Using examples, critically discuss the importance of gastronomy to at festivals - Essay Example

The Importance of Gastronomy at Festivals Using examples, critically discuss the importance of gastronomy at festivals Gastronomy is the act of networking and holding educational events in a culinary community (Ganji et al, 2004). It involves studying food and culture in specific events including festivals. Gastronomy in festivals is important, and contributes positively to tourism across the world. During festivals, people may have a relaxed and intimate forum where leaders of culinary industry from all over the world come together to build relationships, share ideas and identify business opportunities while enjoying the experience in a cool manner (Ganji et al, 2004).

This is specifically important to tourists who learn new things about food and take the ideas to their home countries. Food festivals in the UK is a good example of food festivals where gastronomy can be used to benefit the tourism sector while improving culinary experience of many people who attend food festivals in the UK annually. Several regions of the UK offer food festivals in which all kinds of food from those regions are served, ranging from insects, oysters, mocktails and ales. Gastronomy in these food festivals enables locals and tourists to learn various types of food, share ideas about food, and build their nutrition knowledge (Smith & Costello, 2009).

This improves relationships between people from different cultures, and enables them to enjoy their experiences together and build unity across UK and the world. This is also supported by Niester (2008), who suggests that food festivals such as beer festivals bring together visitors who come beer testing and experience, leading to strong relationships. People get to know each other as they test beer during beer festivals and beer shows held annually in Yorkshire, UK. Gastronomy also enables people to learn about sensory human nutrition.

Visitors attending festivals do not just get the chance to enjoy beautiful sceneries and marvelous performances, but they also get to taste, discover, research and understand about food in a practical and enjoyable manner. For example, the Ludlow food festival in Shropshire is famous for modern food festival trend that involves preparation of sausage and ale trails (Lloyd & Johnson, 2009). The festival organizes an interactive event which allows participants to learn how to use their five senses when eating (Lloyd & Johnson, 2009).

This event does not just promote relationships but also enables people to understand their sensory human nutrition. Gastronomy also enables people to learn and understand how food nutrition relates to culture (Katz & Weaver, 2003). As a result, people who visit festivals appreciate different cultures and promote tourism whereby people are encouraged to visit different festivals with new cultures in order to enjoy the experience and learn new food cultures and cuisine (Smith & Costello, 2009).

For example, when visitors from different parts of the world attend food festivals in United Kingdom, they learn different cultures of United Kingdom through gastronomy. As a result, they will be encouraged to visit more festivals and learn more. This eventually leads to increased income from tourism; providing jobs for people and earning foreign revenue for the government (Smith & Costello, 2009). Generally, gastronomy is an important element in festivals because it provides visitors with the opportunity to taste, discover, research, and experience food preparation in different countries.

The food festival in UK is a good example of festivals that may offer the benefits of gastronomy. It encourages people to learn new cultures and sensory nutrition as they enjoy the experience of making and eating food. This boosts relationships and encourages tourism in UK.References listGanji, V., Seaman, C., & Quinn, B. 2014, Gastronomy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bradford.Katz, S.H., & Weaver, W.W. 2003, Encyclopedia of food and culture, Scribner, New York.Lloyd, D., & Johnson, K. 2009, Festival Ludlow: Eight centuries of art, culture and entertainment, Logaston Press, Herefordshire.

Niester, Jeremy G.A. 2008, Beer, Tourism and Regional Identity: Relationships between beer and tourism in Yorkshire, England, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.Smith, S., & Costello, C. 2009, “Culinary tourism: Satisfaction with a culinary event utilizing importance-performance grid analysis”, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 99-110.