Science, Tradition, and Creativity in the Culinary Arts

• In Event: 413 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Refereed Roundtable Session. Table 01. Culture and Organizations
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 17. Occupations and Professions

Abstract

Drawing upon a range of qualitative methods and employing a field theoretic framework, I examine how chefs acquire scientific knowledge, how it changes the way they think about food, and how it is strategically employed in their creative work. I find that, contrary to many examples where a given domain is “scientized,” culinary professionals have embraced new science-informed practices while rejecting the empirical evaluative measures that typically accompany them. In order to conform to the culinary field’s dual imperatives of originality and familiarity, these innovative chefs strategically position their radical discoveries in relation to more traditional dishes and techniques. These findings illustrate the limits of scientific authority in this particular context, but also suggest how the adoption of exogenous knowledge may be changing the field in more subtle ways. By characterizing their innovations as natural extensions of longstanding practices, these chefs may be upending the very culinary traditions they purport to preserve.

Author

• Chad R. Borkenhagen, University of Chicago