Food is one of the most fundamental elements of culture and a significant marker of regional and ethnic identity. It encompasses many other elements of cultural heritage beyond the physical ingredients required for its production. These include folklore, religion, language, familial bonds, social structures, environmental determinism, celebrations and ceremonies, landscapes, culinary routes, smells, and tastes, to name but a few. However, despite all that is known about foodways and cuisine from hospitality, gastronomical, supply chain and agricultural perspectives, there still remains a dearth of consolidated research on the wide diversity of food and its heritage attributes and contexts.
This edited volume aims to fill this void by consolidating into a single volume what is known about cuisines and foodways from a heritage perspective and to examine and challenge the existing paradigms, concepts and practices related to gastronomic practices, intergenerational traditions, sustainable agriculture, indigenous rituals, immigrant stories and many more heritage elements as they pertain to comestible cuisines and practices. The book takes a global and thematic approach in examining heritage cuisines from a wide range of perspectives, including agriculture, hunting and gathering, migration, ethnic identity and place, nationalism, sustainability, colonialism, food diversity, religion, place making, festivals, and contemporary movements and trends. All chapters are rich in empirical examples but steady and sound in conceptual depth.
This book offers new insight and understanding of the heritage implications of cuisines and foodways. The multidisciplinary nature of the content will appeal to a broad academic audience in the fields of tourism, gastronomy, geography, cultural studies, anthropology and sociology.