I'd be curious to see a data viz of map with a time slider at the bottom, and a food item selecter on the left. For a particular food item, you could see how it spread from it's origin to the cuisines of various regions around the world over time.
For instance, noodles from China, or chilis from the Americas.
Apparently (I Read It On The Internet So It Must Be True) you can trace the progress of Scottish traders across the world, by seeing where the local culture starts deep-frying things in batter.
Certainly tempura wasn't a thing in Japan until they traded with the West.
For instance, noodles from China, or chilis from the Americas.