Pacific

California, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon

While there is notable variation between the cuisines of each state in this region, the defining features of the cuisine of the pacific region are fresh seafood, farm-to-table cooking and fusion cuisine. In the Pacific Northwest states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon, you will find many foods that rely heavily on fresh seafood, wild game, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Due to its location so far north, Alaskan cuisine features more wild game native to the arctic region, such as reindeer, and still keeps alive some of the culinary traditions from the Indigenous people and original Russian settlers to the area. In Washington and Oregon, the cuisine has more of an Asian influence with a focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients. In the states of Hawaii and California, there is also a strong presence of fusion cuisine, particularly Asian fusion foods. Hawaii cuisine is a combination of Polynesian, Filipino, Japanese and American flavors that lean heavily on ingredients and cooking methods native to the islands. California cuisine is characterized by simply-prepared, fresh and healthy food that incorporates influences from various international cuisines.