The bell rings, signaling the beginning of lunch. You sigh in relief, finally able to sate your grumbling stomach. As you eat, you talk and laugh with your friends, and before you know it, you’re full and lunch is over. From the sweet bowl of cereal hurriedly shoveled into our mouths in the morning to the grand, seven-course buffets eaten during banquets, cuisine plays a large role in our daily lives — but not just by giving us energy.

This raises the question: how does food affect our confidence and habits? But more importantly, how does cuisine influence identity? To answer these questions, we tackled each aspect within the broad topic of food, layer by layer.