Spot-on advice.

We have some clients coming in from China who have made it clear they want to be treated to western food. They politely indicated that the least time they visited and were taken out to a high-end Chinese restaurant, it was not up to their standards.

Like so many times in life -- best advice: "just be yourself"!

Back in the day I worked at a Country Club and they hosted a party for a large group of Norweigans. The kitchen went to great lengths to study up on Norweigan food and to provide them a gourmet Norweigan meal. I overheard some of the guests saying the food was great but really wanted Tex-Mex or BBQ.

I would never dream of trying to cook someone else's national dishes for them - partly because I'm sure my version wouldn't be anywhere near as good as what they're used to, and partly because it is a chance for them to have real homecooked food from my culture.

Does anyone really have the "funny notion" you talk about?

When I was 14, I spent 10 days in Japan and part of that was homestays. The families were incredibly gracious, but I think they must have been told that they had to feed the Americans beef - we enjoyed having hamburgers that were a bit different than what you'd have here (the spicing, somehow) but enjoyed much more trying the rice dishes the kids took for lunch, and the other Japanese foods that we'd never seen before. So, yes, I completely second the advice, after checking for dietary restrictions against any specific types of food.

Seems to me like a "duh" issue! Who would try to treat a guest to a subpar version of their own cuisine?
We always make sure that international guests get to try American barbeque (provided they eat meat).

Correction: Hindi is the language, should read "Are your guests Hindu?" Good point about the dietary restrictions, though.

This reminds me of a time when a friend who I met in Italy came over to California to study, and, of course, my family had him over for dinner.

I actually remember arguing with my Dad to NOT make pasta for dinner! First of all, he is from the north of Italy where pasta really isn't a diet main stay and wouldn't it be more fun to cook something really "Californian"?! Since he was my friend, I won, and we had a wonderful meal of fresh salmon, vegetables and treats from a local bakery.

He did, however, convince my dad to open that bottle of grappa that had been sitting on the counter for a few years...

Are your guests Hindi?

People who follow Hinduism are Hindu...
one of the languages spoken in South Asia is Hindi....

Hindi/Hindu typo fixed. Thanks for pointing it out!

This post is making me laugh because I always seem to accidentally serve "ethnic" food to people who have way more experience with that type of food than I do: Italian almond cake to my SIL who lived in Italy for years, pao de queijo to my BIL who lived in Brazil, flan to my Mexican friend, okonomiyaki to my Japanese friend, etc etc. It's uncanny how often I do that. But I do agree with this advice!

The one thing that makes me nervous about serving people from other cultures is not actually the type of food I make, but how much and how it's served. I know from my travels that in India, for instance, home cooks pressure their guests to eat three or four servings, and it would seem kinda stingy if they didn't. Here in the US though, where we're all well-/overfed I think it's polite to take your guest's word if they say they're full. Also, I know that my American friends love it when I serve a simple soup and salad because its such a contrast to the heavy restaurant/hospitality food that we get all the time. But I'm always nervous to serve a soup and salad to, say, my friend's husband from Fiji because I'm afraid it will seem like poor hospitality to a guy from a country in which hospitality means bringing out course after course of meat-based dishes. I just want everyone to feel loved!

If we were in Italy and had American friends come to visit, of course we would show off all the splendors of Italian cooking for them. When reversed, there isn't a clear-cut "American" culture of cooking to show off and explore - families in America eat such a wide variety, aside from maybe Thanksgiving dinners I can't think of what a quintessential American meal would be...I'd be completely stumped! (Of course other cultures have varied diets as well, but they generally have a traditional cuisine that is their go-to for showcasing.)

I would never dream of trying to pull off some complicated meal from another culture. The best advice in this post is to be yourself and know your abilities, and ask about any dietary restrictions in a tactful way (vegetarian vs. non, or dairy issues or severe allergies). If serving BBQ, say, I would still make sure to have a variety of options for guests - pork ribs + smoked chicken, vegetable side dishes, a couple of bread options to make sure that people can pick and try a variety of things. My favorite part of trying a new cuisine is being able to have small...or medium...or large...tastes of everything.

I think anyone visiting will feel so much more welcomed with a homecooked meal versus a night out at a restaurant. It shows hospitality and effort.

I agree that cooking family or regional favorites is a treat for guests. If you don't think your region has a cuisine, what are your family's favorite dishes? (Although, I've never been to a US region that didn't have a cuisine.) Here in the PNW, guests always ask for and get fresh seafood (sometimes even a trip to the harbor for prawns, or the oyster farm down the road), local farm produce, seasonal fruit, etc. When we lived in the rural West, hosts often served game they had caught themselves, which isn't my favorite, but I appreciated that they shared their family's food and culture.

When my boyfriend was a teenager, he did an exchange to France along the Swiss border. His host family packed his lunch everyday: 1 family size bag of chips, 1 FULL box of oreo cookies, 1L bottle of pop, 1 bottle of ketchup with 2 baguettes and cold meats. I guess they were told that Canadian children eat vast quantities of junk food. He was totally baffled.

My dad worked for an international company when I was growing up, so from time to time we would host dinners for his foreign counterparts. We always made them a modified Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing, orange squash, cranberries and some dessert with maple (New England pride!). The dinners were always a big hit. I fondly remember a Mexican gentleman who was so blown over by the taste of maple syrup that he put it on bread throughout the meal.

well , I really prefer to be treated with local favorite food than our own food that we could eat every day in our country in China.Even there are so many kinds of food that made in different way here .

I totally agree. I would want my host to serve what they do best, and what is easiest for them. I would hate to think someone went out of their way to cook an unfamiliar cuisine for me. Having said that, I always make an effort to cook classic French dishes for visiting French in-laws. Older people can be more set in their ways, and a meal without a large portion of protein, baguette, salad, a milky dessert and a cheese course would be unthinkable!

I think a middle way is the best. Of course you shouldn't give them just the food of their home country, but you should consider it, think about if their might be culinary restrictons (like, no meat or no pork, or halal meat ect) and things they might just be unused to and not like. For example, if your guests are from China or Japan they might not like cheese or cream-based dishes. They might like it, but don't count on it and think about alternatives.
They might even end up not liking anything about the local cuisine! Or even if they like the cuisine, after weeks of not eating their own food just miss their home cooking. So, especially if they are travelling for longer I would look that you have a emergency option. And maybe sometimes give them options, like do you want to go to this local place, or to the place with cuisine from your country or maybe you want to go to a pizza place?