Publisher's Synopsis
The lure of exotic food has motivated many people to travel, and the tourism industry thrives on providing the utmost dining experiences - either of new and exotic foods, or of authentic foods from a particular culture or region, or even of familiar foods, comforting, consistent and safe to the traveller. Such exploration can occur in a variety of venues: restaurants, festivels, grocery stores, and cooking classes. While food has always been central to travelling, culinary tourism can happen in less exotic settings, through the procurement, preservation, preparation, presentation and performance of food. Consuming, or possibly just tasting, exotic foods can be the ultimate goal of a tourist's experience, but food can also serve as a way for tourists to explore other cultures. Considering food as both a destination and a means for tourism, the contributors to this book examine the many intersections of food, culture and tourism in public and commercial contexts, in private and domestic settings, and around the world. Just as movies, books, postcards and memories take us to other places, food also takes us to other realms of experience, allowing us to enjoy diverse cultures from the comfort of home. Restaurants, cookbooks, televised cooking shows, food magazines, recipe sections in newspapers, and even reality television shows, such as ""Survivor"" and ""Fear Factor"", allow us to tour the foodways of other cultures. This book provides a taste of such adventures.
