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Chapter 4 Gastronomic Identity II: Food and Cuisine
and local area. The Aperitif featuring Chef John Folse & Company at the beginning of this
chapter provides an example of a firm that has established gastronomic identity capabilities
in a variety of venues. These capabilities can be developed over time, based on trial and
error, and the process can create wine, food, or pairing innovations to outfox the competition.
Capabilities of this sort may be limited to a firm, locally based, or regional, as is true
of wine. Locally based capabilities allow the creation of new innovations that ultimately
impact identifiable gastronomic products and services.
External to any particular firm are the factors that drive the agricultural production
and distribution system in any given region. Factors of production—capital, credit and financial
services, labor markets, information, and training, as well as supplies of seeds, chemicals,
and equipment—are required to provide an appropriate infrastructure for farmers,
wholesalers, and retailers. There must be people who have an interest in producing food
and the ability to do so, along with business that serve agricultural producers. Further,
capabilities must also be available in the form of intermediaries (wholesalers, import/export,
storage, and transportation), food industries (processing, manufacturing, catering, and retailing),
and regulation (health and nutrition policies, quality and safety monitoring, and
security measures). Finally, for an agricultural system of any kind to operate, the final products
have to be valued by and accessible to the consuming public, which must have the
means (purchasing power) and desire (food habits and culture) to acquire them. 17
GASTRONOMIC IDENTITY
What does all of this mean in regard to gastronomic identity? To recap, regional flavor
profiles, dining etiquette, and regional recipes are predominantly derived through a continuous
interaction and evolution of fashion, traditions, culture, and climate. All cuisines and
gastronomic traditions are created through a fusion of ingredients and techniques as a result
of the marrying of diverse cultures, ethnic influences, and history. These gastronomic
traditions are tempered or restricted by limitations in product availability and know-how.
The Development of Regional Gastronomic Identity in Italy
Prior to the widespread development of global distribution channels, there was really no
such thing as a truly national cuisine in Europe or elsewhere. The political entity currently
known as Italy did not come into being until 1860. The five major regions that make up
present-day Italy provide an example of vastly differing culinary traditions. Milan and the
surrounding region have a rich tradition of dairy farming as well as a history of a wide
variety of agricultural production of fruits and vegetables; rice is an important food item,
and the traditional dish risotto alla Milanese features butter (rather than olive oil) as the
cooking medium for sautéing the regional short-grain rice, which is then finished with stock,
saffron, and cheese. Venice provides an example of the influence of its lucrative trade with
Asia and the incorporation of spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon; not surprisingly, given
its position on the sea, Venice places seafood in a prominent role in its cuisine. The region
of Tuscany is renowned for its production of olive oil and a fondness for beans (the local
population is often called mangia fagioli—bean eaters), the latter due to the Tuscans being
impoverished throughout the early modern period and the scarcity of available meat products.
18 The cuisine of Rome and the surrounding area was based on young meats such as
lamb, veal, and kid. The cuisine of Naples ranged along a spectrum from lavish to frugal;
many of the foods identified in North America as ‘‘Italian’’ come from Naples, such as tomato
sauce, mozzarella, pizza, and spaghetti. 19
Italian regional cuisine provides an example of how differing indigenous products are
incorporated into the local cuisine as well as how new products are adapted into the diet
based on fashion and the profitability of importing or producing food items that were previously
foreign or exotic. As is apparent throughout the discussion of the impact of the