Gastronomy is a multidimensional phenomenon that has become highly significant in present-day societies and proven a powerful tool for the tourism industry. It has come to occupy a prominent place in heritage discourse and become an effective way to add value to locally grown, artisanal and traditional foods or those produced in ways that have come to be highly valued: “local”, “organic” or “sustainable”. As a result, gastronomy has helped diversify and strengthen the productive sector. Cooking is now a glamorous activity and we see this new status reflected in the growing number of cooking courses and in the media, where gastronomy features more prominently than ever before. This research area focuses on analysing food culture linked to the label “gourmet”; the spread of dishes, foods and meals in public spaces such as fairs, markets, food-related conferences and food festivals; and the different ways of eating together generated by such practices.
