CIBO E IDENTITA'

The rhetoric of the food experience is increasingly present, we are bombarded by narratives about traditional food, the true 'grandma's recipes', the authenticity of certain dishes. Food is considered a generator of identity, capable of transmitting traditions and protecting culture, capable of bringing people together, creating a sense of community and celebration. But is it really so? How is it possible that while we say that thanks to the pandemic we have returned to cooking, ready-made foods in supermarkets and home deliveries are increasing? Why the more we produce 'identity products' (emphasizing their origin, typicality, authenticity), the more we place them in anonymous and increasingly standardized places like the various Mercato Centrale, Eataly, and similar, which are nothing more than true highway rest stops of culinary typicality? Serena Guidobaldi guides us through a reflection on how food is no longer truly linked to the moment of community gathering, celebration, sharing, but is increasingly the marker of an individualism that, while guiding us in search of the authentic, the best pizza, the best typical restaurant, instead leads us to consume products increasingly based on a false traditional memory.