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.
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.
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.