From Publishers Weekly
Folklorists and scholars should appreciate this collection of essays on the ways in which food and travel intersect. Casual readers, however, might find the tone of these 12 pieces rather tiresome. A professor of popular culture at Bowling Green University, Long defines “culinary tourism” as “the intentional, exploratory participation in the foodways of an other.” Regular people experience culinary tourism when they visit different parts of the world, but also when they’re closer to home:when they eat in ethnic restaurants; sponsor, plan or attend food festivals; discover unfamiliar ingredients; and try new recipes in their kitchens. For her anthology, Long has selected essays that deal with all these disparate activities. Jennie Germann Molz, for example, writes about foods in neighborhood Thai restaurants and introduces the fascinating concept of “staged authenticity.” On one hand, these restaurants offer foods whose “ingredients and cooking techniques adhere to traditional Thai recipes.” On the other hand, they devise their menus while keeping their customers’ tastes in mind. Thus, their menus highlight certain dishes (e.g. Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai noodles) while omitting others; they claim authenticity while adapting to “Weste parameters of culinary acceptability.” In another eye-opening piece, Kristin McAndrews discusses how Hawaii’s Aloha Festival, a statewide celebration of Hawaiian heritage and cuisine, aims to teach tourists, and local residents, to appreciate traditional dishes like poke, a dish of raw fish, seaweed, oil and salt. Well-researched and original as these pieces are, though, this collection of essays-academic in their approach and stilted in their presentation-will appeal primarily to specialists for whom fluid or evocative prose is not a priority. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“As the study of tourism proper attends more closely to lived experience, and as the study of food continues to explore its tranactional character, these fields will find in Culinary Tourism a powerful conceptual framework with rich case studies.” ―Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblatt
“Recommended.” ―Choice
“Nonanthropologist readers . . . will discover the unexpected and fascinating terrain of food as an index of human culture. -Virginia Quarterly ReviewThis volume is a welcome collection of essays.” ―Gastronomica
“Twelve different writers discuss how restaurants and festivals market food to tourists, politics of the food industry, authentic southwest cooking, and food choices of various groups such as baby boomers and Mormon missionaries.” ―Kentucky Living
“Contributors to the book are widely recognized food experts who encourage readers to venture outside the comforts of home and embark on new eating experiences.” ―Lexington Herald-Leader
“Folklorists and scholars should appreciate this collection of essays on the ways in which food and travel intersect.” -Publishers Weekly
“Serves a real purpose and deserves a respected place in the historical record.” ―Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“A collection of articles which, without being heavy (like chocolate cake gone bad) or not-quite-there (like a flattened soufflé), takes you places by giving you an idea of the way people differ in what they eat yet similar in how it tastes.” ―Rockland (ME) Courier-Gazette
“Culinary Tourism is based upon and extends well-established concepts of folk culture in its social and material aspects, and the book abounds in fresh examples of food-related expression.” ―Weste Folklore
“Long’s Culinary Tourism demonstrate[s] how food becomes the central lure for tourists seeking exotic foods in restaurants, festivals, stores, and even participatory cooking experiences.” ―Choice
“Culinary Tourism is a welcome and provocative addition to the literature on foodways and tourism.” ―Joual of American Folklore
“One leaves Culinary Tourism with a deeper understanding of some of food’s complex relationships to the politics of culture. Although this collection feels more like a necessary foundation than an exciting departure, the book will undoubtedly serve as an important springboard for future work that further develops the interpretive challenges it introduces.” ―Diane Tye, Ethnologies
“Culinary Tourism is a welcome and provocative addition to the literature on foodways and tourism.” ―Yvonne R. Lockwood, Joual of American Folklore
“One leaves Culinary Tourism with a deeper understanding of some of food’s complex relationships to the politics of culture.” ―Ethnologies
About the Author
Lucy M. Long teaches folklore and food studies in the Inteational Studies and American Culture Studies Programs at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She is the editor of the American Folklore Society’s foodways section joual, Digest.
