience and improve the welfare of African students studying in the UK in light of our research:

One of the major recommendation is to conduct future research by considering a single ethnic community or culture from Africa. The further exploration in this topic would benefit in contributing to the precise understanding of the differences and similarities of the African and UK ethnic cuisines. In addition to that, such segmentation of the research sample will illustrate a true depiction of the African perception in terms of the spice content and complex flavors of the UK ethnic cuisines. It is also recommended that a qualitative research method should also be integrated as it would help in analysing diverse opinions of students from particular African community and improve the quality of the research.

Menu Options Diversification: UK-based eateries, both on- and off-campus, should increase the variety of ethnic African cuisine they serve. Establishments can cater to the specific culinary preferences of African students and promote diversity by offering a variety of cuisines from various African regions (Liu et al., 2020).

Restaurants must actively promote authenticity in order to preserve the culinary integrity of the ethnic cuisine they offer. Restaurants and cafés should work closely with African students to make sure that the flavours, cooking techniques, and presentation of food remain faithful to their cultural backgrounds. This dedication to realism will improve the kids' entire dining experience and will also make them feel loved and valued (Loh & Hassan, 2022).

• Promotion: Academic institutions and student organisations might really help the population become more aware of the many African cuisine possibilities. The community can join together to celebrate and appreciate the diversity of African culinary traditions by holding food festivals, cultural activities, and themed dining experiences.
• Collaboration with African Students: Including African students in the menu-creation process and routinely asking for their feedback may help to better understand their preferences and expectations. Collaboration will make it feasible to change the menu options to better meet the changing tastes and requirements of the pupils.
• Resolving Accessibility Issues: Given the challenges faced by African students in locating authentic African food, efforts should be taken to build specialised shops or supermarkets that provide basic components. If internet delivery services are encouraged, buying African food goods may be easy for people who live in remote locations.

3.3. Linking with objectives

The goals for this study have, for the most part, been accomplished. In order to support the authenticity and cultural significance of African students' dining preferences, we carefully looked at the elements affecting such preferences. Our research highlighted the significance of such foods in the lives of African students studying in the UK by revealing the deep emotional and social ties associated with certain cuisines.

The research has been able to pinpoint areas that want improvement and provide helpful advice since we have a good grasp of the challenges faced by African students seeking to get authentic African food in the UK. By encouraging a stronger connection to their cultural history and building a sense of belonging in African students, these proposed solutions hope to enhance their gastronomic experience.

This study demonstrates the crucial importance that food plays in the lives of African students studying in the UK. Our proposals provide a route towards a more welcoming and culturally diverse environment that accepts and celebrates the variety of African food given the significance of their gastronomic preferences and problems. These programmes, which have the support of the educational and hospitality industries, foster cross-cultural understanding while also enhancing African students' general wellbeing and academic achievement.

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