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In spite of disparate cultural knowledge and beliefs, and diversity of individual practices, the food‐centred occupations of older New Zealand and Thai women share common meanings. When women talk about preparing, sharing and giving foods at Christmas and Songkran, their stories uncover dimensions of meaning that span time and geography. The meanings encompass the symbolism of celebratory food, transmission of tradition and recipes from grandmothers to their daughters and granddaughters, and claiming recognition and identity through food‐centred occupations. These meanings very much seem to belong to the world of older women and their felt place in that world. For women in New Zealand these meanings arise in a context of colonisation and rapid cultural change, whereas the Thai women's experiences are predicated on an expectation of cultural continuity. The findings are drawn from a …