The making of the gourmet restaurateur – masculine ideology, identity and performance

• In recent decades, there has been growing interest in renowned gourmet restaurants, and increased awareness about how food is prepared, presented and served. A small and select group of chefs have thereby gained prestigious positions and high-profile images as restaurateurs. Most of these restaurateurs are men. The research question this article sets out to study is: How is the identity and ideology of masculinity imbued into the subjectivity and representations of gourmet restaurateurs? The selection of data sources means that our geographical focus is on Stockholm, Sweden’s main urban region. The methodological approach of this article to employ empirical material from interviews and media articles reveals how this masculine discourse is attained through a particular interplay of subjects (the chefs and entrepreneurs) and representations (the media). The focus of this article has included a quite exclusive category of a few restaurants and restaurateurs, which may have implications on the findings pointing to a homogenous profile of the ideals of the gourmet chefs. The results point out that the micro-spaces of gourmet restaurants’ kitchens and dining rooms can be understood as nurseries for ‘nostalgic and conservative masculinities’.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Ekonomisk geografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Economic Geography (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Kulturgeografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Human Geography (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Gourmet restaurateurs; masculinity; cooking; entrepreneurship

Social and Economic Geography

Kulturgeografi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)