The Joy of Eating: A Guide to Food in Modern Pop Culture (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781440862090)

This volume explores our cultural celebration of food, blending lobster festivals, politicians' roadside eats, reality show "chef showdowns," and gravity-defying cakes into a deeper exploration of why people find so much joy in eating.

In 1961, Julia Child introduced the American public to an entirely new, joy-infused approach to cooking and eating food. In doing so, she set in motion a food renaissance that is still in full bloom today. Over the last six decades, food has become an increasingly more diverse, prominent, and joyful point of cultural interest.

The Joy of Eating discusses in detail the current golden age of food in contemporary American popular culture. Entries explore the proliferation of food-themed television shows, documentaries, and networks; the booming popularity of celebrity chefs; unusual, exotic, decadent, creative, and even mundane food trends; and cultural celebrations of food, such as in festivals and music.

The volume provides depth and academic gravity by tying each entry into broader themes and larger contexts (in relation to a food-themed reality show, for example, discussing the show's popularity in direct relation to a significant economic event), providing a brief history behind popular foods and types of cuisines and tracing the evolution of our understanding of diet and nutrition, among other explications.

Author: Jane K. Glenn
ISBN-10: 1440862095
ISBN-13: 9781440862090
Publisher: Greenwood
Language: English
Published: 11/05/2021
Pages: 432
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.30lbs
Size: 10.10h x 7.10w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 02/01/2022 pg. 91