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Kitchens takes us into the robust, overheated, backstage world of the contemporary restaurant. In this rich, often surprising portrait of the real lives of kitchen workers, Gary Alan Fine brings their experiences, challenges, and satisfactions to colorful life. A new preface updates this riveting exploration of how restaurants actually work, both individually and as part of a larger culinary culture.

This chapter focuses on the America Eats project and delves into why and how the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) began searching for America's regional cuisines. The narrative explores how, in New Deal food writing, food became a canvas for a sensory, emotional, felt manifestation of national identity. The chapter also examines the limits of this political project as it captures editors and local workers deliberating over which and whose regional foods would be deemed worthy of integration into the American culinary narrative. The analysis takes into account the prescriptive but also unstable and inconclusive nature of America Eats as the understanding of what American food was and who American eaters were evolved over the course of the project. In looking for the taste of the nation, the FWP often stumbled upon regional ethnic tastes that defied the aims of the project.

PurposeDespite the increasing recognition of coffee tourism, there is limited research on the influence of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) on coffee tourist behaviours. This investigation attempted to fill the gap in extending the MTE model by integrating travel motivations and expectation–confirmation theory (ECT).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach was employed. A survey questionnaire containing closed- and open-ended questions was used to obtain quantitative and qualitative information. Interviews with coffee shop owners were also conducted to obtain greater insight.FindingsBoth the quantitative and qualitative findings confirmed that coffee tourists’ revisit and word-of-mouth intentions were strongly influenced by satisfaction and MTEs, which were predicted by confirmation of expectations (CoEs) and travel motivations.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings confirmed that travel motivation is one of the most important precursors of MTEs. CoE was also determined to be a precursor of MTEs. MTEs had positive influences on satisfaction, word of mouth (WoM) and revisit intentions.Practical implicationsThe results offer insights by identifying vital factors linked to coffee tourist experiences and satisfaction, which will aid practitioners developing better marketing strategies.Originality/valueThe memorable tourism experience scale has rarely been applied in food tourism and particularly in relation to coffee consumption. Moreover, this research is unique in investigating the relationships among motivations, CoE, MTEs, satisfaction and WoM and revisit intentions.

Purpose This paper aims to demystify the creative experiences of an extraordinary group of pastry chefs – The Malaysian World Pastry Team, champions of the 2019 World Pastry Cup. The authors adopted an expressionist theoretical lens informed by two aesthetic philosophers – John Dewey and Wassily Kandinsky. Design/methodology/approach A two-year portraiture was conducted – a qualitative methodology that draws features from phenomenology and narrative inquiry, rendering artistically and empirically written “portraits” that reflect themes and patterns of participants’ experiences. In-depth interviews, observations and material artifacts were collected amid a journey alongside nine extraordinary Malaysian pastry chefs. Findings Presented in story structures, the authors offer three “portraits” of culinary creativity, each representing a core essence of the creative phenomenon: creative harmony in the form of sensorial and symbolic poetry; imaginative episodes as a hypnotic state of inspiration and incubation; and the creative duality of scientific rationalism and artistic fashion. The authors delineated the intricacies of each theme by presenting them as individual narratives. Research limitations/implications The portraits indicated that culinary creativity reflects an organic and emancipating aesthetic experience that is unbounded by formative structures or sequential processes. This provides a novel theoretical view that moves beyond conventional studies’ capitalistic frameworks, and toward the intimate viewpoints of the chef-creators. Specific contributions are discussed. Originality/value Through a unique qualitative approach and an aesthetic theoretical framework, this study provided a novel perspective on the culinary creative process. The aesthetic view captures culinary creativity through the eyes of the creator, a viewpoint less considered, yet imperative to the culinary profession.

The restaurant industry is one of the few places in America where workers from lower-class backgrounds can rise to positions of power and prestige. Yet with over four million cooks and food-preparation workers employed in America’s restaurants, not everyone makes it to the high-status position of chef. What factors determine who rises the ranks in this fiercely competitive pressure-cooker environment?  Making It explores how the career path of restaurant workers depends on their accumulation of kitchen capital , a cultural asset based not only on their ability to cook but also on how well they can fit into the workplace culture and negotiate its hierarchical structures. After spending 120 hours working in a restaurant kitchen and interviewing fifty chefs and cooks from fine-dining establishments and greasy-spoon diners across the country, sociologist Ellen Meiser discovers many strategies for accumulating kitchen capital. For some, it involves education and the performance of expertise; others climb the ranks by controlling their own emotions or exerting control over coworkers. Making It offers a close and personal look at how knowledge, power, and interpersonal skills come together to determine who succeeds and who fails in the high-pressure world of the restaurant kitchen.    

People in multilingual societies develop complex and interconnected food-making and food-discussing networks. On the basis of an experimental course titled “Food at Home, Food on the Move: Globalization and Regionalism in Modern Food Culture” taught at the University of Helsinki, we will show how the acquisition of culinary terminology puts forward the interconnectedness of languages and the dynamics between them in several sociolinguistic contexts. The lectures were grouped geographically: Eating with the Neighbors (Finnish cuisine and Swedish, Russian, Karelian and other influences); From the Baltic to Central Europe (Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, German, and Hungarian food cultures); Formative Cuisines of the Mediterranean (French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern cuisine, etc.); and Eating Outside Europe (food culture influences from the US, Mexico, China, Japan, and India). The assignments included a critical lecture diary, an essay about eating experiences, or additional reading, a conversational analysis of a culinary show, or fieldwork in an ethnic restaurant. Raising awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, motivating course participants to discuss the role and interaction of languages in their repertoire, makes them reflect on their multilingual identities. It allows educators to explore individuals’ DLCs in different contexts while navigating diverse global and local environments based on the principles of fairness and equality in education.

This paper aims to investigate the opinions of local cheese producers with regard to the relationships between cheese and tourism in rural areas. Based on a case study approach, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with cheesemakers and visits to cheesemaking facilities in Valle de Roncal (Roncal valley), a mountain region in northern Spain. Results of this research show that cheese producers in rural areas award tourism value to cheese by appreciating its historical linkages to land and landscapes, the rural lifestyle, and a regional communication of cheese. The originality of this paper lies on the approach to a niche tourism which is drawn from the understanding of cheese as both a local product and a tourist attraction, from the perspective of local producers in peripheries. This research informs rural tourism planners in the design of (food) tourist experiences that rely on a local-based storytelling.

Background: Plant-based diets are associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases and improved health outcomes. However, sustaining dietary changes remains challenging. Digital interventions—including virtual culinary medicine programs, web-based nutrition coaching, SMS and email reminders, mobile application–based self-management, and hybrid community programs—offer promising strategies to support behavior change, enhance cooking skills, and improve dietary adherence. These approaches are relevant for both healthy individuals and those living with chronic conditions. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of studies published between 2000 and 2025 in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, supplemented with manual searches. Included studies comprised randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs, feasibility studies, and qualitative research. Interventions were categorized by modality (SMS, email, web platforms, mobile apps, virtual culinary programs, and hybrid formats) and population (healthy adults, patients with chronic diseases). Outcomes examined included dietary quality, self-efficacy, psychosocial well-being, and program engagement. Results: Most studies reported improvements in dietary quality, cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, and psychosocial outcomes. Virtual cooking programs enhanced dietary adherence and engagement, particularly among individuals at cardiovascular risk. Digital nutrition education supported behavior change in chronic disease populations, including patients with multiple sclerosis. SMS and email reminders improved self-monitoring and participation rates, while mobile applications facilitated real-time feedback and goal tracking. Hybrid programs combining online and in-person components increased motivation, social support, and long-term adherence. Reported barriers included limited technological access or skills, lack of personalization, and privacy concerns. Conclusions: Virtual culinary medicine programs and other digital microinterventions—including SMS, email, web, mobile, and hybrid formats—are effective tools to promote plant-based diets. Future interventions should focus on personalized, accessible, and hybrid strategies, with attention to underserved populations, to maximize engagement and sustain long-term dietary change.

Purpose The purpose of this study sought to identify the main themes linked with wine hotel experiences, based on tourists’ narratives shared online, and to investigate whether these narratives vary according to traveler type. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis was carried out on 4,114 online reviews of 52 wine hotels located in 27 wine regions across 11 nations in both the Old and New World. Findings The analysis of these web reviews revealed that narratives can be grouped under 11 themes organized into 7 main dimensions as follows: wine, lodging (i.e. hotel, area and room), food service (i.e. restaurant and breakfast), scenery (i.e. views and vineyards), staff, transportation and recommendation. The main narratives vary according to traveler type. Practical implications Improving the present understanding of wine tourists’ experiences should help wine hotel managers find new approaches to enhancing visitors’ satisfaction. As the dimensions of wine tourism experiences shared online vary according to traveler type, wine managers can design their offer to target families, couples, friends, solo and corporate clients. Originality/value Prior research has identified the need for market segmentation in the wine tourism industry. This research addresses this need by specifying the wine tourism experience according to traveler type. The breadth of the data, and the method of using travelers’ own testimony as opposed to more common surveying are additional contributions for both academics and managers.

In our Shadwell food history walk, part of a larger ‘Food Lives’ initiative, we employed counter-mapping techniques to shed light on overlooked post-war migrant cafés, revealing their essential role in facilitating food security and community. These spaces, often central in marginalised individuals’ navigation through urban life, epitomise racialised resistance and survival. Their significance, especially the almost invisible contributions of women and men of colour, stands in contrast to dominant historical narratives. The spatial food heritage of Cable Street emphasises the longstanding influence of racially marginalised migrant communities, countering racism and racial inequalities. Drawing parallels to present-day East End eateries, often criticised yet serving as cultural hubs, the project underscores the enduring ‘sticky emotions’ tied to food, racial dynamics, and colonial legacies.