Gastronomy as the Art of Living - Coursework Example

Gastronomy: The art of living Gastronomy is simply defined as the selection, preparation, serving and enjoyment of fine food. In the early years, around the 5th century BC, China was a major center for gastronomy (Adria 2010, pp. 6-8). Rome was also a gastronomical center some time in history. The renaissance was the period in which the foundation of modern gastronomy in the modern world was laid. This happened in France and Italy (Bode 1995, pp. 10-13). Regional cuisine differences not withstanding, freshness is one of the basic considerations in the preparation of food. Other considerations are contrast in texture, opposing or complementary tastes, general appearance such as accent, and color harmony. Gastronomy has often been described by some people as “the art of living” because of its central position in the life of a human being. In every society, life revolves around food preparation, serving and eating. In fact, matters dealing with food are an important element in most of the cultures of the world. This paper will present an in-depth discussion on gastronomy as “the art of living.” Background of Gastronomy Gastronomy has to do with the discovery, tasting, experiencing, doing research, understanding and documenting information about the preparation of food and the human nutrition qualities that relate to senses (Adria 2010, p. 08). Gastronomy also delves into how nutrition interacts with general culture. Later on, the concept of molecular gastronomy emerged, which deals with the application of chemical and biological knowledge to cookery. However, gastronomy deals with a very wide inter-disciplinary ground (Bode 1995, p. 65). Gastronomy started in the French culture, at the start of the 19th century. The definition of gastronomy started as scholars collaborated with chefs and doctors in studying food and its effects on the body. Jean-Anthelme Brilliant-Savarin a French author and epicure of the 18th century described gastronomy as the “knowledge and understanding of all that relates to man as he eats.” Gastronomy views food through the lens of multiple disciplines. Food is the basic factor that defines human identity because it is a product of culture. Studying food is therefore studying culture. Since food results from various processes, people need to pay a lot of attention to all the things that affect the food that people eat (Bode 1995, pp. 28). The processes include gathering, cultivating, domesticating, exploiting, transforming, and reinterpreting nature. Food relates in someway to nutrition, politics, art, physics, culture, technology, history, philosophy and cooking and therefore it must be incorporated in gastronomical studies so as to have an understanding of how a given culture is able to sustain nourishment. Gastronomy is important because everything that people do, and what they are has a direct linkage to the food that they eat. People should therefore recognize and appreciate gastronomy because food is seen as something that shapes culture (Adria 2010, p. 36). Many people get the privilege of walking into a grocery store to buy as much food as they wish. The food is well packaged and even ready to eat. However, when we think about the people, resources, processes, and technologies that are involved in the preparation of the food we then understand the complex nature of the process of nurturing the lives of people. Since studies in food are increasing and gaining a lot of recognition, the need to apply the multi-dimensional elements of gastronomy to our surroundings (Jean-Robert, p. 44). Gastronomy is the art of living because it encompasses many other areas of life such as food writing, sustainability, urban farming, food history, cooking and many others. More so, Gastronomy students approach the food issue through writing and research, which may also be applicable to many other disciplines. “The Art of living” Gastronomy is described as “the art of living” because it encompasses many other things about life. Bode (1995, p. 88) notes that the culture and behaviors of any society are easily expressed through gastronomy. Essentially, life revolves around food, its preparation and eating. This shows how important gastronomy is to the life of any individual or society. Gastronomy is an important element of people’s culture and a critical part of the life of every family. For example, there is no family that can complete its day without the preparation, serving and eating of food. Life cannot continue without the preparation and serving of food. Gastronomy occupies a very important part of life since time immemorial. Events such as sports, outings, ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, family get-togethers and many others are far from complete is food is not cooked, served and eaten. Gastronomy completes life and is therefore a basic element of life. Therefore, people live it and because it is an art, life with gastronomy becomes the art of living. There is no life without food and therefore, people cannot exist without gastronomy. In other words, gastronomy is life (Miguel 2012, p. 19). Food sustains the life of a human being. The preparation, serving and eating of this food is basic to the existence of man. Since gastronomy is an art, then people live this art. In all their activities, they must incorporate gastronomy. Without gastronomy, life could be impossible. Therefore gastronomy is “the art of living” because when people live and gastronomy is at the center of their existence, then they are living gastronomy (Jean-Robert 2002, p. 54). Gastronomy as an Art Jean-Robert (2002, pp. 100-103) notes that gastronomy involves the study of culture and food, although much focus is given to gourmet cuisine. Gastronomy in the modern days started in the French texts that were published during the 1800s. However, the idea of food, society, science and arts is not a new one. Gastronomy is an art because true gastronomy demanding and multidiscipline art which examines food itself, the context of food, its freshness, presentation and history (Miguel 2012, pp. 55-60). Food is a form of art but it is also a science. Through the understanding of how all the senses make up an experience, through gastronomy, one can possibly understand the enjoyment or dislike of particular foods. Gastronomy involves the examination of the sociological implications of food (Bode 1995, p. 37). It also integrates other social sciences like philosophy, psychology and psychology. Gastronomy also examines the role that food plays in fine arts including performance art, sculpture, and painting. This is part of an ide-depth study on the general role of food in society. Food is at the center of gastronomy. Gastronomes are interested in how fresh food is, its preparation, the flavours used, its presentation, the blending of the food colors on the plate, and the general message send forth by the food. Gastronomy deeply examines food, how food is influenced by culture and the science that goes into the preparation of this food. Gastronomy is a very old practice. All the aspects of the life of human beings are spiced up by gastronomy (Jean-Robert 2002, p. 15). In the many writings about the discovery of agriculture, life in the village and urban areas of the middle-east, there is a lot that one can learn concerning the social customs that guided the preparation and consumption of food by early farmers. Gastronomy has a lot of significance to daily life because meals are daily rituals of great importance in social life. They structure daily interactions between people and reinforce cultural values of various communities (Bode 1995, p. 77). At times, cooking, serving and eating are social rituals where nutrition has minimal significance. The choices of food, processing, preparing and eating, table manners and even hospitality have the role of encalturating individuals, encoding social relationships, defining social groupings, marking change in role and status, and symbolizing other social structure elements. Food customs are normally important to many types of social negotiations (Adria 2010, p. 35). This is often termed as the politics of gastronomy. They could be used for legitimizing, undermining, or manipulating social and political hierarchies. Exotic foods and those that are specially prepared and taken in elaborate settings are used in some communities to mark high status. Non uniform access to the facilities used for food preparation could have been critical to the development of social ranking and societies in early classes (Jean-Robert 2002, p. 26). Gastronomy and identity According to Nir (2012, p. 45) the bond existing between national identity and cuisine is deeply rooted in ethnicities. Food always takes a central place in daily habits, traditions and rituals. In certain context, it looks good to identify a given kind of cuisine to a particular ethnicity. Gastronomy, and the cuisine part of it therefore identifies a given group or community of people. Cuisine could be classified as black, Asiatic or White but such classifications do not give the cuisine a full identity (Gillespie & Cousins 2012, p. 24). A type or pattern of gastronomy can be identified with or associated with a given group of people. This is an indication that gastronomy is part and parcel of the lifestyle, behavior and culture of the group of people it relates with. For example, meat loaf is believed to be white food but of Germanic origin. Gastronomy and specifically, various types of food and how they are prepared and eaten, cannot be divorced from identity of certain communities (Gillespie & Cousins 2012, p. 24). Different communities identify with certain types of cuisine. Gastronomy is therefore part of the identity and life of various communities. This wholly depends on the type of foods being eaten and how they are prepared. Preparation depends on the culture and practices of various ethnic communities and groups of people. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has discussed gastronomy as the art of living. Gastronomy involves studies about food and culture. Every human being and community survives on food which is an element of the culture of that community. Therefore, gastronomy occupies a very central part of the life of man. Culture, which is the way people do things, relies very much on gastronomy because gastronomy is one way of identifying cultures. Groups of people or ethnic communities can be identified through gastronomy. Just as culture is part and parcel of people, gastronomy is. It defines the beliefs, practices and general culture and is therefore basic to human existence and survival. Gastronomy is “the art of living” because it studies food and culture which are principal elements in the life of human beings. Gastronomy is an art and by practicing this art, people are living gastronomy. It is the art of living because it exists is every aspect if life. In every thing, including sports, ceremonies, work, get-togethers, outings and other events people must have food cooked and served. The events are never complete without eating; whether the food is ready made or prepared at the time does not matter. Gastronomy is therefore a very essential part of human existence. Bibliography Adria F. 2010. Modern Gastronomy: A-Z: a scientific and Gastronomic Lexicon. Taylor & Francis. Bode W.K. 1995. European Gastronomy: The story of Man’s food and Eating Customs. John Wiley & Sons. Gillespie C. & Cousins J. 2012. European Gastronomy into the 21st century. Routledge. Jean-Robert P. 2002. French Gastronomy: the history of Geography of Passion. New York: Columbia University Press. Miguel J.A. 2012. Edible Structures: The Basic Science of What we eat. Hoboken: CRC Press. Nir, A. 2012. Rice Talks: Food and Community in a Vietnamese Town. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Read More