Introduction
Food and dining experiences have always been an element of the cultural heritage of every country or region. The recipes, the ways of preparing meals, the traditions associated with cooking and dining reveal the authenticity of the national cultures, their specific features, and their character in general. Naturally, in the process of historical development, the ways of cooking and serving food, as well as the etiquette of dining changed over the years. It is important to see consuming food not only as a biological need but also as an attribute of cultural development. Hence, like any other element of cultural life, food, and dining represent our culture at its current state (Geyzen, 2014). Therefore, the popularity of dining out in chain restaurants and consuming mass-produced or processed meals represent the attitude towards food as an element of culture in this day and age.
Thus, the objective of this paper is to analyze various approaches to the interpretation of popular food as a part of modern culture, to explore the contemporary food in the framework of cultural authenticity, and to discuss the opposition between the contemporary food and the traditional understanding of dining.
Different approaches to the understanding of the meaning of popular food in modern culture
The concept of culture mostly includes spiritual experiences, but it is not limited to them. Whereas most of the cultural artifacts were created by a minority of people, the artists who reflected the reality in their works, the culture of cooking and dining was available to everyone. Thus, one of the approaches is that cuisine was an avenue of culture, which anyone could practice, unlike some other various forms of arts and crafts. It is part of a culture that can be recreated and personally experienced by the people (Geyzen, 2014). Therefore, it is important to underline the fact that in the modern world, the tendency to prefer chain restaurants or buy the same pre-cooked dishes has special significance.
Another interpretation is that the main distinction of the traditional cuisine for a person of a particular culture is that traditional dishes tasted the same, every time people ate them they had the same experience. However, the rapid rhythm of the modern world restricts many people in terms of the time they can afford to spend on cooking. Moreover, to create a quality meal, it would require a lot of skill and practice. Similarly important is the fact that the pre-cooked meals from supermarkets or the same menu of chain restaurants replicate their recipes. In other words, when someone is going to the same restaurant, they know what to expect. On many levels, it correlates with the interpretation of traditional food.
Contemporary food in the framework of cultural authenticity
Authenticity is one of the elements of the different cultures that predetermine their distinctions. In various social contexts, there are different determinants of authenticity. For example, folk cookery developed in the quite closed communities and was not shared in-between different cultures regularly (Geyzen, 2014). Of course, there are some similarities between the dishes of the neighboring cultures because of the occasional borrowings from one cuisine to another, but the differences between them are more apparent. However, in the context of a globalized society, it has become a socially common practice to try different traditional foods from other cultures. Furthermore, it is also important to point out the fact that the experience of various cuisines is not a prerogative of the elite restaurants but an element of mass culture. For example, takeaways tend to offer more of the food that is not traditional for the U.S., mostly including cuisine from South-Eastern Asia and Europe.
Popular food versus a traditional meal
However, the concept of tradition can be analyzed from a closer perspective. In many ways, traditional food is the meals that are cooked regularly in a particular family. Therefore, from this point of view, the origins of a certain dish do not play a crucial role. The more important aspect is that one family’s devotion to cooking the same dish represents the continuity of their family values. Overall, cooking and dining practices as the elements of culture represent the traditional values of the society at every stage of its historical development.
As Humphrey (1989) points out, “both the word and the concept of tradition imply the power of continuity and stability” (p. 168). Thus, in many ways, if dining out or cooking processed meals is a regular pattern in society, it becomes a part of the tradition.
Conclusion
Overall, the popularity of dining out in chain restaurants and consuming mass-produced or processed meals represent the attitude towards food as an element of culture in the modern context. The most important feature of traditional meals is that they can be recreated and are valued within the community. Since contemporary meals meet those criteria, they can be considered the traditional food of our times.
References
Geyzen, A. (2014). Food Studies and the Heritage Turn: A Conceptual Repertoire. Food and History, 12(2), 67-96.
Humphrey, L. T. (1989). Traditional Foods? Traditional Values? Western Folklore, 48(2), 162-169.