European cuisine A collective definition of European cuisine , or alternatively Western cuisine is a generalized nomenclature for people especially from South, East and Southeast Asian countries referring collectively to the cuisines of the Western countries including Europe, Russia, North America, and Australasia, Oceania, and Latin America . This term is rarely used in the West except in the context of contrasting with Asian styles of cooking [1]. It is analogous to Westerners referring collectively the cuisines of Asian countries as Asian cuisine.