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FOODWIKI – The culinary encyclopedia – I recently discovered Foodwiki. As the name suggests, Foodwiki is a kind of encyclopedia for foodies and anyone interested in the cuisines, flavors, and dishes of distant lands. While browsing the internet the other day, I stumbled upon this fascinating site while searching for good food, got hooked, and ended the informative evening with a new bookmark in my browser:„Foodwiki – The culinary encyclopedia“From Lieferando. Come along, I'll show you…”
Discover Foodwiki
When do you want to spend more time on a website? – When it's visually appealing, and then of course also thematically and in terms of content. The user journey, or the "user's journey" during their visit, is just as crucial. If the website title includes the word "Food," there's a good chance it'll pique my interest. 😉 In other words: Anyone who's curious, loves food, and whose appetite immediately springs to mind when they hear the words "food" will likely enjoy the Foodwiki encyclopedia. The website presents nearly 200 dishes and cuisines from around the world, describing them in detail and "virtually dissecting and explaining" them. Foodwiki, or rather Lieferando, describes the encyclopedia itself like this: "Have you always wanted to know if an unfamiliar dish on the menu is worth ordering? In Foodwiki, you'll find all the information you need about a wide variety of dishes from around the world..." And that's exactly what it is. Numerous dishes that you can discover for the first time are listed and presented in an appealing way.
This is what Foodwiki looks like. Naturally, it's also optimized for mobile devices.
Usability and content
How long do you usually stay on an "information website" that interests you? Three minutes? Five minutes? I tested this on my own browsing habits and found that after seven to eight minutes (including snacking on cookies in between ;-)) I'm already clicking on the next page(s) – simply because so much else on the web beckons through links, banner ads, and the like, which might also be interesting. On Foodwiki, I stayed for over 70 minutes (excluding cookie eating ;-)) – also because there was so much interesting reading and learning. In my case, I noticed that while I recognized the names of about 95-971 of the dishes (…but then again, I think about food from morning till night…), I didn't know the background of all of them. Thanks to Foodwiki, I now know even more about the cuisines and dishes of faraway countries (…or did you know that „Bo La Lot“ – a Vietnamese snack with spicy beef rolled in green leaves – gets its name from the Vietnamese pepper leaves „La Lot“? Or that „Jemista“ is one of the favorite dishes of the Greeks?).
When you open the website, you'll find a large, static image on the left and the option to select your preferred cuisine on the right. Foodwiki presents ten different cuisines in total: Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Once you've chosen your favorite—for example, my favorite, Japanese cuisine—and clicked on it, you'll learn everything about that cuisine in a concise and engaging way, including its defining characteristics and origins. Only the most relevant information is included, without delving too deeply or becoming overly complicated. To stick with the Japanese example: the article covers the cuisine's unique features, its "healthy principles," individual trends (soup culture, quick meals, bento boxes, vegetarianism, sculpted desserts, etc.), and its preference for good fish. It's a fascinating overview of Japanese cuisine. Then, for each cuisine, you'll find its typical dishes. I also think it's great that you can search by category or "type of dish." For example, if you want to learn about soups, side dishes, or perhaps desserts or snacks, one click takes you directly to the relevant section. If you just want to browse Foodwiki a bit, you can also check out "Most Viewed Dishes" (…a statistic currently heavily influenced by me ;-)…). But now, let's get down to the meatballs, or rather, the dishes.
Each section contains interesting information about the respective cuisine.
The dishes – a journey through foreign cuisines
Once you've selected and clicked on a cuisine, the list of dishes appears after the information section. Sticking with my favorite ("Japanese cuisine"), you'll currently find 26 different dishes. Each category offers a colorful variety. "Classics" like miso soup, teriyaki, sushi, tempura, and wakame salad are listed alongside tonkatsu, gyoza, fugu, and dorayaki (do you know them all?). I was completely hooked when I discovered "mochi," a Japanese sticky rice cake, in the "Desserts" category during my Foodwiki stroll. 🙂 If a particular dish in the overview gallery catches your eye, you can click on it and get a very detailed description for each dish—regardless of the cuisine or which of the nearly 200 listed dishes you choose. „Where does the dish come from? What is its origin? What does it consist of and how is it enjoyed in the respective country?“ are just some of the points that are covered.
What's also great is that if you don't want to read everything, each dish has a short paragraph and the most important key messages at the beginning. Each dish is also divided into different categories ("Mochi," for example, is in "Desserts"). The base of the dish (rice for "Mochi") is also mentioned, as well as any allergens and the potential target audience ("For whom?" – "Sweet tooth"). Depending on the cuisine, the spiciness level of the dish is also indicated. This is very practical for me, because if I see more than one chili pepper – the symbol used – I immediately know: "This isn't for me!", as I don't like food that's too spicy. I also like that you don't have to click all the way back to the beginning; instead, the menu is listed item by item at the top, meaning you can easily return to the main tab for dishes and cuisines.
My favorites are Japanese, Indian, and Thai cuisine. I also enjoy Italian food, but there's so much more to it than just pizza and pasta. So I was delighted to discover dishes like carpaccio, risotto, polenta, and panettone in this category. No category or cuisine focuses solely on the same old, run-of-the-mill dishes that everyone who travels around or eats out knows; instead, they all surprise with genuinely rare creations. I would love to see many more cuisines included, such as German, French, or even cuisines that might be less familiar to Europeans (Ireland, England, Scotland, Australia, Cuba, Africa, Egypt, etc.). Of course, Foodwiki is also an excellent source of inspiration when you're hungry. If your stomach is rumbling and you're not quite sure what to order, a quick look in the online encyclopedia will likely help you decide.
What do you like to eat? – You can find lots of interesting information about it on Foodwiki.
Conclusion: Thumbs up!
After clicking through ten national cuisines and reading a great deal, I'm considerably more knowledgeable. The user journey mentioned above is pleasant and easy to understand. While there were only a few dishes I didn't know or at least recognize, Foodwiki is the ideal guide for questions like "What else might I like?", "Oh, I didn't know that!", and "Mmmh, I'll have to try that!". The attention to detail and the comprehensiveness of the information are very impressive. A big plus is the option to directly enter your postcode to see who delivers a particular dish in your area. The "Also try" suggestion for each dish hints at what else you might enjoy if you find a particular dish interesting – a handy feature. It's also helpful that each dish has its corresponding national flag placed in the bottom right corner of the image – making it even easier to see what you're currently researching.
I'll be using Foodwiki more often now when I want to learn about foreign cuisines, dishes, and distant countries in general. It also really motivates me to try new things. I think it's great that Foodwiki is now available in six European countries and four languages (…Bavarian is surely coming soon… ;-)). Foodwiki does exactly what an encyclopedia should do: It provides high-quality information about food in a pleasant way, playfully covers interesting food facts about a wide variety of dishes, and is simply fun. Hopefully, more and more new content will be added, and on my next visit, there will be Bavarian or German delicacies. I can only agree with you to do the same and thereby learn many exciting and historical backgrounds of numerous dishes; get new inspiration for your next order and/or meal; discover previously unknown ingredients and preparation methods; and also explore the individual cooking and culinary traditions of the respective countries.
+++ This article was created in cooperation with Lieferando. Thank you! +++
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Foodwiki – The culinary encyclopedia
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