Foodies of Color: Authenticity and Exoticism in Omnivorous Food Culture

Abstract

Omnivorous cultural theory highlights the persistence of inequalities within gourmet food culture despite its increasing democratization, arguing that foods remain symbols of distinction through their framing as ‘authentic’ and ‘exotic’. Where these two frames have been shown to encompass problematic racial connotations, questions arise over how racial inequalities manifest in foodie discourse. Drawing from interviews with foodies of color living in Toronto, Canada, this article examines how these inequalities are reproduced, adjusted and resisted by people of color. It asks: how do foodies of color interpret and deploy dominant foodie frames of authenticity and exoticism? Analysis reveals each frame’s potential both to encourage cross-cultural understanding and essentialize or exacerbate ethno-cultural difference. Participants’ ambivalent relationship with foodie discourse (i.e. deploying it alongside critiquing it) highlights how cultural capital works alongside ethno-racial inequalities, and reveals the racial tensions remaining within foodies’ attempts to reconcile democracy and distinction.

Social Interaction as Key to Understanding the Intertwining of Routinized and Culturally Contested Consumption

“…I am deliberately using the term conduct to signal that food practising – like any other kind of mundane practising with a routinized, habitual or ritualistic character – implies some sort of conventions for how it is ‘properly’ performed, which practitioners are aware of in a reflexive manner (Ashley et al, 2004; Coveney, 2000; Oleschuk, 2017; Wheeler, 2018). No matter what is being cooked or eaten, it can be judged how socially expected it is and negotiated how normatively accepted it is (Halkier, 2017a).…”

Do Omnivores Perform Class Distinction? A Qualitative Inspection of Culinary Tastes, Boundaries and Cultural Tolerance

“…However, many researchers today interpret the rise of the omnivore as an indication of a change in the content of highbrow culinary repertoires rather than the eradication of boundaries or attitudes of openness. These studies highlight that crossing boundaries requires broad cultural knowledge of food (Glevarec and Pinet, 2017;Oleschuk, 2017;Warde and Martens, 2000;Warde et al, 2018), mostly embodied by a certain fraction of society.…”

Simbolismo e Construção da Identidade por meio do Consumo de Cerveja Artesanal

“…Logo, seus apreciadores incorporam essas características, já que a cerveja artesanal "escapa" do consumo mainstream ao proporcionar produtos diferenciados e requintados. Oleschuk (2017) afirma que os produtos, quando são apresentados como de "bom gosto", são ligados a produtos simbólicos e de distinção daqueles que o consomem, relacionados a pessoas autênticas, que buscam por produtos puros, com conexão pessoal e identidade local, que possuem uma história/tradição. Entretanto, como afirma a autora, os indivíduos somente identificam estes atributos se possuírem conhecimento sobre o produto em questão.…”

“…Em suma, os entrevistados entendem que a cerveja artesanal se apresenta com um preço acima das cervejas comuns porque também é uma bebida mais elaborada tanto em seu processo de produção, matéria-prima utilizada, variedades de sabores e estilos. Assim, o preço mais elevado da cerveja artesanal se mostra como uma forma de distinção, de degustação de um produto diferenciado (Oleschuk, 2017)…”