Stories
Fascism, food, and women: totalitarism at the table
This is a draft of my review of Diana Garvin's book, Feeding Fascism: The Politics of Women’s Food Work, published on the journal MLN. Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 film Bicycle Thieves has marked world cinema with its raw representations of post-World War II poverty in...
The Makaron Case: Pasta, Poland, and Politics
Italian pasta has suddenly become very hot in Polish politics (ok, terrible pun, but bear with me…). On Wednesday October 3rd, Janusz Kowalski, the deputy minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, posted an infographic on his X account in which he...
Queering the Menu: a Dinner at Davide Scabin’s Table
A dinner at a Davide Scabin’s establishment is an event that keeps you thinking and musing for a while. And the tasting menu he now offers at his new Carignano Restaurant at the Grand Hotel Sitea in Turin is no exception. In many ways, this is not your run-of-the-mill...
Culinary Tourism and Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities
How can tourists be educated through experiences that allow them to share aspects of the local life without excessively disturbing nature and local communities? How do you avoid forms of disneyfication that may turn locals into extras? On March 24 and 25th, the 5the...
Relaxed Woke Cooking: The Big Brunch on HBO Max
Just like a brunch is about leisure and relaxation with friends and family, The Big Brunch on HBO Max builds culinary entertainment that is good-natured, with contestants supporting each other, with less frantic rhythm and editing style, without bombast and brashness....
Gastronativism: Food as an ideological tool in a globalized world
Present-day gastronativism differs from previous manifestations. It inevitably reflects not only the structure and flows of the global food system but also the social, economic, and political power relations that underpin it and determine its mechanisms. "The way food...