Gastronomica

Mapping Out Food and Philosophy

Fri, 01 May 2026 08:00:00 -0000

This episode introduces a special issue on food and philosophy. Robert T. Valgenti, of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective, talks with Andrea Borghini about the increasing attention to food within philosophy over the last three decades and shares the inspiration behind their special issue. They discuss how this issue of Gastronomica engages with different disciplines and formats by bringing together short essays and reflections on the field of philosophy from scholars around the world. By attending to ethics, value, and aesthetics through a range of topics that include art, taste, hunger, sustainability, food waste, and bioethics and GLP-1s, the special issue highlights different perspectives on how food can enter philosophical practice.

Gastronomica’s special issue on food and philosophy was published in Fall 2025 (25.3) and is available online here.

Andrea Borghini is an associate professor of philosophy and the director of Culinary Mind, a research center for the philosophy of food, at the University of Milan. Learn more about his work here and about Culinary Mind here.

Robert T. Valgenti is a professor of liberal arts and food studies at The Culinary Institute of America. A philosopher and translator, he works on the philosophy of food, Italian philosophy, and hermeneutics and is a member of the Editorial Collective at Gastronomica.

Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network here. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

Chiang Mai 2015

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0000

The Gastronomica podcast returns to the air, bringing listeners new interviews with authors from the latest issues of Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies. In this episode, Alyssa James of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective hosts award-winning writer and historian Camille Bégin for a discussion of “Chiang Mai 2015,” a creative nonfiction account of a family trip and a search for sustenance that becomes entangled with questions of illness, climate, and care. In her memoir of failed culinary tourism, a story set against the smoky skies of northern Thailand, Camille asks what it means to travel, to look for meaning, and to eat ethically. In conversation with Alyssa, Camille talks about how the haze shapes her story, reflects on the politics of culinary tourism, and shows how food can become a small anchor in times of crisis.

“Chiang Mai 2015” was published in the Spring 2025 issue of Gastronomica (25.1) and is available online here.

Camille Bégin is the author of Taste of the Nation: The New Deal Search for America’s Food (University of Illinois Press, 2016). Her personal essays have appeared in Gastronomica, Adelaide Magazine, and the scientific journal, Brain. She is currently writing a food memoir called Crumbs: A Trail of Taste and Illness. Website here

Alyssa A. L. James is an anthropologist and postdoctoral scholar at the USC Society of Fellows. Her current book project, Revival Grounds, examines coffee, heritage, and temporality in Martinique. Learn more here

Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network here. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

Ozoz Sokoh on Movement and Storytelling

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 16:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Irina D. Mihalache talks with Ozoz Sokoh, creator of Kitchen Butterfly and author of the forthcoming book, Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria (2025). Ozoz reflects on how movement and mobility have shaped her work, recounting her journey from Nigeria to Canada and from the field of geology to food, and the life stations she’s encountered along the way. The conversation centers the process of creative and curatorial work in food history and storytelling, with a focus on how food connects us. This episode concludes with a preview of Ozoz’s debut cookbook. She shares the joys of living in a diverse city while developing recipes, being able to source ingredients not only from Nigerian grocers but from a wide range of multicultural stores, with similar items, and one of the dishes she's most excited about in the book.

Photo by Oluwapelumi Bamidele of Ovia Reflex Photography.

A Celebrated Condiment and a Forgotten Past

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Dan Bender talks with anthropologist Alyssa Paredes about the role that stories of celebration can play in remembering food history — and in eclipsing alternative narratives about the past. Spotlighting the case of banana ketchup, Alyssa shares competing stories about the production of this popular condiment and explains how it came to be a celebrated symbol of Filipino cultural identity, yet one that overshadows unpalatable realities. Connecting narratives of past and present, Dan and Alyssa discuss the work that stories do and the process of interpreting them in food studies scholarship. Alyssa’s new article, “Banana Ketchup: Food Memory and Forgotten Labor across the Filipino Homeland/Diaspora Divide,” will be published in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2), coming Summer 2024.

How American Food Writing Changed After 2020

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0000

What do the stories we tell about food reveal about the moment in which they are written? Gastronomica’s Melissa Fuster is joined by literary scholar turned food studies scholar Julieta Flores Jurado in a conversation about American food writing and how it has changed in recent years. They discuss key shifts in food journalism and the role of the critic, where a focus on pleasure and tastemaking has given way to new emphases on systemic and structural issues, a phenomenon accelerated in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic. Julieta sheds light on how contemporary American food writing differs from prior eras that showcased food as a platform for activism and change and explains what she takes to be distinctive about such writing in the current moment – its revisionary sentiment and the impulse to transform a field. Julieta’s research will be published in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2), coming Summer 2024.

What to Read Now: "The Climate Reality for Independent Restaurants”

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 15:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel talks with Dr. Anne E. McBride and Dr. Tara Scully about how climate change is impacting restaurants, the focus of their collaboration on a new report from the James Beard Foundation and the Global Food Institute, The Climate Reality for Independent Restaurants: A Deep Dive into the Supply Chain and New Economic Realities. Anne and Tara share some of the key research insights and discuss how the James Beard Foundation is mobilizing this knowledge to support chefs, engage lawmakers, and advocate for sustainable food policies and conservation programs. Bringing together food systems research and advocacy, they shed light on the role of chefs in helping to advance climate solutions and highlight how to take action.

Dr. Anne E. McBride is Vice President of Programs at the James Beard Foundation. Dr. Tara Scully is Director of Curriculum Development at the Global Food Institute at The George Washington University.

Negotiating Dietary Change in a Time of Planetary Eating

Sun, 12 May 2024 15:00:00 -0000

This episode offers listeners a peek into Gastronomica’s next issue. “Coproducing ‘Planetary’ Eating Futures from Dakar: Dietary Diffusionism and the (Geo)Politics of Nutrition Transition” is co-authored by Branwyn Poleykett, Ndiaga Sall, Fatou Ndow, and Paul Young. Branwyn joins the show and talks with Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel about the concept of the planetary diet and the problems with dietary diffusionism, highlighting the process of localized engagement and what it means of negotiating global food system change. Listeners can learn more and find the article in Gastronomica’s Summer 2024 issue, coming soon.

Kangaroo, Cattle, and the Historical Legacies of Modern Food Systems

Sun, 05 May 2024 15:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti talks with Evelyn Lambeth about the rise of beef consumption and the historical legacies that continue to shape food systems in Australia. Contrasting cattle with kangaroos and wallabies, Evelyn explains how imperial power and regulation have defined notions of what’s edible – and what’s not. Bob and Evelyn discuss what this means for local ecosystems today, and what policy changes and adaptations are needed to support environmentally and culturally sustainable foodways moving forward. Evelyn’s research article will be available in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2).

The Meanings of Meat: Lab-grown Protein and Biological Time

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 15:00:00 -0000

This week’s episode looks at lab-grown meat, climate change, and the possible futures of edibility. In conversation with Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti, Hallam Stevens shares his new article about a mammoth meatball and what motivated him to explore the technological innovation of an un-eatable food. Connecting history, biology, technology, and ethics, Hallam discusses how cellular agriculture shapes the temporality of food and the category of the animal itself, weighing in on what these new forms of value creation mean for sustainability transitions.

Masculinity and the Making of “Assamese” Pithas

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 15:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s James Farrer talks with sociologist Pooja Kalita about gender and the labor of food provisioning in Assam, India. Taking the case of pithas – the steamed or fried rice cakes and roasted rice flour rolls that have been traditionally prepared by women – Pooja explores how men became involved in making and selling this everyday food item in the urban marketplace. Drawing on her new Gastronomica article, Pooja sheds light on how care work, trust, and authenticity came to be at the center of these efforts to preserve Assamese culture.

What Food Studies Needs Now

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 15:00:00 -0000

Where is Food Studies today, and where might it be tomorrow? Join Alyshia Gálvez in conversation with Jessica Carbone, Irina Mihalache, Krishnendu Ray, and Signe Rousseau of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective as they weigh in on recent developments in Food Studies. They discuss some of their favorite pieces over the last year, reflect on directions in the field, and share what they’d love to see in the journal’s pages in the future.

The Confectionery Industry in the Japanese Empire

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel talks with author Lillian Tsay about her latest research on the rise of the confectionery industry in the early 20th century, from banana caramels to chocolate. Focusing on sweetness and power in Japan and colonial Taiwan, Lillian connects the early commercial success of Western-style confectionery to histories of empire, industrialization, and commoditization.

The Meanings of Sweetness in Japan

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0000

What is “sweetness,” and how does its meaning change in communities over time? In this episode, Eric C. Rath and Takeshi Watanabe introduce some of the sweet substances of Japanese history, the subject of a special section on “The Power of Japanese Sweets and Sweeteners” in Gastronomica’s latest issue. In conversation with Gastronomica’s Dan Bender, Eric and Takeshi explore the theme of continuity and change in a culture by taking listeners through the complex history of sweets.

Tracing Food Memory through Migration and Displacement

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 10:00:00 -0000

What does food sustain? Elora Halim Chowdhury joins Gastronomica’s Signe Rousseau to discuss her new article on family, class, and culture in South Asian identity-making. Reflecting on her food nostalgia for the family mealtimes of her childhood in Rajshahi, Dhaka, and New Delhi, Elora discusses how time, labor, and transnational connections shape identity and community.

Sean Wyer on Rome’s Historic Jewish Quarter

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 14:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Krishnendu Ray talks with Sean Wyer about the 21st century transformation of Rome’s Jewish Quarter. Drawing on his latest research, recently published in Gastronomica, Sean considers how a range of factors – from heritage tourism and cosmopolitan innovation to religious dietary laws and diasporic migration – helped shape Jewish-Roman cuisine and the evolving character of a historic neighborhood.

Lauren Crossland-Marr on Emerging Food Technologies and Science Communication

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 16:08:00 -0000

In this episode, cultural anthropologist Lauren Crossland-Marr returns to the Gastronomica podcast to discuss her new project on gene-edited foods and science communication. In conversation with Dan Bender of Gastronomica’s editorial collective, Lauren shares her evolving research interests in food studies and how she transitioned from studying local “authentic” foods to researching the rollout of a new technology in global food and agricultural commodity systems with the GEAP3 network. Lauren introduces her most recent work, a podcast series called A CRIPSR Bite, that tells the story of a new gene editing technology through case studies of tomatoes, soy, cattle, and wine.

Dan Bender on Making Wine Amidst Ruins

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 13:00:00 -0000

Gastronomica’s Dan Bender and Jaclyn Rohel explore wines from Italy’s Alto Piemonte region in this discussion on taste, livelihoods, and a changing environment. In his newly published creative nonfiction article, Dan writes that “Wine is good for thinking ruins.” This episode connects abandoned factories, overgrown terraces, vineyards, cellars, and local memory of “The Great Hailstorm of 1905” to tell a larger story about how past, present, and future collide in the wineglass.

Nancy Sommers on Family Keepsakes

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 15:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Nancy Sommers discusses her new creative nonfiction article, “Things Left Behind,” in conversation with Signe Rousseau, Co-Chair of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective. Nancy shares the personal story of sorting through the family keepsakes that her mother had meticulously preserved over the span of many decades. Recipes, menus, seating plans, accounts of household meals, drawings and diagrams and other ephemera – all classified, archived, and saved – come to new light against the backdrop of dementia. Nancy highlights the complex layers of remembering and forgetting, the surprises, and the unexpected gifts.

Jed Hilton on Professional Cooking and the Meanings of Sustainability

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0000

What does it mean to be a “sustainable” chef? In this episode, Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel talks with anthropologist Jed Hilton about his latest research on culinary labor in the hospitality industry. Drawing on his ethnography of British chefs, Jed shares some of the ways that chefs navigate notions of sustainability through the craft of cooking. Connecting expertise, ethics, and the market, the conversation highlights the tensions that surround the meaning of sustainability in fine dining restaurants.

Chelsea Fisher and Clara Albacete on Superfoods and Green Capitalism

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 15:46:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti talks with Chelsea Fisher and Clara Albacete about their new article on food justice and civilizations in the supermarket. Drawing on superfoods such as quinoa and chia, they unpack the process of ancient greenwashing and the notion of long-term sustainability. Their conversation connects the contemporary moment to pre-colonial civilizations to reveal how social inequities in global food systems live on through storied food.

Camille Bégin on Memory, Travel, and a Family Archive

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 23:46:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Alyshia Gálvez hosts historian Camille Bégin in a discussion on a family food archive. Drawing on her recent piece, Bégin stitches together a collage of memories from the 1948-49 letters of her great-grandfather, who traveled through Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as an inspector of the French lycées. Bégin explains how she came to spin a narrative of food, family, and the French colonial empire through her great-grandfather's ephemera and three subsequent generations of family cooks.

Ellen Meiser on Taipei’s Daytime Street Markets

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 13:38:00 -0000

What is the social value of a daytime street market? In this episode, sociologist Ellen Meiser talks with Gastronomica’s Dan Bender about the meaning and value of Taiwan’s caishichang. Drawing on her early memories of these vegetable street markets and her participant observations of the same lively streets in the contemporary moment, Ellen explains the important roles that caishichang play in the local food system and in social, economic, and political life. Listeners can learn more about caishichang in Ellen’s photo essay, featured in Gastronomica’s newest issue (23.2).

Photo by Ellen Meiser

Cristina Fernández Recasens on the Pebbles Omelet

Sun, 21 May 2023 16:29:00 -0000

In this episode, Irina Mihalache of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective hosts Cristina Fernández Recasens in a conversation about women’s domestic labor in coastal Catalonia. Cristina shares some of the findings from their work on fish consumption and gendered work in the local fishing industry, highlighting how the research eventually led them to a recipe for pebbles omelet. Listeners can learn more about the pebbles omelet and find the recipe for this subversive dish in Cristina’s newest piece, featured in Gastronomica’s upcoming issue (Summer 2023).

Photo by Maria Fernández Recasens.

Annie Koempel on the Ripple Effects of Disordered Eating

Sun, 14 May 2023 18:28:00 -0000

In this episode, anthropologist and registered dietician Annie Koempel discusses her research on the sociality of eating behaviors in conversation with Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel. Drawing on her latest article, available in Gastronomica’s Summer 2023 issue, Annie explains the differences between disordered eating, eating disorders, and dieting. Situating surveys and stories of eating behaviors within the broader phenomenon of food sharing, Annie describes how disordered eating can move between bodies.

Thiago Braga on Tea Art in Urban China

Sun, 07 May 2023 16:55:00 -0000

What is tea art, and when and how did it emerge as a social practice? In this episode, Daniel Bender of Gastronomica hosts anthropologist Thiago Braga in a conversation about the aesthetics of tea in urban China. Drawing on his latest research, featured in Gastronomica’s newest issue (Summer 2023), Thiago explains how contemporary Chinese Tea Art is neither a timeless nor an invented tradition, but a complex social phenomenon.

Stuart Freedman on London’s Eel, Pie, and Mash Shops

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 18:20:00 -0000

What do eel, pie, and mash shops reveal about London's past, and what role do they play in the current moment? In this episode, Stuart Freedman talks with Signe Rousseau about his research on forgotten foods and changing urban spaces, forthcoming in Gastronomica’s newest issue (Summer 2023). Combining sensory ethnography with the concepts of nostalgia and resistance, Freedman explores working class identity through the social worlds of London's disappearing eel, pie, and mash shops.

Patrick Charbonneau, Jeffrey Pilcher, and Kelsey Kilgore on the Mexican Roots of an American Candy

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0000

This episode brings together physical chemistry, history, and food studies in search of the origins of a colonial Mexican fudge. In conversation with Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel, Patrick Charbonneau, Jeffrey Pilcher, and Kelsey Kilgore discuss their unique collaboration and share the story of how they re-created the dish in the teaching kitchen of the University of Toronto’s Culinaria Research Centre. Drawing on manuscripts and published cookbooks from the 18th to 20th centuries, in combination with hands-on culinary experimentation, they trace the recipe to Mexican vernacular traditions of candy making.

Photo Courtesy of Kelsey Kilgore.

Victor Valle on Acquired Tastes: Memories and Metaphors of Chile-Eating

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 01:53:00 -0000

What roles do culture, ecology, and neuroscience play in making sense of lived experiences of eating? In this episode, Victor Valle speaks with Krishnendu Ray of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective about his newly published personal essay, “Toward a Poetics of Chile.... in Another Mexico.” Reflecting on palatal taste, memory, family biography, and colonial history, Victor connects culinary aesthetics with neural networks as he delves into acquired tastes and parses the complex sensations of his chile-eating experiences over time.

Lauren Crossland-Marr and Elizabeth Krause on Fashioning Authenticity: Culinary Craft and Creative Work in Italy

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 02:49:00 -0000

How is value created in heritage food systems, and what role does the figure of the artisanal producer play? In this episode, anthropologists Lauren Crossland-Marr and Elizabeth Krause introduce a special section on authenticity, published in Gastronomica’s newest issue (Spring 2023). In conversation with Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti, Lauren and Elizabeth share some of the most pressing questions around the notion of authenticity today. Drawing on culinary cases from Italy – including ethnographic research on slow figs and fast fashion - they discuss how storytelling and producers’ improvisations shape value in the face of social, environmental, and economic precarity.

Photo Courtesy of Betsy Krause

James Edward Malin on How Seltzer Became a Jewish Icon

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 18:32:00 -0000

In this episode, James Edward Malin talks with Gastronomica’s Jessica Carbone about the history of seltzer in New York City. Drawing together histories of migration with histories of public health, engineering, and urban infrastructure, James sheds light on how soda water eventually came to be Jewish food icon. In discussing his new article in Issue 22.4 of Gastronomica, James takes listeners on a historical tour of some of New York’s most important water provisioning sites, from the Croton Aqueduct, to seltzer street carts, to the eventual implementation of rooftop water towers.

Holly Brause on Water Scarcity and the Terroir of New Mexico Chile

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 18:26:00 -0000

How does environmental change and water scarcity affect heritage crops? In this episode, Holly Brause discusses her newly published ethnographic research on the chile industry in southern New Mexico. In conversation with Paula Johnson of the Gastronomica Editorial Collective, Holly connects the local effects of climate change and drought to the economic and cultural value of a heritage crop. Drawing together taste, place, and practices of agricultural production, she explains how the strategies used to grow chiles under the conditions of water scarcity can have unintended consequences for the quantity and quality of chiles produced.

Chanelle Dupuis on Waterways and Environmental Change: ‘Slow Smelling’ Along the Nanay River

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:36:00 -0000

In this episode, Chanelle Dupuis talks with Dan Bender of the Gastronomica Editorial Collective about contaminated waterways and sensory perceptions of environmental change. Focusing on the changing smell of water and the role of the nose in sensing environmental degradation in the Peruvian Amazon, Chanelle sheds light on how bilious odors and processes of “slow smelling” affect riverine residents and Indigenous communities in and around the Nanay River. Drawing from her article in Gastronomica’s newest issue (22.4), Chanelle connects the odors of pollution to ways of living that have come under threat, elaborating on the implications for community identity, local livelihoods, health and the sourcing of local foods, and spiritual connections to the waterways.

The Water Issue: A Gastronomica Roundtable

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 17:00:00 -0000

Join Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective as we discuss The Water Issue (22.4). Recorded live at the University of Toronto in November 2022, this episode offers a peek into a roundtable conversation on water across social and ecological registers, drawing connections between place, taste, and social justice. With contributions from Gastronomica editors including Paula Johnson, Irina Mihalache, Krishnendu Ray, Signe Rousseau, Bob Valgenti, Jessica Carbone, and moderated by Dan Bender, the roundtable explores water as a topic of food studies research where infrastructure, history, culture, and ethics meet.

Photo courtesy of Paula Johnson.

A Dispatch on Wartime Provisioning: Food Supply Chains in Eastern Europe

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 18:30:00 -0000

How is the war in Ukraine impacting regional food supply chains? In this episode, Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti speaks with scholars Diana Mincyte and Fabio Parasecoli about the current state of food systems in countries that immediately border Ukraine. They shed light on crisis and resiliency in localized food networks -- from emergency aid and community food supports for refugees to smallholder farming -- and on what may lie ahead for food security in Eastern Europe more broadly. Listeners can learn more from their new article in the Fall 2022 issue of Gastronomica.

Photos courtesy of Fabio Parasecoli and Diana Mincyte.

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Fabio Parasecoli on Designing Polish Cuisine

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 19:30:00 -0000

Could the future of a cuisine be designed, and if so, by whom? Gastronomica Co-Chair Signe Rousseau hosts Fabio Parasecoli in a discussion of the cultural work that tastemakers do in creating new forms of value in Polish food. From potatoes and vodka, to wine, to mushrooms and other foraged plants, they explore the ways in which tastemakers – as designers – create, innovate, and prototype new culinary experiences by working across the past, present, and future. Fabio shares insights and ethnographic reflections from his new Gastronomica article, co-authored with Mateusz Halawa, now available in issue 22.3.

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Ishita Dey on Crafting Doi: Placemaking, Ecology, and Labor in Bangladesh

Sun, 06 Nov 2022 16:00:00 -0000

How does a food come to be linked to a place when there is movement and change? In this episode, food anthropologist Ishita Dey talks with Gastronomica’s Krishnendu Ray about placemaking amidst historical, political, and ecological change in Bangladesh. Ishita shares stories and insights on the craft of sweetmaking from her research into Bogurar doi, bridging ecologies of dairy and fermentation with human geographies of migration, labor, and caste.

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Matthew Meduri on Eating Out in the Magic City

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 16:30:00 -0000

What role could a restaurant play in defining a place? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Jaclyn Rohel speaks with writer Matthew Meduri about the role of the chicken house in a changing economy in Barberton, Ohio. Weaving together histories of migration, post industrialism, and urban transformation, Matthew Meduri shares memories of a Serbian-style fried poultry dish -- known locally as Barberton chicken -- and reflects on the Magic City as a place in search of its identity. Listeners can find Matthew's new article in the Fall 2022 issue of Gastronomica.

Photo courtesy of Drzazga Photography.

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Teresa Politano on Funeral Food

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 21:07:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica Co-Chair Dan Bender speaks with Teresa Politano about her personal essay, “Don’t Forget the Tomatoes for My Funeral,” a finalist in the upcoming 2022 International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Awards. Drawing together stories of grief and comfort through a range of care packages – from freezer casseroles, grocery store cakes, and power bars, to homemade potato salads, freshly baked cookies and bread, and sun-ripened garden tomatoes – Teresa reflects on consumption and commensality in American funeral rituals.

Jennifer Dueck on Food Writing and the Making of Mediterranean Cuisine

Sun, 07 Aug 2022 16:32:00 -0000

What is Mediterranean cuisine, and who shapes its meaning and boundaries? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Amy Trubek speaks with Jennifer Dueck about tastemaking and gastronomic representation in American journalism. A historian of Middle Eastern culture and politics, Jennifer traces the construction of Mediterranean cuisine in the American press over the latter half of the 20th century, noting points of erasure and expansion. She also highlights the important role that Middle Eastern and North African immigrant restaurateurs came to play in imagining the culinary Mediterranean within American public culture.

Photo courtesy of William Cronon.

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Consuelo Carr Salas and Colleen Hammelman on Authenticity and Spaces of Belonging in a New Food Economy

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 16:30:00 -0000

How do online restaurant reviews affect foodways in an emerging migrant destination? In this episode, rhetorician Consuelo Carr Salas and geographer Colleen Hammelman unpack the intersection of digital and physical culinary contact zones. In conversation with Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Jaclyn Rohel, Consuelo and Colleen share insights on tastemaking from their new research on Latin American and Caribbean food businesses in Charlotte, North Carolina, one the America’s fastest growing cities. Drawing attention to the many ways in which customers and restaurateurs use notions of authenticity, they shed light on how people give meaning to new culinary spaces.

Indira Arumugam on the Pleasures of Preserves

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 15:54:00 -0000

Sharing and eating food together is a common way to build connection, but how does one maintain family ties when separated by hundreds of miles? In this episode, Singapore-based anthropologist Indira Arumugam chronicles her family’s migration through a story of salt, sun, and time. In conversation with Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Krishnendu Ray, Indira shares the techniques of sun-drying goat meat and fish from her family’s village in Tamil Nadu and weighs in on culinary labor, love, and hospitality in rural-urban connections.

Endia Louise Hayes on African American Food Imaginaries, Food Justice, and Sustainability

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 21:59:00 -0000

What can food imaginaries of the past reveal about pathways towards food justice? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Bob Valgenti talks with sociologist Endia Louise Hayes about her newest article, featured in Gastronomica’s Summer 2022 issue. Drawing together political histories, lived experience, and collaborative discourses for future possibilities, Endia uncovers the role of African American food imaginaries in creating sustainable foodways. In spotlighting the work of George Washington Carver, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Edna Lewis, Endia discusses land access, community care, pleasure, and freedom, and shares some of the building blocks of an alternative food movement.

Jason Edward Pagaduan on Finding Care and Commensality in a Mall Walkers Club

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 16:30:00 -0000

What does it mean to “eat healthy”? Gastronomica Co-Chair Dan Bender hosts Jason Edward Pagaduan in a conversation about the moral underpinnings of food. Drawing on his newly published story in Gastronomica, Jason shares his experience in a suburban mall walkers club, where he encountered unexpected ways to care for the body. Exploring questions of diasporic identity, cross-generational connection, and health, this episode offers a fresh take on the meaning of fast food.

Noha Fikry on Rooftop Rearing and Human-Animal Relations

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 16:30:00 -0000

Rooftop cultivation can play an important role in feeding communities, but what is the place of animals in elevated urban gardens? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Lisa Haushofer talks with anthropologist Noha Fikry about the uses of home rooftops for feeding one’s family. Drawing on her ethnographic research in some of Egypt’s biggest cities, Noha explores rooftop rearing as a gendered practice of caregiving -- what she calls “bread-nurturing” -- and shows how it plays an important role in Egypt’s culinary infrastructure.

Krystyn R. Moon and Jennifer Rhode Ward on the Cultural Production of Taste in Cuban Foodways

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 16:23:00 -0000

Food scholars have found that notions of “good taste” often distinguish people based on class and social inequality. But how do people give meaning to food and taste in a socialist economy? Join host Jaclyn Rohel, a member of the Gastronomica Editorial Collective, as she talks with food historian Krystyn Moon and biologist Jennifer Rhode Ward about their new research on the complexities of taste, identity, and food access in Cuba. Krystyn and Jennifer shed light on why hierarchies of taste persist even amidst state attempts to flatten social hierarchies.

Photograph courtesy of Jennifer Rhode Ward.

Sara El-Sayed and Christy Spackman on Fermented Foods and Inclusive Governance

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 16:19:00 -0000

What happens to traditions of fermentation when state regulations prohibit their sale and distribution? And can these ferments and their value to people help create more just, inclusive, and equitable food systems? Inspired by their research on the importance of fermentation for marginalized communities in Arizona, food scholars Sara El-Sayed and Christy Spackman sit down with Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Dan Bender to explain what happens in the microbial and cultural world of regulated and unregulated fermentation.

Photo courtesy of Nalini Chhetri.

Satomi Fukutomi on Consumers, Culinary Stories, and the Creation of Authenticity

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 22:45:00 -0000

Before the 2000s, Japanese cuisine was almost absent from the Perth, Australia food scene, but within a decade, it could be found everywhere. In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Jaclyn Rohel talks with anthropologist Satomi Fukutomi about how the increasing availability of Japanese cuisine in Perth changed how people considered what is “authentic” about these foods. Drawing on social media analysis and fieldwork at eateries in Perth, Fukutomi discusses why authenticity is meaningful, or not so meaningful, in this changing foodscape.

What to Read Now: Spring 2022

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 16:55:00 -0000

In this episode, Gastronomica editorial collective member Jaclyn Rohel highlights new titles from the world of food studies. She is joined by Michael Classens, Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto and author of the recently published book, From Dismal Swamp to Smiling Farms: Food, Agriculture, and Change in the Holland Marsh (UBC Press, 2021). Michael digs into the historical, social, and environmental processes that enabled the transformation of a wetland just north of Toronto into Ontario’s salad bowl. Highlighting contemporary issues in human-environment relations, this story has important lessons for farmland protection efforts. Michael also discusses how his work combines both research and advocacy for food system change.

Photo courtesy of Michael Classens.

Joel Rodrigues on the Limits of “Classical” Recipes

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 15:38:00 -0000

In this episode, Joel Rodrigues talks with Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Signe Rousseau about the Goan dishes of his childhood and the limits of “classical” dishes. Joel reflects on nostalgia and melancholy as he tells the story of how he learned to cook. Casting aside the pursuit of perfection, he highlights how everyday experiences of cooking can shape notions of cuisine.

Tulasi Srinivas on Gastro Apps and Online Food Delivery in India

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 18:08:00 -0000

Does technology change local eating? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Krishnendu Ray and anthropologist Tulasi Srinivas consider how taste connects material, spatial, and virtual worlds. Drawing on her ethnography of "gastro apps" in Bangalore during the Covid-19 pandemic, Tulasi sheds light on how online food delivery has changed what it means to eat locally in India.

Photo courtesy of the Radcliffe Institute.

Carole Counihan on Food Activism and the Language of Menus

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 23:49:00 -0000

Can the language of a menu help produce food system change? In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Melissa Fuster hosts Carole Counihan in a discussion on activism and alimentary language. Drawing on her research on Italian food activism and the Slow Food Movement, Carole explores how a dinner menu can promote critical consumption and a commitment to food democracy.

Photo Courtesy of James Taggart.

Amy Trubek on Lockdown, Exchanges, and Whether She is Still Mad About the Ducks

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 18:21:00 -0000

Is Amy Trubek still mad about the ducks? One year ago, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Amy Trubek chanced upon a gift of raw duck parts. In this episode, Amy traces the circulation of the duck parts through her local community and shares how a series of unexpected exchanges landed them on her dinner plate at home. Amy is joined in this episode by her husband, Brad, who talks about how he drew on his culinary training to craft a plethora of delicious dishes out of the gifted duck.

A Gastronomica Interview with Chef Malcolm James Mitchell

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 18:44:00 -0000

In this special Gastronomica episode, Chef Malcolm Mitchell talks about his experience as a chef, a culinary artist, and an advocate for Black chefs in the American hospitality industry. In conversation with Daniel Bender, a member of Gastronomica's Editorial Collective and a professor of food studies, labor, and American history, Chef Mitchell shares his story of becoming a chef, discusses what motivated him to publish his June 2021 open letter to Black Chefs in The Progressive magazine and the response that his letter has received, and reflects on the work that still needs to be done to build just and inclusive pathways in the culinary profession.

Gastronomica's theme song is by Robert T. Valgenti.

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