Gastronomy is the study and practice of food and eating, encompassing culinary techniques, cultural traditions, sensory experience, and the social institutions that shape cuisines. It spans historical treatises and modern food science, influences restaurant evaluation systems and heritage policy, and today intersects with sustainability and public health.
Last updated September 17, 2025
Gastronomy is the art and knowledge system concerned with selecting, preparing, serving, and appreciating food, linking taste with culture, technique, and place, as recognized by Encyclopaedia Britannica’s definition of the field. Britannica.
Historical development and classical codifications
Early European gastronomy evolved from courtly and urban traditions, culminating in France’s grande cuisine, with Marie-Antoine Carême pioneering monumental pâtisserie, presentation, and early codification, and later Auguste Escoffier simplifying service, organizing the kitchen brigade, and systematizing recipes in Le Guide culinaire (1903). Britannica – Carême; Britannica – Escoffier. Reference compendia such as Larousse Gastronomique (first published 1938 under Prosper Montagné) consolidated culinary terminology and technique for practitioners and readers. Random House/PRH – Larousse Gastronomique. Beyond France, Britannica notes broader regional “gastronomic regions” structured by staple foods and methods—rice across much of Southeast Asia, spice-centered cooking in South Asia and Indonesia, olive oil in Mediterranean cuisines, wheat in much of Europe and North America, and maize in Latin America—underscoring how environment and culture shape taste. Britannica.
Science, technique, and the emergence of molecular gastronomy
The scientific study of culinary transformations became a distinct discipline in 1988 when Hervé This and Nicholas Kurti formalized “molecular and physical gastronomy,” later shortened to Molecular gastronomy, emphasizing mechanisms behind processes such as emulsification and foams and differentiating scientific understanding from culinary style. Britannica – Molecular gastronomy. Broader scientific syntheses, notably Harold McGee’s work on kitchen chemistry, have informed chefs and scholars alike. [On Food and Cooking](book://Harold McGee|On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen|Scribner|2004).
Movements, sustainability, and education
Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy, Slow Food emerged in 1986 as a reaction to the homogenization of taste and to champion “good, clean, and fair” food, becoming an international movement in 1989 with a manifesto signed in Paris. Slow Food – Our History; see also background reporting in TIME. To train professionals in an integrated understanding of food systems, the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) was established at Pollenzo in 2004 by Slow Food with regional partners, offering programs that blend cultural, scientific, and sustainability perspectives. UNISG – Welcome to Pollenzo; UNISG – History & Mission. Reflecting global policy interest, the United Nations General Assembly designated 18 June as Sustainable Gastronomy Day in 2016, observed by UN agencies to highlight cuisines attentive to origin, production methods, and environmental impact. United Nations – Sustainable Gastronomy Day; UN Climate – Sustainable Gastronomy Day.
Regional diversity and staples
Gastronomy studies map culinary practice onto geography, ecology, and trade routes, examining how staples and techniques define cuisines. Britannica describes how Mediterranean use of olive oil, wheat-based breads in temperate zones, maize-centered foods in Latin America, and rice-based diets in much of Asia organize taste and kitchen method, while spice assemblages and preservation techniques provide regional signatures. Britannica. Heritage listings similarly articulate cuisine as a social practice: UNESCO’s entries on the French gastronomic meal, Washoku’s New Year practices and respect for seasonality, and Mexico’s milpa-based systems (maize, beans, chili) and techniques such as nixtamalization demonstrate how knowledge transmission, rituals, and local ecologies underpin gastronomic identity. UNESCO decision 5.COM 6.14; UNESCO – Washoku; UNESCO – Traditional Mexican cuisine (archived).
Gastronomy is the study and practice of food and eating, encompassing culinary techniques, cultural traditions, sensory experience, and the social institutions that shape cuisines. It spans historical treatises and modern food science, influences restaurant evaluation systems and heritage policy, and today intersects with sustainability and public health.
Last updated September 17, 2025
Gastronomy is the art and knowledge system concerned with selecting, preparing, serving, and appreciating food, linking taste with culture, technique, and place, as recognized by Encyclopaedia Britannica’s definition of the field. Britannica.
Historical development and classical codifications
Early European gastronomy evolved from courtly and urban traditions, culminating in France’s grande cuisine, with Marie-Antoine Carême pioneering monumental pâtisserie, presentation, and early codification, and later Auguste Escoffier simplifying service, organizing the kitchen brigade, and systematizing recipes in Le Guide culinaire (1903). Britannica – Carême; Britannica – Escoffier. Reference compendia such as Larousse Gastronomique (first published 1938 under Prosper Montagné) consolidated culinary terminology and technique for practitioners and readers. Random House/PRH – Larousse Gastronomique. Beyond France, Britannica notes broader regional “gastronomic regions” structured by staple foods and methods—rice across much of Southeast Asia, spice-centered cooking in South Asia and Indonesia, olive oil in Mediterranean cuisines, wheat in much of Europe and North America, and maize in Latin America—underscoring how environment and culture shape taste. Britannica.
Science, technique, and the emergence of molecular gastronomy
The scientific study of culinary transformations became a distinct discipline in 1988 when Hervé This and Nicholas Kurti formalized “molecular and physical gastronomy,” later shortened to Molecular gastronomy, emphasizing mechanisms behind processes such as emulsification and foams and differentiating scientific understanding from culinary style. Britannica – Molecular gastronomy. Broader scientific syntheses, notably Harold McGee’s work on kitchen chemistry, have informed chefs and scholars alike. [On Food and Cooking](book://Harold McGee|On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen|Scribner|2004).
Movements, sustainability, and education
Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy, Slow Food emerged in 1986 as a reaction to the homogenization of taste and to champion “good, clean, and fair” food, becoming an international movement in 1989 with a manifesto signed in Paris. Slow Food – Our History; see also background reporting in TIME. To train professionals in an integrated understanding of food systems, the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) was established at Pollenzo in 2004 by Slow Food with regional partners, offering programs that blend cultural, scientific, and sustainability perspectives. UNISG – Welcome to Pollenzo; UNISG – History & Mission. Reflecting global policy interest, the United Nations General Assembly designated 18 June as Sustainable Gastronomy Day in 2016, observed by UN agencies to highlight cuisines attentive to origin, production methods, and environmental impact. United Nations – Sustainable Gastronomy Day; UN Climate – Sustainable Gastronomy Day.
Regional diversity and staples
Gastronomy studies map culinary practice onto geography, ecology, and trade routes, examining how staples and techniques define cuisines. Britannica describes how Mediterranean use of olive oil, wheat-based breads in temperate zones, maize-centered foods in Latin America, and rice-based diets in much of Asia organize taste and kitchen method, while spice assemblages and preservation techniques provide regional signatures. Britannica. Heritage listings similarly articulate cuisine as a social practice: UNESCO’s entries on the French gastronomic meal, Washoku’s New Year practices and respect for seasonality, and Mexico’s milpa-based systems (maize, beans, chili) and techniques such as nixtamalization demonstrate how knowledge transmission, rituals, and local ecologies underpin gastronomic identity. UNESCO decision 5.COM 6.14; UNESCO – Washoku; UNESCO – Traditional Mexican cuisine (archived).
