The art of cooking is one of the oldest arts there is. However, only in recent decades have there been quite an explosion in the kinds of dishes available. Of course, there are more chefs and cooks and other people interested in the  culinary arts training . However, the world is a lot smaller today, and people now freely mix and match ideas coming from different cooking traditions in order to create hitherto unknown dishes and delicacies. Though traditionalists may gag at some of the new creations, everyone else who likes variety and choice wins out at the end.