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Report
Nordic Association for Food Studies
Workshop 2020
Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, Gastronomy
and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat
Julia Carrillo, Kajsa Hult, Inger M. Jonsson, Henrik Scander
and Lotte Wellton (Eds.)
Måltidskunskap 5 I ÖREBRO 2021Nordic Association for Food Studies Workshop 2020
Måltidskunskap 5
Nordic Association for Food Studies Workshop 2020
Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, Gastronomy
and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat
NAFS Workshop 2020
Grythyttan 14th November
Edited by
Julia Carrillo, Kajsa Hult, Inger M. Jonsson,
Henrik Scander and Lotte Wellton© Julia Carrillo, Kajsa Hult, Inger M. Jonsson,
Henrik Scander and Lotte Wellton (Eds.), 2020
Title: Nordic Association for Food Studies Workshop 2020
Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, Gastronomy
and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat.
Publisher: Örebro University 2021
www.oru.se/publikationer
Print: Örebro University, Repro 02/2021
ISSN 1652-2656
ISBN 978-91-87789-43-4
ISBN 978-91-87789-44-1 (e-pub)Preface The Nordic Association for Food Studies, NAFS, is a Nordic network for academic researchers with a common interest: Food. This year 2020, it changed affiliation from Stockholm University to School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Meal Science at Örebro University, Sweden. This year as part of our activities, we started a trimestral newsletter and they were distributed to all our members digitally. We also arranged during this year a digital workshop with the theme: “Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat”, resulting in this proceedings report. The presentations led us from food insecurity in a Nordic welfare state, to the food chain and the culture and taste issues on unusual foods from a sustainability perspective, into eating patterns and identities of gourmeti- ficated junk food. Participants also looked into expressions of vegan iden- tities and hyper food as the idea of food instead of real food, into the ima- ginaries of sustainability viewed through restaurant storage practices, as well into sommeliers cultural understandings of combination of food and drinks. Further, we continued with hospitality given and experienced in eating environments in both restaurants and hospitals, to end up on crisis preparedness through practices of food storage and everyday provisioning in households. All together show the multifaced thinking and practices that surround how we eat. We had planned for a physical meeting at our campus located in Grythyt- tan and to share a meal together in accordance with the network’s tradition to exchange experiences and invent new research communities. This was not possible due to the pandemic, but we look forward and imagine that this can be realized further on during our period as responsible for the network. We are delighted and grateful for the successful engagement from the net- work members that contributed and that in this occasion, came from Den- mark and Sweden. All conferences and associated published confer ence proceedings depend initially on researchers, authors and scholars who have contributed. In this workshop, the proposed abstract was followed by a di- gital oral presentation and participation in smaller discussion groups. This contributed to create an event where we got closer to each other in more informal conversation even if we missed the commensality when eating to- gether due to the constraints of a digital only event. We really enjoyed all your presentations and your comments, we believe that this is the best way to take our field further, by cooperation and sharing all of our research.
Finally, I would like to extend the thanks to my companions in the NAFS committee with PhD student Julia Carrillo senior lecturers Lotte Wellton and Henrik Scander for their engagement during the year 2020 including joyful companionship and planning activities and at last the successful workshop. Inger M Jonsson Professor in Culinary Arts and Meal Science December 2020
Table of Contents Contributors ............................................................................................. 9 NAFS Workshop 2021: Keynote Speakers .............................................. 12 Food in Turbulent Times Lotte Holm.............................................................................................. 13 Provisioning for an imagined crisis Matilda Marshall .................................................................................... 16 Learning from the past with sight into the future .................................... 19 Buckwheat – revival in a new foodscape Viktoria Olsson, Christine Feiff and Gunnel Petterson........................ 20 Experiencing hospitality through people, places and artefacts within an institutional setting. A qualitative interview study with eleven inpatients across three hospital wards in Sweden Ann-Sofie Jonsson, Inger M. Jonsson, Åsa Öström, and Maria Nyberg ................................................................................................ 23 The role of gastronomy in the food chain ............................................... 25 The cultural and sensory experience of mutton: A model for sustainable gastronomy Åsa Öström and Lotte Wellton ........................................................... 26 Storing stories of sustainability. Imaginaries of sustainable cuisine Julia Carrillo, Matilda Marshall, Lotte Wellton and Inger M. Jonsson ....... 27 Sustainability and eating out ................................................................... 29 Front of the house professionals’ identity creations: Symbols and underlying motivations of hospitality as performance in small-scale restaurant establishments Kajsa Hult ........................................................................................... 30 Sommelier competition practices as competitive success factors Henrik Scander ................................................................................... 33 The poetics of craft – haute cuisine, passion and imagination Theresa Digerfeldt-Månsson ............................................................... 34 Changing eating patterns......................................................................... 37 Eating a Cheese Burger at NOMA. On the Gourmeficaton of Junk Food Camilla Hoff-Jørgensen and Jonatan Leer .......................................... 38 I’m a vegan! Student’s perception of the Anthropocene and pedagogical challenges in a university “food” course Paulina Rytkönen, and Mona Petersson .............................................. 39
Empty calories? Donna Isabella Caroline Sundbo ......................................................... 42
Contributors
Julia Carrillo PhD candidate in Food, Nutrition and Culinary Science, at
the Department of Food, Nutrition and Culinary Science at Umeå Univer-
sity, Sweden. She is interested in food and restaurant sustainability, cultural
ideals and practices surrounding food consumption and production.
Theresa Digerfeldt-Månsson PhD in Design Management and Art & Busi-
ness, Stockholm University School of Business, Stockholm. Sweden. She is
interested in Management of design and aesthetics; Design and innovation;
The role of craft in the creation of art; Cooking and creativity.
Christine Feiff, Teacher in Home Ecomomics, Tranängskolan 7-9,
Tranemo.
Camilla Hoff-Jørgensen, Cand.scient.anth. (Lund University, 2013). B.A.
(Lund University, 2010). Extensive academic work experience since 2008,
as Cultural Health Adviser in Japan and Spain and anthropologist conduct-
ing quantitative and qualitative studies in Copenhagen. Currently engaged
in the Danish national harm reduction strategy group, focused on the social
nurse concept for homeless patients with drug abuse.
Kajsa Hult, PhD candidate Culinary Arts and Meal Science, School of Hos-
pitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University, Sweden. She is
interested in Hospitality, restaurant workers, sustainable work life, small-
scale restaurant businesses, identity production, passion work.
Anne-Sofie Jonsson, PhD candidate in Culinary Arts and Meal Science,
School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University, in
the university-wide initiative on Successful Aging since 1 September 2016.
Her research aims to explore how older patients experience their meals in
hospital with a focus on the various social and material meetings that take
place before, during and after a meal.
Inger M. Jonsson, PhD, Professor in Culinary Arts and Meal Science,
School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University.
Sweden. She is interested in Meals in society and culture - including gender
and ethnicity. Food advice in perspective from gastronomy and health.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 9
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatJonatan Leer, Associate professor in Food and tourism Leisure manage-
ment, University College Absalon, Roskilde. He is interested in Food and
Gender/Masculinity, New Nordic Cuisine, Gastronationalism, Taste Edu-
cation, Food and Media.
Maria Nyberg, PhD in Sociology and senior lecturer in Food and Meal Sci-
ence. Department of Food and Meal Science and the research group MEAL,
Kristianstad University, Sweden. She is interested in Experiences and mean-
ings of food and meals at various arenas in everyday life, including work-
places, schools and care homes.
Viktoria Olsson, PhD and Senior Lecturer, Food and Meal Science, Faculty
of Natural Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden. Teaching
and research interests involve food quality and its role in sustainable meal
experiences throughout life.
Gunnel Petterson: Artistic Senior Lecturer, School of Arts and Communica-
tion, K3, Malmö University, Malmö. Course coordinator for the course
Cultural production, a contextualisation in practice and theory. Initiator of
a book project with the preliminary title: The cultivation - With buckwheat
as the driving force.
Mona Petersson, Senior Lecturer at the School of Environmental Studies,
Natural Sciences and Technology, Södertörn University. Her teaching and
research focus on landscape changes due to the interaction between the man
and nature locally and globally. At the moment I study peri-urban land-
scapes.
Paulina Rytkönen, PhD in Economic History, Head of Meal Sciences, De-
partment of Life Sciences, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden. She is
interested in Food as a tool for growth and rural development, food and
entrepreneurship.
Henrik Scander, PhD in Culinary Arts and Meal Science, School of Hospi-
tality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University, Sweden. He is in-
terested in Food and beverage combinations and the notion of good taste.
10 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatDonna Isabella Caroline Sundbo, Dr. and Associate Professor (DK: Lektor)
in leisure management with a focus on food experiences. Center for man-
agement and experience design, University College Absalon, Roskilde, Den-
mark. She is interested in Food experiences, culinary tourism, local food,
food culture, food history
Lotte Wellton, PhD in Culinary Arts and Meal Science, School of Hospital-
ity, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University, Sweden. She is inter-
ested in the meal makers, cooks and chefs in a gender context, historically
and contemporary. Work processes in the professional kitchen. Work life
in the hospitality industry.
Åsa Öström, PhD Professor in Culinary Arts and Meal Science, and Head
of at the School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro Uni-
versity. She is interested in sensory science with a focus on meal experiences.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 11
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatNAFS Workshop 2021: Keynote Speakers
This is a workshop proceeding from the NAFS workshop at the School of
Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University. The work-
shop started at 9.15 until 16.30 the 14th November 2020. We take the op-
portunity to thank our two keynote speakers:
• Lotte HOLM, her research addresses social and cultural aspects
of food and eating in various settings. Her research centers on
ordinary daily routines related to food consumption, meal pat-
terns, body management including body weight management.
Food policy and regulation, and food and meals in institutions
such as hospitals and schools form part of her research profile.
Her research includes in-depth qualitative studies as well as
larger population surveys. Much of her research takes place in
large interdisciplinary projects, and she is engaged in sociological
comparative European research. She teaches sociology of Food
at Masters and PhD level. She presented her project “Food in
Turbulent Times” from the Department of Food and Resource
Economics, University of Copenhagen.
• Matilda MARSHALL has a PhD in ethnology from Umeå Uni-
versity (2017). Her research concerns food culture, everyday
food consumption, perceptions of sustainability and food stor-
age. Her interest lays in food as a cultural phenomenon. By using
cultural analytical methods, she explores how mundane habits
and practices have been stable or changed over the past century.
She presented her project “Provisioning for an imagined crisis”
from the School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Meal Science,
Örebro University
12 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatFood in Turbulent Times
Lotte Holm (Copenhagen University)
The project Food in Turbulent Times combines in-depth qualitative inquiry
with analyses of panel data and a representative survey of Danish house-
holds in an investigation of financial pressure on household food budgets
and food insecurity in Denmark.
Most research on household’s reactions to food budget restraint address
low-income groups in countries characterised by large socio-economic dif-
ferences. In the Western world, such studies have mostly been conducted in
Anglo-Saxon countries, while in Scandinavian societies, such as Denmark,
it has been maintained that the Social-Democratic type welfare system en-
sures that no-one needs to be deprived of basic necessities such as food.
However, following the global capitalist crisis in 2008, broader parts of the
population experience economic unrest and various degrees of pressure on
food budgets have become more common in Danish households.
In Denmark, sustainable food consumption is high on the political agen-
das and organic food purchase is the highest in the world. But what happens
when people react to economic turbulence and attempt to reduce food ex-
penditure.
The qualitative part of the project included interviews with households
who experienced pressure on their food budgets for different reasons: some,
had voluntarily and planned cut down their food expenses because of in-
vestments, planned breaks from work, or retirement. Others, had been
forced to do so because of long term illness, unemployment or wage reduc-
tions. The qualitative analysis explored the various strategies adopted by
informants and how they involved the potential for both positive and neg-
ative experiences for the individual, depending on the wider context for the
need to reduce household food budgets. The reported experiences and prac-
tices in the face of food budget constraints ranged from the empowering
stimulus of self-development, creativity and engagement with global envi-
ronmental challenges to loss of food-related life quality and feelings of in-
adequacy.
The quantitative population survey showed that while 66% of the popu-
lation is food secure and 25% experience mild or severe food budget re-
striction, food insecurity does exist in Denmark, as the prevalence of low
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 13
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eatand very low food security was 6.0% (95% CI:5.4–8.5%) and 2.4% (95%
CI:1.3–3.3%), respectively. Prevalence was highest in households with dis-
posable income below OECD’s poverty threshold, households receiving
benefits or disability pensions, and single-parent households. Food insecu-
rity in Denmark is associated with adverse factors such as unhealthy diet,
obesity, life satisfaction, and psychological distress.
The survey also showed that some of the ways households adapted to
food budget restraint were common across all levels of budget restraint.
This was the case for buying cheaper foods and stretching foods. When such
adjustments to food provisioning and kitchen practices were proving to be
insufficient, other adaptations were made involving changes in food quality
and hospitality, and seeking external help.
It is a conclusion in the study, that in affluent social-democratic welfare
societies, pressure on food budgets also has negative impacts on life satis-
faction and health. It is important to widen food insecurity research to non-
liberal welfare states and to include measures of food insecurity in dietary
surveys in social-democratic welfare states.
Some publications from the project
Holm, L., Nielsen, A. L., & Lund, T. B. (2020). Adapting to financial
pressure on household food budgets in Denmark: Associations with life
satisfaction and dietary health. Acta Sociologica (United Kingdom),
63(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699318810095
Lund, T. B., Holm, L., Tetens, I., Smed, S., & Nielsen, A. L. (2018). Food
insecurity in Denmark-socio-demographic determinants and
associations with eating-and health-related variables. European Journal
of Public Health, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckx121
Lund, T. B., Watson, D., Smed, S., Holm, L., Eisler, T., & Nielsen, A.
(2017). The Diet-related GHG Index: construction and validation of a
brief questionnaire-based index. Climatic Change, 140(3–4).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1869-9
Nielsen, A., & Holm, L. (2016). Making the most of less. Food, Culture
& Society, 19(1), 71–91.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2016.1145003
14 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatNielsen, A. L., Lund, T. B., & Holm, L. (2015). The taste of ‘the end of
the month’, and how to avoid it: coping with restrained food budgets
in a Scandinavian welfare state context. Social Policy and Society,
14(3), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746415000056
Smed, S., Tetens, I., Bøker Lund, T., Holm, L., & Ljungdalh Nielsen, A.
(2018). The consequences of unemployment on diet composition and
purchase behaviour: a longitudinal study from Denmark. Public Health
Nutrition, 21(03), 580–592.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001700266X
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 15
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatProvisioning for an imagined crisis
Matilda Marshall (Örebro University)
Open your kitchen cupboards and fridge and consider their contents. What
could you eat or cook if the power was cut for a few days? Or if there was
a water shortage, a military attack or a pandemic restricting your freedom
of movement?
Along with access to communication and keeping warm, the provision of
food and water is central in Swedish authorities’ recommendations for
household preparedness. Since the end of the cold war and the dismantle-
ment of the governmental food reserves, more responsibility lays with the
individual. In the event of a societal crisis civilians are expected to be able
to cater for themselves for at least a few days, preferably a week. This mes-
sage from the authorities has intensified in recent years, e.g. in the leaflet If
crisis and war comes (MSB 2018) sent to all households in Sweden. But, in
everyday life, how do people practice preparedness through food?
This paper, based on an ongoing project on food storage, will explore
crisis preparedness through practices of food storage and everyday provi-
sioning. By studying the rationales, experiences and materiality on a house-
hold level, it aims to give perspectives on how societal issues are imagined
and managed through everyday food habits. It reports on results from an
open-ended questionnaire sent out in 2019, collecting experiences and
memories of food storage. In particular, this paper focuses on the answers
covering food preparedness in relation to societal crises.
Previous research on practicing household preparedness suggest how
these practices are informed by past experiences (Heidenstrøm och Kvarnlöf
2018). Whilst the majority of replies to the questionnaire were submitted
before the corona pandemic reached Sweden in March 2020, the pandemic
offers an analytical breaking-point. Whereas many had experienced winter
storms and power cuts, the pandemic was something different, challenging
everyday food habits in new ways. The provisioning for a potential crisis
could then tell of how people envision both the crisis and what they, in such
event, could and would eat.
16 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatReferences
• Heidenstrøm, Nina, och Linda Kvarnlöf. 2018. ”Coping with
Blackouts: A Practice Theory Approach to Household Prepared-
ness”. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 26 (2):
272–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12191.
• MSB. 2018. ”Om krisen eller kriget kommer”. Myndigheten för
samhällsskydd och krisberedskap.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 17
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatLearning from the past with sight into the future
Buckwheat – revival in a new foodscape
Viktoria Olsson (Kristianstad University), Christine Feiff (Tranängskolan
7-9, Tranemo) and Gunnel Petterson (Malmö University)
In July 1749, when visiting Scania, Carl Linnaeus, noted the snow-white
fields of buck wheat (Linné, 1749/1999). In those days, the cultivation of
buckwheat was widespread in the southern parts of Sweden. It was used for
porridge and gruel, staple foods the common people (Olsson, u.å.)
Buck wheat thrives on lean, calcareous soils and require very little input.
During the 1930s, when industrial fertilizers were introduced, production
and consumption fell sharply as buckwheat was outcompeted by more high-
yielding crops like oats and potatoes.
The scientific basis for direct health effects of “pseudoceareals” like
buckwheat is weak (Becker, Busk, Mattisson, Sand, 2012). However, there
is on-going research on buckwheat and its health effects. Animal and cell
studies suggest cholesterol-lowering and blood sugar stabilizing effects and
cancer-inhibiting properties (e.g. Dziedzic et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2012; Soo-
Hyun, 2009). Further, fiber-rich products, such as buckwheat, can reduce
the risk of cardiovascular disease and a diet high in fiber is linked to reduced
risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and high blood pressure (Becker, Busk,
Mattisson, Sand, 2012).
Buckwheat contains the essential amino acids and is rich in several B vit-
amins, manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. However,
buckwheat also contains some anti-nutritional substances like fagopyrin
and unless properly ripe it has a bitter flavour.
Many people choose to eat gluten-free. The increased demand has re-
sulted in a greater range of gluten-free products (Bryngelsson and Jansson,
2017). This trend has given room for increased consumption of sustainably
produced buck wheat.
Japan has a long standing tradition around noodles based on buckwheat
"soba". The serving of soba is traditionally characterized by simplicity with
pure flavours. With global mobility, new experiences are sought after in the
modern cuisine. In Sweden, the passion for Asian cooking has generated an
20 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eatinnovative noodle culture both in terms of presentations and serving situa-
tions like food trucks and action-based restaurants. Sourcing local buck-
wheat is consequently an ideal. The sauce that soba is dipped in is tradition-
ally based on soy and dashi. A clear example of a new foodscape is that you
can find soba served with Italian-influenced tomato sauce. Countless other
examples can be found.
The porridge that Linnaeus describes in his Scanian journey, served with
beer, vanished deemed as "poor man's food", but has now had a revival in
new presentations as "functional food" for modern people when, for exam-
ple, charging energy for a yoga session.
References
• Becker, W., Busk, L., Mattisson, I., Sand S. (2012). Råd om full-
korn 2009 – bakgrund och vetenskapligt underlag Livsmedelsver-
ket: Rapport 10 – 2012. https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalas-
sets/publikationsdatabas/rapporter/2012/2012_livsmedelsver-
ket_10_rad_om_fullkorn.pdf
• Bryngelsson, S. and Jansson, N. (2017). Alla talar om gluten och
FODMA. SNF Swedish Nutrition Foundation, Lund. https://nutri-
tionsfakta.se/2017/05/16/alla-talar-om-gluten-och-fodmap/
• Dziedzic, K., Górecka, D., Szwengiel, A., Olejnik, A., Rychlik, J.,
Kreft, I., Drożdżyńska, A., & Walkowiak, J. (2018). The cytotoxic
effect of artificially digested buckwheat products on HT-29 colon
cancer cells. Journal of Cereal Science, 83, 68–73.
doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2018.07.020
• Lee C., Hsu W., Shen S., Cheng Y., Wu S. (2012). Fagopyrum ta-
taricum (Buckwheat) Improved High-Glucose-Induced Insulin Re-
sistance in Mouse Hepatocytes and Diabetes in Fructose-Rich Diet-
Induced Mice, Exp Diabetes Res. 2012;2012:375673. doi:
10.1155/2012/375673
• Linné, C.V. (1999[1959]). Carl Linnæi Skånska resa: på höga över-
hetens befallning förrättad år 1749 ... Stockholm: Wahlström &
Widstrand.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 21
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat• Olsson, S-O. R. (u.å.) Skånsk mat- och måltidskultur. Skåne-
ländska Gastronomiska Akademien. https://skga.se/in-
dex.php/historia/publikationer/11-skansk-mat-och-maltidskultur
• Soo-Hyun, K. (2009). Cytotoxic effect of buckwheat (Fagopyrum
esculentum Moench) hull against cancer cells. Journal of Medicinal
food. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2006.1089
22 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatExperiencing hospitality through people, places
and artefacts within an institutional setting.
A qualitative interview study with eleven inpa-
tients across three hospital wards in Sweden
Jonsson, A., Jonsson, I-M., Öström, Å (Örebro University) and Nyberg, M
(Kristianstad University)
Eating and sharing meals are essential parts of everyday life and expressed
through tradition and culture. This everyday expression of who we are is
argued to be taken away from us during hospitalization. Few studies have
qualitatively explored hospitalized older patients experiences with their
mealtimes. This is a perspective that could increase the understanding of
how to provide enhanced dining experiences during time of illness for this
malnutrition prune age group. The study objective was therefore to explore
older patients’ (> 65 years) mealtime experiences during hospital stay with
an emphasis towards the social interactions taking place before, during and
after their meals. Eleven semi structured interviews were conducted and an-
alysed through the lens of hospitality and the dramaturgical theory outlined
by Goffman. The preliminary results indicate that the patients experience
hospitality through materiality (e.g. the menu), commensality (with fellow
patients and staff) and individuality (the possibility to make own meal
choices) but also inhospitality through conformity (not expressing their
wishes or conforming to the situation) and locality (e.g. being lonely in the
room). The patients are seen to reinforce the role of the non-complaining
patient as well as not being a burden. The understanding of these kinds of
role making and role taking by the patients is important to recognize within
healthcare to be able to ensure that the mealtime and the meal service is
provided with a person-centered approach together with the recognition
that hospitality can bring fourth the practical doings in how to perform
during meal service.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 23
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatThe role of gastronomy in the food chain
The cultural and sensory experience of mutton:
A model for sustainable gastronomy
Åsa Öström and Lotte Wellton (Örebro University)
The aim of this project is to develop an applied model for sensory and cul-
turally accepted meal solutions that are sustainable from both an economic
and ecologic perspective. In particular, we explore underexploited foods in
this case locally produced mutton in collaboration with culinary practition-
ers and food producers on Gotland. The project is guided by three research
questions: I) How can collaborative cooking processes contribute to a sus-
tainable development of locally produced foods, in this case mutton? II)
How do cultural preconceptions and norms together with sensory percep-
tions of mutton challenge and influence sustainable food? III) How do meal
solutions, based on locally produced mutton, influence consumer satisfac-
tion, perceived quality and values of sustainability? This will be done by a
gastronomic methodological combination of culinary workshops, sensory
evaluations, ethnography and accounting management. The main outcome
of the project is to provide a “Research model” for understanding the im-
portance of culture, locality and sustainability of products in addition to the
value chains and network practices embedded in direct supply chain rela-
tionships. On a long-term perspective, this may lead to increased awareness,
knowledge and skills amongst producers and restaurants about the benefits
and opportunities of locally produced mutton. Further, this may potentially
also have an impact on the restaurants’ customers willingness to purchase
and cook mutton at home.
26 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatStoring stories of sustainability. Imaginaries of
sustainable cuisine
Julia Carrillo, Matilda Marshall, Lotte Wellton and Inger M Jonsson (Öre-
bro University)
Restaurant sustainability is a key concern within the restaurant industry and
nowadays there are a variety of initiatives and approaches to achieve it
(Jang, Zheng, & Bosselman, 2017; Sauer & Wood, 2018). In turn, this cre-
ates different narratives and understandings of sustainable cuisine who de-
lineate the way restaurant practices addresses the challenge of sustainability
in their everyday work. Nevertheless, this research has focused in manage-
ment positions (see e.g. Batat, 2020) and no other staff which are the ones
embodying the discourses and practices. By using storage and preservation
practices as an entry point, this ethnographic study uses the concept of im-
aginaries (Belfrage & Hauf, 2015) to explore the different beliefs and ideals
regarding restaurant sustainability and the practices these imaginaries fos-
ter. Three distinct imaginaries of sustainable cuisine were identified. These
are “less meat more vegetables”, “storing local quality” and “the creative
restaurant professional”. These imaginaries are materialized through differ-
ent storage facilities and practices like root cellar, wine cellar or meat aging
fridges which also portrayed the cuisine philosophy of the establishments.
We suggest that storage facilities, are at the center of the restaurant ac-
tivity, determining the amount, type and quality of food that is served and
the level of expertise expected of the personnel. Furthermore, we argue that
the imaginaries, as a complexity reducing mechanism, make manageable
complex issues such as sustainability, which is embedded in global trade,
governmental policies and even national culture. However, they also por-
tray an array of simple solutions that as such are very susceptible to external
factors such as the coronavirus pandemic, as shown by the abandonment of
some of the practices represented by the imaginaries and a shift in narratives
during this period. The disruption caused by the pandemic to the sustaina-
ble cuisine imaginaries call for a better understanding of what entails to
work sustainably within restaurants in order to be able to engage in resilient
practices and solutions.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 27
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatReferences
• Batat, W. (2020). Pillars of sustainable food experiences in the lux-
ury gastronomy sector: A qualitative exploration of Michelin-
starred chefs’ motivations. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Ser-
vices, 57. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102255
• Belfrage, C. A., & Hauf, F. (2015). Operationalizing cultural polit-
ical economy: towards critical grounded theory. Journal of Organi-
zational Ethnography, 4(3), 324-340. doi:10.1108/joe-01-2015-
0002
• Jang, Y. J., Zheng, T., & Bosselman, R. (2017). Top managers’ en-
vironmental values, leadership, and stakeholder engagement in pro-
moting environmental sustainability in the restaurant industry. In-
ternational Journal of Hospitality Management, 63, 101-111.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.03.005
• Sauer, L., & Wood, R. C. (2018). Behaviours and attitudes to-
wards sustainable food provision on the part of Dutch restaura-
teurs. Research in Hospitality Management, 8(1), 41-46.
doi:10.1080/22243534.2018.1501177
28 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatSustainability and eating out
Front of the house professionals’ identity crea-
tions: Symbols and underlying motivations of
hospitality as performance in small-scale
restaurant establishments
Kajsa Hult (Örebro University)
A recurrent issue in the restaurant industry is the high staff turnover
(Brown, Thomas & Bosselman, 2015). Research has depicted the restaurant
industry as a low-status profession, with issues such as low-pay, stressful-
ness and imbalance between work and life contributing to the difficulty of
retaining skilled personnel (Baum, 2015). The limited amount of research
that focuses of restaurant workers narratives highlights the chefs’ creativity
and artistry, providing the profession certain status. Yet, it is rarely concep-
tualized when it comes to front of the house professionals working with and
creating dining events. There is also lack of literature associated to the
workers’ own perspective and beliefs, and how they in turn affect their
choice of working and staying in the restaurant industry (Mooney, Harris
& Ryan, 2015). Furthermore, the connection between the specific charac-
teristics of the establishments and hospitality as an act, is also not yet suffi-
ciently explored. In this project, the focus is, thus, on the dining room em-
ployees’ and their connections between specific restaurant characteristics
and hospitality as an act. The aim of this PhD project is to extend and
deepen the knowledge about hospitality by exploring restaurants and res-
taurant professionals’ underlying motivations for the choice of profession.
The restaurants here studied are seen as social spaces where guests and
professionals participate in deeper symbolic processes (Beriss & Sutton,
2007). For instance, the feeling of authenticity by consuming organic, small-
scale and nonconventional cooked food (Johnston & Baumann, 2007).
These aspects inspire the subset of restaurants in this project. They follow
the growing trend of specializing in certain products such as premium, sus-
tainable, local and small-scale products (BFUF, 2018) and could be under-
stood to be consumed in order to create identity (Cronin, McCarthy & Col-
lins, 2014. Here, the service tends to be informal rather than formal, with
an atmosphere that is casual and leisurely rather than the stiff and organized
traits traditionally associated with high-end fine dining (Lane, 2013) but
follow the trend of ‘gourmetization’ (BFUF, 2018).
30 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatBeriss and Sutton (2007) argues that the use of ethnographic methods in
restaurant settings is preferable since restaurants provide a cluster of sym-
bols, norms, patterns of social and cultural activities. Thus, this project will
use in-depth interviews and observations to explore factors in the restaurant
environment, and thoughts of being in the industry, that influences both
identity creation and performance of hospitality.
By highlighting the relation between identity creation and a restaurant´s
concept and philosophy, the expectation is to understand the internal and
external factors that foster an interest to work in these restaurants. Further-
more, to understand how hospitality in such establishments is performed.
An additional goal with the project is to deepen the theoretical understand-
ing of hospitality and to contribute to the restaurant industry by investigat-
ing if and how identity creation influences work motivation and, how the
effect transforms into commitment to work.
References
• Baum, T. (2015), “Human resources in tourism: still waiting for
change? – a 2015 reprise”, Tourism Management, Vol. 50 No. 4,
pp. 204-212.
• Beriss, D., & Sutton, D. E. (Eds.). (2007). The Restaurants Book:
Ethnographies of where we eat. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• BFUF (2018) Besöksnäringensforsknings- och utbildningsfond. Till-
växtbransch i förändring, Prognoser för kompetensbehov inom ho-
tell- och restaurangbranschen till år 2030. Stockholm: Visita.
• Brown, E.A., Thomas, N.J. and Bosselman, R.H. (2015), “Are they
leaving or staying: a qualitative analysis of turnover issues for Gen-
eration Y hospitality employees with a hospitality education”, In-
ternational Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 46, pp. 130-
137.
• Cronin, J. M., McCarthy, M. B., & Collins, A. M. (2014). Covert
distinction: how hipsters practice food-based resistance strategies in
the production of identity. Consumption Markets & Cul-
ture, 17(1), 2-28.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 31
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat• Lane, C. (2013). Taste makers in the “fine-dining” restaurant in-
dustry: The attribution of aesthetic and economic value by gastro-
nomic guides. Poetics, 41(4), 342-365.
• Mooney, S. K., Harris, C., & Ryan, I. (2016). Long hospitality ca-
reers–a contradiction in terms? International Journal of Contempo-
rary Hospitality Management.
• Johnston, J., & Baumann, S. (2007). Democracy versus distinction:
A study of omnivorousness in gourmet food writing. American
Journal of Sociology, 113(1), 165-204.
32 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatSommelier competition practices as competitive
success factors
Henrik Scander (Örebro University)
Competition has proven to be a competitive advantage on many levels. In
gastronomy, competitions around food and drink have increased and help
to increase the status of many restaurant workers. One of these is the som-
melier, who has been a bit overshadowed by chefs' attention. But somme-
liers are not only good for restaurants’ finances and guests' experiences, they
also act as cultural mediators of good taste. Previous research shows that
competition is a recurring phenomenon for how sommeliers succeed in their
careers. The sommelier’s work at restaurants is now a significant issue for
the success for restaurants, because they can increase restaurant profit and
guest’s service satisfaction and also acts an intermediary of taste. Still, it is
unclear what this success is dependent on, also yet limited research on som-
meliers daily and conspicuous practices.
In this paper we focus on how sommelier's practices within competition
are transferable to the restaurant floor. The paper draws on findings from
a study of qualitative interviews with sommeliers in Sweden, in order to
understand the sommelier's practice as performance from the analytical lens
practice theory, focusing on materiality, competence and meaning.
The analysis of the findings shows that competition practitioners are
identified by the sommelier's ability to understand how different elements
should be answered. Moreover, is clear how the cultural understanding of
what is considered to be a good combination, or the right way to move
during a craft situation, plays a crucial role in how well sommeliers succeeds
on the field. The paper argues that the sommelier's competition experiences
is a success factor as it provides a competitive advantage, where you are not
afraid of failure, as acting on the restaurant floor. We suggest that restau-
rateurs should promote and set aside time for their employees to compete
as a form of personal development.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 33
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatThe poetics of craft – haute cuisine, passion and
imagination*
Theresa Digerfeldt, (Independent researcher and writer)
There are many cookbooks but few about the activity of cooking as such.
Cooking is often regarded as an intellectual activity – recipe reading. The
actual making is therefore reduced to a purely mechanical. It is a conception
that is reflected in the myth about “the secret of the chef” according to
which chefs are believed to leave out ingredients or instructions in their rec-
ipes on purpose in order to preserve their professional advantages. Chefs
themselves often highlight the importance of passion and intuition in cook-
ing and claim that “the secret” stands for a non-conceptual knowledge that
cannot be translated into a measurement or a verbal instruction. It is also
reflected in their view on creativity which is perceived of as a passion-driven
process.
The book explores the role and significance of passion within culinary
crafts. The focus is on cooking as a creative process. Passion is viewed as a
metaphor for a “lived” knowledge and cooking conceptualized as a passion-
driven practice. Cooking therefore remains a craft, but not in the sense of a
technique but as another way of creating value. Culinary craft is regarded
as an inherently dynamic and lived process that includes both a state-of-
mind – “being-in-the-world” - and a creative gesture – a creative making.
Ultimately it represents another way of understanding and gaining
knowledge of the world.
The book is based upon a number of studies focusing on three Michelin-
starred chefs in Sweden and France: Sébastien Chambru, Mathias Dahlgren
and Régis Macron. The methodology is inspired by sensuous ethnography
(Pink 2009) and practice has been part of the research strategy. Besides in-
depth interviews and observations, insights have been gained through par-
ticipation in a cooking program at Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon as well as
work as a kitchen apprentice.
The book describes the life and culture that reigns back-stage in the
world of haute cuisine. It also provides a theoretical framework founded in
existential philosophy (Welsch 1997, Gabriel 2015, 2017) , particularly
pragmatic aesthetics (Dewey 1980, Shusterman 2000). In accordance with
34 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eatthe “aesthetic turn” (Welsch 1997, Howes 2005) aesthetics is looked upon
as a position, not an aspect. It is perceived as something that ultimately
belongs to knowledge and reality directly at a base level instead of some-
thing that only relates to secondary, supplemental realities.
The book highlights practice-based knowledge as a productive
knowledge and shows how philosophy/art can contribute to the field of gas-
tronomy with taste remaining something that is ultimately consumed by the
palate, not the eyes.
* Originaltitel: “Hantverkets poetik – haute cuisine, passion och dröm-
meri”
References
• Dewey, J. 1980 (1934). Art as experience. New York: Berkley Pub-
lishing Group.
• Focillon, H. 1989 (1934). The life of forms in art. New York: Zone
Books.
• Gabriel, M. 2015. Varför världen inte finns. Stockholm: Norstedts.
• Gabriel, M. 2017. Pourquoi je ne suis pas mon cerveau. France:
JCLattès.
• Howes, D. (red.) 2005. Empire of the senses. Oxford: Berg.
• Pink, S. 2009. Doing sensory ethnography. London: Sage.
• Shusterman, R. 2000. Pragmatist aesthetics. Boston: Rowman &
Littlefield
Publishers: Welsch, W. 1997. Undoing aesthetics. London: Sage.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 35
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatChanging eating patterns
Eating a Cheese Burger at NOMA. On the
Gourmeficaton of Junk Food
Camilla Hoff-Jørgensen, Jonatan Leer (University College Absalon)
In this paper, we discuss a current trend where food items traditionally as-
sociated with “poor man’s food” or junk food are gourmefied and adopted
on menus in upscale eateries or even Michelin starred restaurants. This is
not a completely novel trend. A longstanding example within drinking cul-
ture is the craft beer hip where a traditional working-class drink, beer, has
become a connoisseur object for middleclass foodies. However, the trend of
gourmefying junk food has really taken off in the last decade in a Danish
context with gourmet burgers, Michelin star chefs competing in national
championships of hotdogs, the upscaling of porridge etc.
We try to situate the trend within a larger discussion of status, taste and
identity in contemporary food culture. We discuss how traditional patterns
of distinctions are transgressed and reworked into new forms of distinction
particularly in the modern urban hipster food culture. This section draws
on theories of food transgression (Goodmann/Sage) and theories on
postindustrial food design and gentrification (Parasecoli/Halawa).
Our empirical example is from a larger ongoing study on the specular
transformation of NOMA in the spring of 2020 in the post COVID-19 con-
text. One of the world’s best restaurants was transformed into a burger joint
serving only cheeseburgers. The examples focus particularly on how the eat-
ing experience was radically transformed and new elements like queueing
became central. The case exemplifies the blursred boundaries between de-
mocratization, branding and social distinction when junk food becomes
gourmet.
This study includes 15 personal interviews with people who tried the
NOMA-burger and were in line for eating their burger in NOMA’s garden.
Moreover, a SoMe mapping was conducted on Instagram, Facebook and
Youtube from the announcement and during the summer of 2020.
38 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatI’m a vegan! Student’s perception of the Anthro-
pocene and pedagogical challenges in a
university “food” course
Paulina Rytkönen, Mona Petersson, (Södertörn University)
Introduction
In 2017 Södertörn University established the course Food and Environment
(15 ECTS) in the undergraduate program in Environmental Sciences. The
course problematizes the relationship between production and consumption
of food and environmental issues in the food system. The course was de-
signed using Freire’s progressive pedagogical ideas of empowering students
with tools for taking charge of their own education (2017 ⦋1968⦌) Theoret-
ical and practical elements are integrated through literature studies, real life
observations, sensory exercises and an excursion1.
Unanticipated conflicts and pedagogical challenges have arisen in the course
due to the student's active critique against the subordinated role of animals
in the Anthropocene. In society, such views are limited to a small share of
the population (24 % vegetarians and 1 % vegans in Sweden in 2018) and
there are few arenas where ‘the vegan point of view’ can be included in the
efforts to improve sustainability in the food industry. The course offers an
opportunity to understand veganism and how to overcome the lack of dia-
logue between vegans and non-vegans in society, especially since 30 percent
of the students are vegans and the rest are sympathetic to vegan ideals.
Previous research
Ethical concerns related to animal husbandry under the Anthropocene are
increasingly important (Bruckmeier, 2015; Cushing, 2019; Mazac &
Tuomisto, 2020; McGregor & Houston, 2018) and literature about vegan-
ism shows two central themes: 1) The creation of a social movement
through collective action, (a) based on solidarity, (b) emergence of conflict,
(c) breaking with the system that the movements’ critique targets (Cherry,
2006); 2) A normative set of organized actions based on a new moral and
ideological standard (Sneijder and te Molder, 2009).
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 39
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatStudents perceptions
We used reports, essays and discussions in the classroom documented in
the course web.
SOCIAL MOVEMENT: Students analyze the role of animals in society de-
parting from technical drivers (for example pasteurization) and cultural
change (e.g. milk propaganda and the rise of vegetarian food consump-
tion). Studies are often based on post productive theories. Assignments ex-
press solidarity with animals, environmental impact of food production,
injustices in the global food system often using ‘David vs. Goliath’ argu-
ments, and vegetarian food being superior to animal-based food.
NORMATIVITY: Students highlight conflict between meat-eaters and ve-
gans, presenting ‘damages’ caused by animal production (deforestation,
food scares including the Covid 19 pandemic and fraud), students repro-
duce arguments developed by vegan food producers. Organized coherent
action is expressed by refusing to participate in sensory exercises based on
animal products (milk, eggs, honey, fish). Vegan students demand alterna-
tive assignments that circumvent the course syllabus to avoid participating
in the human exploitation of animals.
Conclusions
The study of vegan students’ perceptions can help us understand how to
overcome the societal lack of dialogue in a highly polarized discussion
about the role of animals in the food system. The challenges experienced
during the course, especially concerning the normative aspects of veganism
can contribute to the development of better didactic and pedagogical ap-
proaches for a changing society in which a higher awareness of ethical and
environmental aspects are needed.
References
• Bruckmeier, K. (2015) ”Eating the planet” - seeking a philosophy
of food in the anthropocene, DoI: 10.18030/socio.hu.2015en.4
• Cherry, E. (2006) Veganism as a Cultural Movement: A Relational
Approach, Social Movement Studies, 5:2, 155-170, DOI:
10.1080/14742830600807543
40 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to Eat• Cushing, N. (2019). To Eat or Not to Eat Kangaroo: Bargaining
over Food Choice in the Anthropocene, Journal of Media and Cul-
ture, 22(2). Available from: http://www.journal.media-cul-
ture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1508
• Freire, P. (2017 ⦋1968⦌) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, London: Pen-
guin Modern Classics.
• Mazac, R. & Tuomisto, H. L. (2020) The Post-Anthropocene Diet:
Navigating Future Diets for Sustainable Food Systems. Sustainabil-
ity Vol. 12 (6), 2355, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062355.
• McGregor, A. & Houston, D. (2018) Cattle in the Anthropocene:
Four Propositions, Transactions of the Institute of Brittish Geogra-
phers, 43:3-16, DOI: 10.1111/tran.12193
• Sneijder, P. & te Molder, H. (2009) Normalizing ideological food
choice and eating practices. Identity work in online discussions on
veganism, Appetite, 52: 621–630
Web based sources
• Course syllabus, https://www.sh.se/rest-api/cpl/sylla-
bus?code=1141MJ&period=20173&lang=sv
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 41
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatEmpty calories?
Donna Isabella Caroline Sundbo, (University College Absalon)
As a result of a number of factors, importantly the postmodern society of
plenty, food has gone from a scarcity to a ubiquitous abundance. This has
led to changing eating patterns of consumers, who can now get what they
want when they want it, often for an affordable price. In the last few dec-
ades, however, another concomitant pattern has also changed. There are
not only changing patterns of eating, there are also changing patterns of
food consumption of a different, and in fact immaterial, nature (Cleave
2019). There is in Western society (and many other societies on earth) an
increasing fascination with food, a pattern which is explored through em-
pirical examples.
Drawing on the postmodern semiotic concept of hyperreality
(Baudrillard 1994), the increased time, focus and resources devoted to the
idea of food (as opposed to real food) is described, and the concept is ex-
tended into the realm of food as a new concept called hyperfood. This can
be defined as the notion of food – unlike actual food in its physical form –
which varies from more abstract conceptions to more concrete graphic rep-
resentations, and which not only influences but also increasingly becomes
confluent with real food in a number of intricate ways which affect the eve-
ryday lives of consumers as the signifiers and the signified are merging.
More than actual food, hyperfood has become the true sign of what Bour-
dieu (1984) termed distinction, the marker of group membership such as
for example class belonging, and a tool for the identity work of the individ-
ual.
This development is driven by a number of actors with very different
aims, and it has a multitude of impacts. Hyperfood is explored by outlining
how it is linked to three trends in the postmodern society which can explain
its recent prevalence. It is also linked to the concept of culinary capital (Peter
Naccarato & Kathleen Lebesco 2012) to show how it affects this concept
theoretically and empirically by discerning two types of culinary capital,
and how the nature of capital affects this changing consumption pattern of
hyperfood.
42 NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability,
Gastronomy and Rethinking the traditions of how to EatReferences
• Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and simulation. University of
Michigan press.
• Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement
of taste. Harvard university press.
• Cleave, P. (2019). Food as a leisure pursuit, a United Kingdom per-
spective. Annals of Leisure Research, 1-18.
• LeBesco, K., & Naccarato, P. (2012). Culinary capital. Berg.
NAFS WORKSHOP PROCEEDING Foodways at a crossroads: Sustainability, 43
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