Sensing gourmetization and gastronomy as organizing practices

ABSTRACT

This article aims to understand the role of ‘senses in action’ and how they become forms of organizing gourmetization and gastronomy in a texture of practices based on the ‘Festa Junina’ in Campina Grande, Paraíba State (Brazil). The ‘Festa Junina’ is the largest Saint John’s Festival in the world. Drawing on the perspective of practice theories, we present how the gourmet culture influences gastronomy practice in the festival, focusing on aesthetic judgments and sensible knowledge. We performed sensory ethnography during two years of the festival (2017 and 2018). Our results show that gourmetization and gastronomy practices involve sensing: (a) the artisanal, (b) the enactment of quality in dish preparation, (c) materiality, and (d) taste-making. We conclude that gourmetization is an emerging phenomenon in gastronomy practice, highlighting the role of the senses in contemporary forms of organizing and culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Gourmetization
• Gastronomy
• Festivals
• Sensory ethnography
• Organizational Aesthetics
• Embodied knowledge

Acknowledgements

‘This study was partially financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001’. We are thanks for the previous comments offered to our working paper version in SemeAd (Brazilian Conference). Special thanks to professor Ilaria Boncori (associate editor) and the three reviewers for the respectful and insightful comments and suggestions during the review process. Our paper has improved a lot with the help of all of you.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by CAPES: [Scholarship for second author].