I would say it's mostly climate, as it determines two things: 1) what can grow/live in a given place and 2) how long can the products be kept
Additionally, it's the closeness to such things as water sources where you can fish and trade routes: a lot of European cuisines include cofee products, even if cofee is not grown in Europe!
Kepler's first law says the planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits.
The details that you feel are most important, main details such as setting, characters, etc.
