Meanings of italian complete lunch: Articulations of consumption and culture in a gastronomic experience in São Paulo

• Autor(a) principal: Melo, Diogo Lannes
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Araujo, Fábio Francisco de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Consumer Behavior Review
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/index.php/cbr/article/view/247863
• topic: consumption meanings; pranzo completo; italian culture; social identities.; significados do consumo; pranzo completo; cultura italiana; identidades sociais.

This study addresses the theme of meanings present in the consumption rituals of Italian gastronomy and food culture. It is observed that motivations for the consumption of Italian gastronomy can encompass different objectives, such as the attempt at cultural rescue, nostalgia and family influences, curiosity and hedonic seek for pleasant experiences in the context of feeding. The present work proposes to analyze the meanings attributed to consumption of a complete Italian lunch (pranzo completo) by a group of Italian students and their teacher residing in São Paulo city. An ethnography composed of participant observation, personal interview and data analysis was carried out. The results showed five native categories emerging from the data: the culture of Italian food consumption; hospitality and sociability when meeting at the table; interactional exchanges at the table; the symbolism present in representative rituals of Italian gastronomy; (re) construction of the Italian cultural identity through consumption experiences in the gastronomic context. It was realized that lunch, from the perspective of organizing teacher, was a way to build and preserve the Italian self. In relation to the students, although they had individual values, lunch showed the formation of a subgroup enthusiastic about concrete living of Italian culture through immersion experiences provided by the meeting.