Let the feast begin!

After studying and over analyzing every interest in my life from music, to literature, to film, I have now begun to deconstruct the most necessary aspect of our existence: food. Being an American consumer (and college student) surrounded by McDonald's, microwavable hot pockets and Little Debbie cakes, I am interested in finding the minority artisanal focus on food in American culture and how other cultures values are transposed into American consumerism. I will be particularly looking at producers in Pittsburgh, with some pit stops at other cities throughout this semester as I go on other school-related trips.

As part of the school of sustainability at Chatham University, Dr. Alice Julier is laying the foundation for a food studies graduate program. I am participating in the class "Producing Food, Producing Difference" that views food production and culture through the lens of critical theory. In turn, food becomes more than just another meal, but a window into our own identity and heritage. By viewing food as a signifier of race, class and gender, identity becomes more complicated.

In essence, all of the participants in this class are becoming "Cuisine Connoisseurs." I refer to the definition of both of these words to justify the title of this blog (and thanks to my fellow connoisseur in all things techie Jenn Van Dam for the idea!): Cuisine, as a style or manner of cooking; and connoisseur, a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in matters to taste. Remember in the film "Ratatouille" when the title critter tells his brother to close his eyes and think about what he was eating, accompanied by blips of light and sounds? I want to think about food like that- from different perceptions and layers rather than just passively consuming it.

At the end of this class, I will be travelling to Rome as part of the Chatham Study Abroad program. The itinerary for this Roman holiday includes fisheries, wineries, visiting cheese makers among other artisan food producers. I hope this blog will help me to organize my thoughts and opinions on food, as well as get my readers to question and think about the origin of food and labor that goes into production.