When reading Culinary Tourism by Lucy Long, many ideas about culinary tourism were presented that I had never thought of before. The most significant of these examples was Long’s idea that “not only can one stay home and still experience the ‘exotic,’ but one may also stay home and view the familiar and mundane as exotic” (6). She’s presenting two principles: that we don’t need to travel outside of our homes to participate in culinary tourism and that things we are already very familiar with can become exotic. I had always thought of culinary tourism as an adventure someone takes to another region or country that is unlike their own, and tries food that they have never experienced before. The thought that traveling to a Fogo de Chao restaurant (Brazilian steakhouse) to experience something new and exotic really broke my preconceived notions of tourism in general. In the same vein, the thought that culinary tourism exists just from watching cooking shows of another culture or television program focusing on food around the world blew my mind. So I don’t even need to leave my couch?! While I agree that being simple experiences like watching television programs can offer us a great deal of knowledge, I don’t believe that culinary tourism truly exists until you get out there and adventure.
Long explained that these adventures could occur in our backyard or halfway around the world, so I tried to think of times when I was truly a culinary tourist. The fresh fish I ate during a trip I took with my parents to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Eating pâté de foie gras when I was only 12 years old in Paris (I wasn’t a huge fan, but I don’t think that my twelve year-old taste buds were ready for that type of sophistication yet). Domestically, my biggest tourist experience with food was this past winter break, when I traveled to an Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago.
My family’s annual winter-break trip to Chicago included a trip to an Ecuadorian restaurant, as we have been hosting an 18 year-old foreign exchange student from Ecuador. The experience was something very new to me, as I had never eaten Ecuadorian food or even heard about it. What resulted was wonderful. Right as we walked into the restaurant, the face of my host brother, Roberto, brightened. I knew we were in for a treat. Playing Ecuadorian tunes, I couldn’t really understand much from the three-member band in the restaurant, but the music was rich and wonderful. I decided to order seco de pollo a chicken dish cooked in beer with peppers, onions, tomatoes and passion fruit. In the past few years, I’ve grown more receptive to trying new dishes, and I was well rewarded by ordering seco de pollo.
I didn’t realize until reading Long’s article that this was a form of culinary tourism. I previously thought of this as something that must require distant travel and extreme bravery. But my trips to Mexico and Paris don’t compare to my trip to La Peña in Chicago. As I continue to travel through the States, I now know that all it takes for me to be a culinary tourist is to be adventurous.
I agree with what you say about experiencing culinary tourism without traveling-- while technically it may qualify as culinary tourism to sit at home and watch exotic shows on the food network, I agree that for me it wouldn't feel like tourism at all unless I was out there, experiencing the new things for myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about the food network and television as well. Sure, the food network can enlighten it's viewers about types of food, but I wouldn't consider watching it culinary tourism. To truly experience food, you need to be able to taste it and smell it, the television does not allow for either of these senses to be used. I would say that using knowledge gained from the food network to make and try a new dish is a form of culinary tourism, but just sitting down and watching is not.
ReplyDeleteBrian,
ReplyDeleteSoooooo cool you have tried Ecuadorian food! I know, it is completly different from American food. You should tell me where is this restaurant! As an international student, every single day I feel like a tourist. Before coming here I've hardly ever tried bagesl, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, gravy, corn bread, cream cheese. So as you can noticed, going to the CAF is for me an exotic experiece. Neverthless, while time passes, I feel this food is less odd and more familiar to me :)