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Evolving Gastronomic Experiences: From Food to Foodies to Foodscapes

Article · July 2015

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Evolving gastronomic experiences: From food to foodies to foodscapes

Greg Richards

Pre-publication version of Richards, G. (2015) Gastronomic experiences: From

foodies to foodscapes. Journal of Gastronomy and Tourism, 1, 5-18.

Abstract

The relationship between gastronomy and tourism has developed rapidly in recent
decades. Gastronomy has shifted from being a peripheral concern for destinations to
being one of the major reasons for some tourists to visit. This review article
analyses the causes of this shift are examined, both in terms of the changing social
position of gastronomy and in the context of the emerging experience economy. In
particular three moments of experience production are seen as marking stages in the
development of the relationship between gastronomy and tourism: the first
generation of gastronomic experiences based on the production of themed
experiences for consumers; the second generation of experiences co-created by
producers and consumers and the third generation of gastronomic experiences
related to the development of communities around gastronomy and food. In this
process a shift is observed from the taste patterns of individual ‘foodies’ to the
development of entire foodscapes.

Keywords: Food experiences, Foodies, Foodscapes, Gastronomic tourism, Creative

tourism, Consumption.

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Introduction

The link between gastronomy and tourism is attracting increasing attention from
policy makers, tourism managers and marketeers and academics. Recent research
has indicated that up to 40% of international travellers are motivated to some extent
by gastronomy and food in their choice of destination (Getz et al., 2013). Other
estimates suggest a slightly more conservative impact, with the value of food-related
tourism in France estimated at €18 billion per year, and in Spain gastronomic tourism
being valued at €8.6 billion in 2011, considerably less than 40% of total tourism
spending in these countries (Richards, 2014). Whatever the true value of food
tourism, it is clearly important and, a growing range of destinations are actively
promoting the link between gastronomy and tourism. The Restaurant Australia
campaign, for example, was developed by Tourism Australia and Wine Australia to
promote Australian food and wine to visitors, who ranked the country as second in
the world for its gastronomic experiences (Tourism Australia, 2014). In Denmark, a
single restaurant, Noma, has been credited with helping to increase Copenhagen’s
tourism economy by 11% (Grant Thornton, 2014). The growing weight of studies
purporting to show the economic value of food to tourism underlines the new
importance that is being given to the relationship between gastronomy and tourism.

This paper reviews the development of this growing relationship between

gastronomy and tourism, particularly concentrating on how this relationship has been
influenced by the growth of the experience economy, and different modes of
experience creation. It traces the development of food and gastronomy as central
elements of tourism experience, and examines the implications of these changes for
the production and consumption of gastronomy and tourism.

The rise of gastronomy and first generation experiences in tourism

Gastronomy has not always been so high on the tourism agenda. In the past, food
was often viewed as a necessity rather than an attraction, with the emphasis on
serving large numbers of guests as efficiently and cheaply as possible. In the past 20
years, however, the positioning of food and gastronomy in the tourism field has
changed substantially, as destinations have increasingly recognised their potential
as a major attraction for visitors and as a means of making places distinctive in an
increasingly crowded global marketplace. The first signs of this ‘gastro-turn’ were
visible in the academic field during the 1990s (e.g. Gilbert, 1992; Fogini, 1995;
Bessière, 1998). Up until this point, gastronomy, if considered by tourism scholars at
all, was generally seen as part of cultural tourism (Richards, 1996). Mallon (1995)
also talked about the ‘difficult’ relationship between these two fields during this
period.

Around the turn of the century, however, interest in the relationship between tourism
and gastronomy was starting to grow markedly. A meeting organised in the Minho
region of Portugal in 2001 launched the ATLAS Tourism and Gastronomy group, and

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papers from that meeting were later published in the volume Tourism and
Gastronomy, edited by Anne-Mette Hjalager and Greg Richards (2002). This was
identified as ‘a landmark volume’ in the field of tourism and gastronomy (Cohen,
2004) because it created one of the first coherent overviews of the subject.

This was part of a wave of publications related to this field that appeared around the
same time, including Symons (1999), Bessière (2001), Boniface (2003), Boyne et al.
(2003), Cohen and Avieli (2004), Hall (2000), Hall et al (2003), Long (2004), Moulin
(2000) and Quan and Wang (2004). Such studies began to establish gastronomy
and tourism as an interesting field of enquiry in its own right. The body of work
emerging at this time was largely related to the growing importance of food as a
motivation for travel. Many studies therefore focussed on the need for tourism
destinations to think more strategically about the relationship of tourism and
gastronomy and to begin to segment this growing market. Attention was also paid to
the need for food producers to think about tourist needs in the development of food-
related experiences (Torres, 2003). There were also growing attempts to use food
experiences in place branding, as Tellström et al. (2006) and Blichfeldt and Halkier
(2013) underline in the case of Scandinavia. This growing practical and academic
interest in tourism and gastronomy is now being consolidated through events such
as the World Food Travel Summit, which will be staged in Portugal in 2015. The
World Food Travel Association that runs this event has also recently published a
review of food and drink travel entitled Have Fork Will Travel (Wolf, 2014).

With the benefit of hindsight we can identify these first attempts to link tourism and
gastronomy as being largely related to the development of tourism experiences by
producers for consumers. This type of approach was common in the early stages of
the development of the ‘experience economy’ identified by Pine and Gilmore (1999)
at around the same time. This basic form of experience provision was later dubbed
‘first generation experiences’ by Boswijk et al. (2005). The basic aim of first
generation experiences is to engage consumers by designing the different
experience elements to produce harmonious themes that engage all five senses in a
natural, holistic way. By following these principles, Boswijk et al. argue, consumers
are more likely to have meaningful, memorable experiences. The production of first
generation experiences therefore relies heavily on the design of the experience
elements by the producer to stimulate the consumer.

Looking back at the 2002 volume of Hjalager and Richards, we can also see that the
discussion on gastronomy and tourism at that time also revolved largely around this
type of experience. For example Boyne et al. (2002) analysed the development by
Destination Marketing Organisations of the Taste of Scotland campaign, and Jones
and Jenkins (2002) described similar developments in Wales. Scarpato (2002)
identified the rise of New Asian Cuisine as a marketing tool for countries such as
Singapore and Malaysia and Edwards et al. (2002) described the development of
rural gastronomy experiences in Portugal by tourism and agricultural producers. This
was also typical of the early discussions of gastronomy and tourism elsewhere. For

3
example, Kivela and Crotts (2005) studied the consumption of gastronomy products
by tourists in Hong Kong, and Okumus et al. (2007) looked at the use of gastronomy
as a marketing tool in Hong Kong and Turkey.

However, gradually the rise of food and gastronomy as tourism attractions and
symbolic place markers began to create the basis for a new type of gastronomic
tourism experience.

Second generation food experiences and the rise of the foodie

It was around a decade ago that what Boswijk et al. (2005) had identified as the rise
of ‘second generation experiences’ or the co-creation of experiences between
producers and consumers, began to become more evident. Second generation
experiences allow more room for consumers to play leading a role in the experiences
themselves as ‘lead users’ or ‘skilled consumers’ (Richards, 1996) who often have
as much, or in some cases more product knowledge than the producers themselves.

The growing role of the consumer in the gastronomic experience production process
is marked by the emergence of the ‘foodie’, or food connoisseur, as a major
influence in the development of food destinations and food tourism. According to
Poole (2012) the term ‘foodie’ first appeared in the New York magazine in 1980. The
field was subsequently consolidated with the publication of the Essential Foodie
Handbook (Barr and Levy, 1985), at a time marked by:

Very special economic circumstances, reminiscent of those of the decline of

the Roman Empire and also of the heyday of Edwardian England as
described by Jack London in People of the Abyss (which) establish gluttony
as the mark of a class on the rise. The Official Foodie Handbook notes: ‘It
takes several things to support a Foodie culture: high-class shops, fast
transport bringing fresh produce from the land, enlightened well-paid eater-
outers who will support the whole expensive edifice, lower-paid workers to
make the food. Suddenly they are all present (Carter, 1985).

It is only relatively recently, however, that the growing influence of these culinary
amateurs obsessed with food, as Johnston and Baumann (2010) put it, has become
a global phenomenon. The rise of the foodie has been marked by a raft of websites,
TV programmes and celebrity chefs, as one blog remarks:

Some have described the 2000s as the "decade of the foodie", delighting in
the culinary swell of cooking personalities, shows, websites and apps that
continue to hit our palates daily (Arnet, undated).

The ‘decade of the foodie’ led to a widespread expansion of the critical infrastructure
associated with food, which has been particularly visible in the centres of major cities
around the world (e.g. Huber, 2011; Burnett, 2014). The rise of foodie culture has
also created a range of new tourist destinations, including restaurants, bars, wineries
and food producers (e.g. Carmichael, 2005). The growing links between food and
4
travel are epitomised by guidebooks (such as the Terroir Guides series published by
the Little Book Room) and websites such as Foodtourist.com, which combines ‘food,
wine, travel and opinions’ to guide the aspiring food tourist to foodie hotspots. The
growing co-creation of gastronomic destinations is also seen in websites such as
‘Eating London’. This was created by “East Enders proud of their neighbourhood for
both the culinary treasures that can be uncovered on every corner (if you know
where to look) and its rich cultural history that is often untold” (Eating London, 2014).

The growing influence of foodies in the production and consumption of gastronomic

tourism can also be traced in a sociological study of foodies in Canada (Johnston
and Baumann, 2010). Their work indicated two apparently contrasting aspects of
foodie lifestyles – ‘democracy and distinction’. Foodies seem to have left the
strictures of haute cuisine behind, and are keen to democratise food, as the rapid
rise of food travel websites attests. On the other hand, they are arguably also
anxious to consume rare and exotic foods that are not usually accessible to the
populace at large. Their search for exotic and authentic cuisine often generates
travel to new and far-flung locations, coupled with a desire to exhibit the
distinctiveness of these experiences through TV programmes, newspaper columns
and blogs. The maintenance of the foodie lifestyle niche through distinctive
behaviour therefore becomes compatible with a desire to spread that lifestyle among
other groups, expanding the niche and strengthening the social position of the group.

The foodies seem to have been so successful at spreading their particular view of
the world that destinations everywhere seem to be adapting themselves to the foodie
tourist. Generalised food supply systems are gradually being supplemented by
specialised ‘foodiescapes’ – places dedicated to enticing and serving the needs of
foodies. In much the same way that Richard Florida (2002) has argued that creativity
attracts the creative class, it seems that foodiescapes attract foodies – not just to
eat, but also to stay. As Hugues-Morgan (2011) notes in the case of the UK,

…places with Michelin-starred restaurants and a vibrant foodie culture have

outperformed the rest of the property market in the past decade, sometimes
by as much as 20 per cent. The Thames-side village of Bray, home to The Fat
Duck, which has three Michelin stars, has outperformed the surrounding area
by 16 per cent since chef/patron Heston Blumenthal secured that third star in
2004 (Bray already had the three-star Waterside Inn).

Although such observations are based on correlation rather than causation, they do
underline the perceived importance of gastronomy as a place marker in the media
and other areas of the critical infrastructure.

Other elements of a ‘vibrant foodie culture’ in rural areas of the UK such as Bray
include also ‘posh delis, farmers’ markets and festivals’. These developments are
also increasingly reflected in the gastronomy and tourism literature. For example,
Stewart et al. (2008) looked at the food and wine sector in the Niagara region of

5
North America, and emphasised the need to increase the quality of experience in
line with rising consumer expectations. Björk and Kauppinen-Räisänen (2014) also
trace the rise of culinary-gastronomic experiences for tourists linked to local food
markets in Helsinki.

However, the rise of foodie culture has also produced a ‘foodie backlash’ in some
areas, as announced in the Guardian newspaper by Poole (2012). He was sick of
food-loving ‘hipsters’ enjoying exotic overpriced and unpronounceable foods, and
becoming overly attached to eating as a lifestyle:

It is not in our day considered a sign of serious emotional derangement to

announce publicly that "chocolate mousse remains the thing I feel most
strongly about", or to boast that dining with celebrities on the last night of
Ferran Adrià's restaurant el Bulli, in Spain, "made me cry".

The need to develop a position as a skilled consumer or foodist expert is however

reduced by the development of new food communities in the third generation of
experiences.

Third generation gastronomic experiences

The studies of emerging foodscapes analysed in the previous section are beginning
to underline the fact that food provides an essential link between place, identity,
culture and tourism. This linking role is of growing importance in a society in which
the attention of the consumer increasingly has to be captured by the development of
experiences. As outlined in the OECD study on the Food Experience and Tourism
(Dodd, 2012) food is a particularly useful basis for tourism experiences because:

Food is often a gateway to local culture and can bring tourists and locals
together in a shared cultural experience, Meals are a central part of the tourist
experience and they provide memorable and meaningful experiences, Foods
can become distinctive elements of the brand image of places (Richards,
2012).

In the third generation of gastronomic experiences, the holistic nature of food

experiences is highlighted by their ability to connect people around shared
consumption of products that involve all the senses. This is now being actively used
by destination actors who realise they have to go beyond the original prescription of
Pine and Gilmore (1999) and enlist the tourist as an active agent in the development
and presentation of gastronomic experiences. This is described in some detail by
Bell (2014) in her analysis of tourist participation in cooking classes in Bali, where
there is an increasing commodification of the lifeworld of Balinese homes to offer an
interactive foodiescape for interested tourists. Although this third generation
experience provides ’magic moments’ for the guest, Bell argues that it does little to
reduce the economic poverty of the host.
6
We might equate this holistic linkage of food, landscapes, cultures, producers and
consumers to the ‘third generation’ experiences identified by Boswijk et al. (2005),
which are based on the emergence of communities of consumers and producers
around specific types of experiences. Such communities of shared interest also
imply a shift in the organisation of processes, with traditional value chains being
replaced by more dispersed value networks linking consumers, producers and other
interested parties. In the case of gastronomy and tourism, such networks
increasingly incorporate public and private bodies concerned with the development
of destinations and food experiences.

Food experiences arguably contain a number of elements that make them eminently
suitable for the development of third generation experiences. The act of eating is
usually a communal one, particularly when travelling. The need to prepare and serve
food at the same time it needs to be eaten implies direct contact between those
creating and those consuming the experience, and the strong link between food,
food cultures and landscapes means there is a strong link to place, an essential
basis for ‘creative tourism’, which Richards and Raymond (2000:18) defined as:

Tourism which offers visitors the opportunity to develop their creative potential
through active participation in courses and learning experiences which are
characteristic of the holiday destination where they are undertaken.

These types of third generation experiences are often based on shared knowledge
and skills (or desire to learn skills) between residents and visitors. Many creative
tourism experiences are directly related to food, such as the tours of the Boqueria
market in Barcelona, where tourists can buy local food in the market and then learn
to cook local dishes using these ingredients (Illinic, 2014). In Porto Alegre, Brazil,
there are creative tourism experiences ranging from crafts, fandango, making and
drinking mate to the traditional churrasco or barbeque of the region. The idea is that
the tourist will interact in various ways with these experiences, for example by
learning traditional dances or preparing traditional food themselves
(http://www.portoalegrecriativa.info/).

Increasingly creative tourism experiences are being offered by commercial

companies and private intermediaries who are involved in co-creating third
generation experiences with participants. For example, Eating Italy offers
“entertaining Walking Food Tours and Cooking Classes take you off the beaten path
for a unique glimpse into the daily life of the eternal city that you won’t soon forget.”

The experiences on offer in Rome include:

Cook Dinner with Nonna

Ask any Roman where to eat and before nominating a great restaurant in
town, they’ll tell you it’s at Nonna’s house. Under her watchful eye and gentle
guidance, together you’ll prepare an authentic home-cooked meal and enjoy it

7
 over great conversation and local wine. The class is held in a vintage Roman
apartment to make this unique experience even more authentic.

http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/

These types of experiences are often based on the premise of ‘relationality’ between
host and guest (Author, 2013). Food experiences in particular offer a basis for
people to relate to each other and exchange knowledge and views related to food
and culture. Food experiences are often staged in people’s homes, such as the Dine
with Dutch programme, which offers tourists the opportunity to eat in the home of a
‘typical’ Dutch family (Binkhorst, 2007). Communities of producers and consumers
become involved in the co-creation of food experiences, as Hjalager and Wahlberg
(2014) note in their experimental studies on visitor involvement in museum food.
They found a high degree of willingness among visitors to engage with the process
of menu design and eating options. They note that this co-creative process has
benefits both for the museum and visitors, although they warn that involving museum
guests when they are in ’leisure mode’ can lead to ’semi-chaotic´ interaction.

These new forms of experience co-creation lead to the realisation that food is no
longer a separate field of the tourism experience, but rather one basic reason for
many tourists to visit particular places and a basic building block of their
experiences. The essential role of food and hospitality in the development of tourism
is underlined by examples such as the ‘ruin bars’ in Budapest, where creative
entrepreneurs have opened up new destinations in the centre of the city by taking
over derelict buildings and developing ‘guerrilla hospitality’ (Lugosi and Lugosi,
2008). The attraction of a crowd of visitors interested in local food and culture is
important to creating an atmosphere that is also attractive to locals as well.
Essentially, as policy makers are also beginning to realise, there is a convergence in
third generation experiences between ‘tourists and ‘locals’, who often form part of the
same community of interest in relation to the destination or particular gastronomic
experiences. The desire of tourists to experience the ’local’ and the ’authentic’ can
often aid local residents in their efforts to conserve local culture and gastronomy.
The traditional dishes that have fallen out of favour inn many regions are suddenly
reproduced to meet the demands of tourists, and can provide much-needed income
for local communities (Vieira e Brito and Vale, 2011). The Korean Tourism
Organisation has realised that visitors were looking for a more holistic experience of
Korean culture and creativity, based on different aspects of Korean lifestyle,
including “Eating what Koreans eat”. Cities such as Paris and Barcelona now refer to
tourists as ‘temporary citizens’, legitimising their role in creation as well as
consumption (Richards, 2013).

Given the flat nature of such gastronomic networks and communities, they no longer
function on the basis of hierarchy. The ordering of network processes therefore
occurs more through the creation and staging of events that serve to attract and
focus the attention of all those involved. Spontaneous creativity is therefore

8
increasingly used to develop eating experiences in new and unexpected locations. A
highly successful example is the Pop-up Restaurant Day in Helsinki. Timo Santala,
one of the founders of this event says that “Restaurant Day is a food carnival, where
anyone can set up their own restaurant, cafe or bar for a day, anywhere they want. It
happens four times a year and it’s a celebration of food culture, crazy restaurant
concepts and togetherness.”

Helsinki is also beginning to take a much more integral approach to food, with the
development of a ‘Culinary Culture Strategy’ (Helsinki Foodism, 2014). This new
strategy aims to ensure that:

The city’s development choices increase the well-being and comfort of

residents and boost Helsinki’s identity and international profile through
culinary culture.

Food is being put very much at the centre of the policy-making strategy of the city,
because it

believes that the value of a city can be measured in food. A rich food culture
emphasises quality taste every day, although it is often tricky to calculate the
impact in Euros. We also believe that Helsinki is going through a downright
food revolution – a renaissance of flavours, even – and this change touches
both restaurants and our very homes.

There is a clear attempt in this policy to combine a more sustainable culinary for the
city and its residents with events and attractions for visitors, developing a policy that
touches all of the city’s stakeholders. Gastronomy is therefore no longer a peripheral
concern of a small elite, but an important aspect of many people’s lives and a force
that can shape the landscape.

The growing power of gastronomy is not uncontested, however. Poole’s (2012)

’foodie backlash’ is now being joined by academics who point to the inherent
contradictions of richly laden foodscapes jostling with ’food deserts’ in many major
cities. For example Lister (2007) examines the way in which the ’foodshed’ of
Toronto has failed to feed poorer neighbourhoods, where access to good food is
often problematic. In many cases, the food itself has become detached from the
landscape, and become a tool to be utilised in the branding and marketing of places.
Yelvington et al. (2014) analyse the contested winescapes of California, where policy
makers have enlisted the aid of the wine lobby to remake wine production spaces
into consumption spaces for tourists. In the case of Nottingham, in the UK, Hollows
et al. (2014) discuss the influence of major breweries on the range and type of pubs
available, but they argue that not all of the pubscapes of the city are produced in a
top-down fashion. These new foodscapes are clearly not uncontested and are in
need of further examination.

Discussion: a new role for gastronomy?

9
The journey undergone by food and gastronomy in relation to society in the
developed world in the past 10-15 years has been one of moving from the margins of
social concern to occupy a more central position in processes of social distinction
and identity formation. In the 1970s and 1980s food was largely ignored as a social
phenomenon, isolated by the rigid frame provided by French gastronomic rules and
prescriptions. It was not until Bourdieu (1984) began to analyse the distinction of
taste in the 1980s that more attention began to be paid to food and gastronomy in
particular as markers of social position and important elements in lifestyles.

Bourdieu illustrated how the consumption of certain types of food and the
development of specific ways of eating food had become a marker of social class.
Hjalager (2004) later developed this idea further in the realm of tourism and
gastronomy. Over time, the cultural capital related to food has also become more
developed as the food scene has expanded. Ambrozas (2003) analysed the
development of ‘culinary capital’ among foodies in Vancouver, and identified their
use of ‘ostentatious simplicity’ instead of conspicuous consumption.

For example, their consumption of exotic or expensive regional specialties,

like pomegranate molasses and fleur de Camargue salt, displays their cultural
capital. At the same time their consumption of local, artisanally produced
organic food symbolically resists industrial agribusiness and genetic
modification (GM) technology.

Since the 1990s, therefore, we have also seen gastronomy break out of the narrow
confines of classic cuisine, boosted by the rise of lifestyle consumption, identity
politics and authenticity. This move was originally signalled by Bell and Valentine in
their volume Consuming Geographies: We are where we eat (1997). They described
how the class-delimited taste patterns described by Bourdieu began to diffuse into a
myriad of different lifestyle niches and market segments in the 1990s UK. In this
climate of postmodern fragmentation, food and gastronomy moved from being class
markers in Bourdieu’s terms (what people eat as a marker for class distinction) to
being an area of social reproduction in itself. Food moved from being a peripheral
concern for the majority of the middle class (those who had enough to eat, and
therefore took food for granted) to forming the basis for distinct lifestyles.

Gastronomy became the source of identities, even new hybrid identities (Scarpato,
2002). This began to decouple gastronomy from high culture and haute cuisine and
link it far more to regional culture and specific locations. This increasingly important
link between destinations and the development of tourism food consumption has
meant that the research focus in tourism and gastronomy has also shifted. Research
has moved from the identification of gastronomic tourist segments towards themes
such as:

 Edible places

10
 The growth of ‘foodscapes’ and the creation of distinctive local cuisines have
been noted in many areas of the world (Long, 2010)
 Marketing and branding
The need to distinguish gastronomic destinations in the face of growing global
competition has produced more emphasis on gastronomic branding and the
use of place-based food demarcation.
 Expansion of gastronomic tourism to new regions
Much research on tourism and gastronomy in recent years has focussed on
the emergence of ‘new’ gastronomic destinations, as tourism organisations
globally have sought to attract the global foodie, and food production and
presentation concepts have flowed to new areas (e.g. de la Barre and
Brouder, 2013; Brouder, 2014).

Taken together, these trends have tended to produce an emphasis not just on
particular foods or high gastronomy, but on whole food systems, ‘foodscapes’ or food
cultures. As Long (2010) notes in her analysis of New Appalachian Cuisine:

Referring to grits as Appalachian polenta, then, is more than a marketing

description. It represents the locating of an American tradition of a healthy
relationship between people and their food. Appalachia, then, is no longer a
fringe area, marginal, but a region held up as a model for other regions—and
proof that there were people here that were living properly all along. The
development of culinary tourism in the Asheville area can be read as simply
an attempt by the tourism, hospitality, and food service industries to expand
their products and markets. However, attention to the cultural implications
suggests that it could also represent a shift in Appalachian identity. (p. 18)

Long’s analysis indicates the interplay between global and local flows in the forging
of these new culinary identities. Global competition may be driving places to
distinguish themselves in a bid to attract tourists, but there is also a bottom-up
movement for greater local identity that is driving the development of foodscapes
and culinary destinations.

This interplay can be seen in many different areas of the world, such as the
development of New Andean Cuisine in Latin America (Schlüter, 2012), or in the
development of local food offering for tourists in the UK (Everett and Aitchison,
2008). Gyimóthy and Mykletun (2009) give a detailed description of the development
of sheep’s head cuisine in Norway, which they describe as ‘scary food’.

In contrast to the localising effects of regional foods, however, some governments

are also actively making efforts to globalise their cuisine. For example, the Korean
and Thai governments have both given incentives for food producers and
restaurants to stimulate the spread of their cuisine abroad (Dodd, 2012; Mak et al.,
2011).

11
There are a number of important implications of such changes for the way in which
gastronomy articulates with tourism. Two important aspects are highlighted here: the
growing role of linkages and networks, and the role of sharing and intimacy in such
contacts.

Linkages and networks

The growing need to bring producers and consumers together to create gastronomic
experiences is also placing more emphasis on the development of food networks.
These are most prevalent at local and regional levels, where local food producers
often work together with hospitality providers and tour operators to create new and
engaging experiences for tourists. Doing so requires the development of flows of
knowledge and skills between local producers, as well as flows of information to the
(potential) tourists. Such networks are actively being developed in Scandinavia, for
example, where Ljunggren (2012) has analysed the development of networks that
support the provision of high quality food for tourists in local restaurants. She views
this linkage of food, culture and tourism as part of a specific model of experience
development in the Nordic countries, where experiences are used as the basis for
policy development.

As well as physical food networks, new virtual networks are also springing up. For
example Yelp and other listings sites and apps create a virtual foodscape of places
that can be browsed by those seeking culinary experiences:

Yelp is also a great source for user generated food porn. It has deals, check-
in opportunities, and a map of places near you. Despite its many great
features, Yelp is ultimately successful because of its community. Many people
use it, which makes the experience more helpful than that offered by sexier,
but less popular apps (Appadvice.com, 2014).

Research also indicates that participation in local food networks can help producers
to increase their sales, including to tourists. For example, Dougherty and Green
(2011) illustrate the strong effects of word of mouth recommendation flowing within
local food tourism networks. In their research in the USA, they found that 31% of
tourists got information about local foods via informal recommendation, and 80% of
farmers producing food for direct sale also used this channel to market their produce.
Networks of organic farmers have succeeded in creating an “informal circuit of
knowledge” (Ilbery and Kneafsey, 1999, p. 2213) that cements the sense of
belonging of guests with the locals and with the host, assisting the creation of
enjoyable experiences. In the UK, Sims (2009) also emphasised the role of
‘alternative food networks’ in developing gastronomic tourism.

The success of such ventures has increasingly persuaded the tourism sector to
become involved in food networks. For example in Ireland the National Tourist Board
has supported publication of a manual on how to establish food tourism networks.
Stafford and O’Leary (2013) provides a practical ‘how to’ guide to establishing a food

12
network, as well as many case studies from Ireland and elsewhere. The manual
emphasises that food tourism networks need to be firmly embedded in the local,
because:

Food tourists want to experience a sense of place through food which means
that to provide this experience, high quality, good value, authentic local food,
as well as Irish cuisine, must be available. Therefore, those interested in
developing food tourism must aim to enhance visitors’ experiences of food by
ensuring that their expectations with regard to availability, variety and value of
local foods are met and exceeded. (p. 4)

The development of value within such networks goes far beyond traditional models
of economic value creation. The local producer does far more than exchange food
products for cash – they become part of the whole food tourism experience, building
a community of trust with the tourist and other actors. This is important given the
”strong political desire at both European and national scales to ‘relocalize’ food”
(Maye and Ilbery, 2006: 338), placing a great emphasis on the responsibilities of
food producers, and the differing interpretations of ’local food’ Morris and Buller
(2003). This also means a fundamental shift in the ways in which tourists and others
interact around food.

Sharing and intimacy

The values transmitted through food and gastronomic networks are beginning to
change. It is no longer a simple need for sustenance, or even cultural or knowledge
exchange, but a basis for sharing and intimacy.

With the growth of networks and increasing links between people who have little or
no physical contact, the basis on which trust is created becomes even more
important. The growth of more holistic, creative experiences that link producers and
consumers in physical and virtual ‘communities’ around products and services
means that networks around food experiences are also becoming more ‘relational’,
in the sense that the relationships become an essential part of the value creation
function (Richards, 2014). Consumers seem less concerned about market signals
such as price and branding, and more concerned to establish relationships of trust
with the people that they purchase experiences from, and from their peers, including
those they interact with online.

The basic experience economy model is therefore being adapted to take account of
dimensions of intimacy, trust and emotional bonding that help to link consumers and
producers and which help cement co-creating communities. The basis of
relationships is also changed from one fundamentally based on the ownership of
resources towards a model based more on the utilisation of resources by different
actors. These are important aspects of the shift towards the ‘sharing economy’,
which has been pioneered by companies such as Airbnb and Uber (Pogue, 2014).

13
The growth of ‘pop-up’ restaurants in major cities is another sign of this emerging
economy, and the global flow of creative food concepts.

When consumers and producers begin to share resources in this way, or become
partners in the development of gastronomic communities or creative tourism
experiences, there is also a new form of intimacy that develops. Sidali et al (2013)
chart the rise of the ‘intimacy’ model of experience creation in rural areas, which
helps to give a feeling of belonging to guests staying in small-scale accommodation
and eating in local restaurants. This intimacy may not be desired by all tourists,
however, and it may also generate negative experiences for the hosts that expose
themselves emotionally in providing intimacy for their guests (Bell, 2014).

Conclusions

In the past we thought primarily about tourism and gastronomy in terms of those who
consumed; the tourists and the cultural capital they possessed (Hjalager and
Richards, 2002). But increasingly this atomised view of tourism gastronomy is being
supplanted by experience and network based approaches.

Instead of identifying social groups on the basis of particular preferences developed

through social class and corresponding habitus, attention has now focussed on the
flows of knowledge and networks that support skill and knowledge acquisition and
development with respect to food on the part of tourists. Although these two
approaches may overlap to a certain extent (because skills and knowledge are often
also related to class positions and educational attainment), they are marked by
different emphases.

The first relies heavily on identifying socio-demographic characteristics that are

thought to be correlated with consumption patterns. However, the network approach
emphasises the networks that support particular gastronomic practices and the ways
in which people attain knowledge related to food. Much of this knowledge is of
course developed during leisure time, but tourism is playing an increasingly
important role, as people travel more frequently, and their ‘normal’ leisure time
becomes more squeezed. The ‘foodie’ begins to use their travel experiences as a
means of highlighting their distinctive knowledge of specific cuisines, foods or
preparation methods. Whole destinations are also now being created to welcome
these new gastronomic tourists, as the development of the new gastronomy quarter
of La Jeune Rue in Paris illustrates:

A history-making project where real estate savant Cédric Naudon is

transforming an overlooked corner of bohemian Paris into a world-class
destination for food and design! The shops of La Jeune Rue combine ethically
sourced food with interiors by top designers. Welcome to La Jeune Rue (the
“Young Street”), a food-and-design theme concept—and the vision of one
man, 42-year-old Cédric Naudon, who has amassed a small fortune in finance
and real estate. Two years ago the Parisian launched his first restaurant, Le

14
 Sergent Recruteur, on the Île Saint-Louis, which was celebrated for its
market-driven cuisine by former Michel Bras protégé Antonin Bonnet and its
playful interiors. “I became a banker to please my parents,” he says. “I’m
really a frustrated chef.” (psssst.net, 2014)

Alongside these urban foodscapes we are also seeing the rise of regional
foodscapes, which are now being consolidated through the creation of regional
museums and food production exhibitions. For example in Tuscany there is now the
Italian Food Valley, which features a tomato museum, a pasta museum and a wine
museum. In Japan food museums have been developed around popular foods such
as ramen, gyoza and curry.

It seems that we are no longer so concerned with distinctive individual foodies, but
with the creation of distinctive foodscapes in which the whole food community can
gather. The growing interplay between the search for distinction by different actors
(consumers, policymakers and places) has pushed food to the forefront of tourism
branding and marketing (Dodd, 2012).

This development is seen by many as a negative effect of the foodie phenomenon,

as ’real food’ is replaced by placeless exotic foods that have lost their link with the
seasons or their places of origin. The new foodscapes are also often seen as
harbingers of gentrification, as local facilities are replaced by eating establishments
aimed at the new middle class and tourists (Zukin, 1991). However, other
researchers point out that the end result is not always negative, as Bell and Binnie
(2005:85) describe in the case of Manchester:

the textures of use and meaning, the interplay of pre-existing landscapes and
lifestyles with those promoted by regeneration and gentrification, suggest that
food and regeneration can combine in complex ways to produce – at least
sometimes, in some places – those new patterns of urban living.

In these new spaces of prosumption, the de-differentiation of the local and tourism,
culture and economy, food and lifestyle, begins to produce new hybrid forms of
gastro-experience, co-created by food communities. This lies behind the
development of creative tourism and relational tourism, and behind the development
of holistic food policies in destinations, such as Helsinki. However, we still know
relatively little about the real effects of such developments, and much work remains
to be done in charting the emergence of new foodscapes and foodiescapes around
the globe. These are among the emerging new spaces of tourism production and
consumption, and they need to be charted and analysed if the rapidly developing
relationship between gastronomy and tourism is to be better understood.

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