Quella gastronomia che resiste alla crisi economica: la gastronomia etnica non conosce confini né geografici né culturali
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7174
Gastronomia e, in particolare, gastronomia etnica, è sinonimo di identità culturale. Sulla base di un quadro informativo circa l’attuale situazione del settore alimentare, si sottolinea come l’arte del mangiar bene definisca il livello di benessere e di qualità della vita di una comunità. È altrettanto vero, tuttavia, che tale prerogativa di quella data comunità non conosce confini, siano essi geografici o culturali, rappresentando un aspetto senza dubbio sinergico fra popoli e paesi in un mondo globalizzato.
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1973-9494
7174
en
Piergiorgio Tupini
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
globalization
A Gastronomy Unaffected by the Economic Crisis: Ethnic Cuisine Knows no Geographical or Cultural Frontiers
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
16
Articles
2017-07-24
2017-07-18
2017-07-24
2017-09-04
315-323
CSCH
Piergiorgio Tupini
2016
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7174
315
Accademia della Cultura Enogastronomica, Rome
1973-9494
globalization
en
323
A Gastronomy Unaffected by the Economic Crisis: Ethnic Cuisine Knows no Geographical or Cultural Frontiers
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/7174/6906
16
A     GASTRONOMY UNAFFECTED BY THE ECONOMIC CRI-
      SIS: ETHNIC CUISINE KNOWS NO GEOGRAPHICAL OR
      CULTURAL FRONTIERS

   Piergiorgio Tupini*11
   Accademia della Cultura Enogastronomica
   Rome, Italy


   Keywords: gastronomy, culture, globalization


                                The best time for planting a tree was twenty years ago;
                                                     The second best moment is now…


    ….a proverb to remember and to support the fact that change is always an opportu-
nity and the best way to realize ideas and projects.
    Why the union between gastronomy and culture in reference to this proverb?
    Its significance lies in considering how the holistic value of the two can be superim-
posed and are, moreover, referable to the following considerations.
    The preference for certain foods and not others, depends on geographical, environ-
mental, economic, historical, nutritional factors and, as such, can be traced back to a
cultural origin: in other words, the same food is shared among the same community
members and thus has a social, communicational and cultural meaning.
    On the other hand, food emphasizes the differences between groups, social classes




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
and cultures, reinforcing their sense of identity. It defines ideological, political, ethnic
boundaries, or conversely, is a means to learn about other cultures, to mix civilizations,
to find a road to interculturalism.
    And, speaking of identity, among those of an economic, social, religious, philosophi-
cal order, we focus on ethnic identity, in other words, those foods – referring to gas-
tronomy in particular – that in all traditions are a distinctive and significant mark of its
history and culture.
    Presenting an informative picture on the current situation of the food industry, sta-
tistics show that this is the sector that best survives the economic crisis, confirming
a growing interest for the importance that nutrition plays for man, because the art of
eating well, is also considered as a way of defining the level of welfare and quality of
life of a people or a community.
    In the far from peaceful economic revolution presently under way, a new model has
been introduced into the art of cooking represented by ethnic cuisines, which contrib-
ute to the economic performance of the gastronomy trade. They include:
    • ancient cuisines, which made abundant use of rice, herbs, spices, brown sugar,
        cocoa, jams, pastries, fruit and bottarga (a particular fish roe), which were then
        imported into Europe;


* Corresponding author: ptupini@gmail.com


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                                                                                                                              • teas of the sumptuous courts, the victors of the colonial campaigns and the people;
                                                                                                                              • Arab cuisine and medicine of the tenth century – stigmatized by Abu Bakr âlRâzî
P.G. Tupini - A gastronomy unaffected by the economic crisis: ethnic cuisine knows no geographical or cultural frontiers




                                                                                                                                in his treatise on dietetics in which he states “... those who understand the nature
                                                                                                                                of food are more enlightened” – that re-propose their culinary traditions to the
                                                                                                                                Western world.

                                                                                                                               Ethnic cuisines, which in the last 40 years have spread considerably throughout It-
                                                                                                                            aly, have become the ambassadors of culture, history and religion of eastern countries
                                                                                                                            offering “mutton, roast or stuffed pigeons, pies with seasoned meat, rice pudding, ap-
                                                                                                                            petizers made with sweet and sour vegetables in Syria and Jordan, meat rolls in vine
                                                                                                                            leaves with Palestinian yogurt, croutons with pureed sesame, broad beans, eggplant,
                                                                                                                            chickpeas, aromatized with mint leaves and dressed with olive oil, in Egypt, where in
                                                                                                                            the Middle Ages, European travelers who visited Cairo spoke of about 12,000 delis” as
                                                                                                                            well as cakes made with almonds and peanuts in North Africa, pistachio nuts and puff
                                                                                                                            pastry in the Middle East, um ali, a sweet Egyptian specialty with almonds and pine
                                                                                                                            nuts or baklava in the Arab world, prepared with puff pastry, almonds and honey, cut
                                                                                                                            into small diamond shapes, the kunafeh used from Egypt to Palestine and prepared
                                                                                                                            with almonds covered with puff pastry and honey.
                                                                                                                               In addition to these foods there are: drinks such as mint flavoured green tea, palm
                                                                                                                            sap, coffee aromatized with flowers in the countries of the Maghreb and with carda-
                                                                                                                            mom in the Middle East, sharbat, lemon juice flavored with vanilla and finally, as an
                                                                                                                            addition to desserts and sweets, orange blossom water to give refinement and other
                                                                                                                            aromas.
                                                                                                                               The development of ethnic gastronomy provides the consideration that food, unlike
                                                                                                                            men, knows no geographical or cultural boundaries and, as such, provides an oppor-
                                                                                                                            tunity for contributing values of style and integration, enriching the world scenario of
                                                                                                                            good food, in the same way as in the past when French, Italian and Chinese cuisine
                                                                                                                            were developed and incorporated into the world, recognized by a vast public and re-
                                                                                                                            spected by the greatest gastronomes in history.
                                                                                                                               Today the phenomenon of globalized migration generates discontent, but the pen-
                                                                                                                            etration of extremist-populist tendencies in European countries has always been facili-
                                                                                                                            tated by poor cultural and economic resources and a weakening in the ability to medi-
                                                                                                                            ate of mass parties, by an artfully developed and disseminated anti-politics among
                                                                                                                            ordinary people such as workers, those involved in the commercial sector, pensioners,
                                                                                                                            the unemployed or underemployed and housewives, currently amplified and driven by
                                                                                                                            the dominion of web-politics.
                                                                                                                               The great frailty of state borders, now useless in containing the exodus of tens
                                                                                                                            of thousands of people fleeing, mainly from Arab regimes in a continuous and tragic
                                                                                                                            struggle, raises the question of how insignificant and marginal they have become and
                                                                                                                            is a cause for reflection on the validity of their defense. What is puzzling though are
                                                                                                                            the rash decisions of a delegitimized political class that is attempting to stop the exo-
                                                                                                                            dus by using coercive systems or agreements that weigh negatively on the history of
                                                                                                                            the peoples and the development of their democracy and culture, even to the point of
                                                                                                                            seeing farcical walls being constructed to throw dust in the eyes of the most ardent
                                                                                                                            xenophobes in order not to lose votes.
                                                                                                                               All this confirms the awareness that state boundaries, many times invoked in the
                                                                                                                            past to stem human migration, are only the product of the will of a few to create plat-



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forms of national identity subordinate to power, a modern prerequisite for all wealth
and the growth of personal leadership.
    The significant presence of immigrants is, inevitably, producing a new style of politi-
cal communication that the media spreads and amplifies, often proposing it as being
responsible for the increase in crime and the degradation in urban areas, as well as
the source of problems of transformation relating to the economy and social life, but
without recognizing that these people, fascinated by the European way of life, wish
to become a part of it. Such coexistence simultaneously produces the spread of new
family relationships, products, technologies and habits that are rapidly absorbed by the
host populations.
    Italy is no stranger to this reality, because when in February 1990 “… the effects of
the statement on geographical limitation in national legislation ceased...” and which
had been established by Italy on signing the Geneva Convention, it began to experi-
ence the overcrowding of cities by the non-EU homeless who found shelter in railway
stations, under bridges, in abandoned buildings and industrial structures, as well as
unguarded archaeological complexes.
    As a result, albeit in too many cases outside the rules, new organizations appeared
to manage a food market of ethnic products typical of their native lands, in order to
meet the mandatory nutritional needs of a growing foreign population, which traditional
Italian gastronomy has to come to terms with, as it attracts an increasing number of
consumers fascinated by the new, the exotic and the unusual. At the same time, an
extensive market exists parallel to the national market in clothing, sold mostly by itiner-
ant sellers in the streets and on crowded beaches, and to the market in low cost labor.
    From data reported by Unioncamere – Infocamere, it states that from 2011 to 2014
the catering sector grew by 1.6% and that nearly one in three new restaurants that
opened was ethnic.
    The Milan Chamber of Commerce has studied the phenomenon in more detail and
claims that in 2013, of about three thousand restaurants opened in the city (+ 7% from




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
2011), one in three is run by foreigners. In Lombardy, 22% of the restaurant business
is foreign.
    Regional cuisines, on the other hand, recorded a decline in sales of 25% and, ac-
cording to Fipe (Italian Federation of Public Enterprises) – Confcommercio, in the past
three years the number of restaurants and pizzerias managed by foreign entrepre-
neurs has increased by 39%. In fact, since 2011, Istat, the Italian Institute for National
Statistics, has added ethnic fast food to its basket.
    Besides political effects, the situation has led to a new economic order in the distri-
bution of foodstuffs intended for the new population that has settled here and of goods
in general, creating new points of production, especially for ethnic gastronomy which,
on the whole, is unknown to the somewhat sedentary Italian.
    It naturally follows that the Italian population mixes, more or less consciously, with
the new populations that at times it turns away from without thinking, but then sponta-
neously accepts their food and goods, appreciating their quality and exotic attraction.
    The change, often traumatic, is at the origin of the development of society and
resisting it is a sign of cultural and social backwardness, exaggerated egoism and
creative blindness.
    It is evident that an unwanted change can be attributed to modifications in market
economy, aggressive competition, the inability of leadership to offer credible alterna-
tives, shifts in consumer tastes, new technologies, natural disasters, but above all


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                                                                                                                            to the low propensity for devoting oneself personally to exploiting the resources that
                                                                                                                            undoubtedly exist.
P.G. Tupini - A gastronomy unaffected by the economic crisis: ethnic cuisine knows no geographical or cultural frontiers




                                                                                                                                Mahatma Gandhi said: “We must become the change we want to see”. It is neces-
                                                                                                                            sary, therefore, to experience this change to direct it in a positive way towards what
                                                                                                                            we want to become.
                                                                                                                                It is therefore important to highlight the necessity of taking advantage of those
                                                                                                                            emerging organizations that influence the traditional trading system, by guiding them
                                                                                                                            along the high road of principles based on western models to stimulate adequate de-
                                                                                                                            mand through investments.
                                                                                                                                In conclusion, it can be said that there is a thin, anguished doubt about the possibil-
                                                                                                                            ity of being able to express the identity and tradition of one’s own country and that there
                                                                                                                            is a dark fear about the future. This has been evident in passing from local cultures to a
                                                                                                                            global culture and also through the atavistic difficulty, arising from a diversity in vocabu-
                                                                                                                            lary and mentality, of realizing the last critical step relating to “technology transfer”.
                                                                                                                                In truth, a feasible model that allows concrete results to be achieved is related to
                                                                                                                            a conceptual term: creativity. Transferred to the food industry, it can be expressed
                                                                                                                            through participation, involvement, feelings, but also in practical terms of workability,
                                                                                                                            profitability, management.
                                                                                                                                Hence, ethnic identity represented by gastronomy, as a manifestation of that crea-
                                                                                                                            tivity, can rightly retain the hallmark of its own history and culture, but it can and must
                                                                                                                            also be a vehicle of knowledge and experience that goes beyond national confines.


                                                                                                                               Biographical notes

                                                                                                                               Piergiorgio Tupini is President of the Accademia della Cultura Enogastronomica
                                                                                                                            in Rome and Professor (Technical School) at the “Free School of Engineering and Ap-
                                                                                                                            plied Sciences in Industry”, Fribourg, Switzerland. He is a former lecturer in the Master
                                                                                                                            “Hygiene and Environmental Safety” and expert on “Political Economics” at the Uni-
                                                                                                                            versity of Rome “La Sapienza.” As Director of the Environmental and Food Sector USL
                                                                                                                            RM1 (local health service) and then Director of the Technical Department ASL RMC,
                                                                                                                            he has carried out work in various fields, achieving important results, with reference to
                                                                                                                            limitation of atmospheric and environmental pollution, interventions for the rehabilita-
                                                                                                                            tion of the environmental and food sectors in the historical center of Rome and in the
                                                                                                                            campaign against smoking in public places. He has also conducted investigations in
                                                                                                                            hospitals on matters of hygiene and safety, as well as in establishments, laboratories
                                                                                                                            and food markets in Rome. He has published over 100 articles and 3 monographs.




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