Food Studies: A Hands-On Guide

Traditional food studies textbooks tend to emphasize theoretical concepts and text-based approaches. Yet food is sensory, tactile, and experiential. Food Studies: A Hands-on Guide is the first book to provide a practical introduction to food studies. Offering a unique, innovative approach to learning and teaching, Willa Zhen presents creative hands-on activities that can easily be done in a traditional classroom - without the need for a student kitchen. Major theories and key concepts in food studies are covered in an engaging, tangible way, alongside topics such as food production, consumption, technology, identity and culture, and globalization. A fantastic resource for supporting student engagement and learning, the book features: - practical activities, such as grinding grains to learn about the importance of food technology; working with restaurant menus to understand changes in food trends, tastes, and ingredients; writing food poetry; and many more - pedagogical features such as learning objectives, discussion questions, suggested readings, and a glossary - a companion website offering lesson plans, worksheets, and links to additional resources. This is the perfect introduction for students of food studies, anthropology of food, food geography, food hospitality, sociology of food, food history, and gastronomy.

Review: This text by Zhen (Culinary Institute of America) lives up to its goal of "serv[ing] as a broad-ranging interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary introduction to the field of Food Studies" (p. 181) ... [The] guide is accessible to all readers interested in food, from its production to its consumption, over time and across different cultures and traditions ... Summing Up: Essential. All levels. * CHOICE *

Willa Zhen's book is fun! This introductory text to food studies encourages 'hand-on' learning of concepts from commensality to food systems with the help of scavenger hunts, seed bombs, growing sprouts, and more. Do the learning and enjoy. -- Anna C. Bellows, Syracuse University, USA

The field needs an introductory survey textbook like this. The hands-on activities address an important component missing from most of the work in this field that values text over material. -- Jonathan Deutsch, Drexel University, USA

This book fills a niche in the growing food studies realm. The pedagogical features are wonderful and likely to stimulate a lot of discussion. -- John T. Lang, Occidental College, USA

A simple and effective introduction to food studies, and a great resource for structuring class sessions in a way that encourages student engagement. * Charlotte Maberly, Queen Margaret University, UK *