Use Food to Entertain
“A visit here is one of the most economical and entertaining outings in town. You get to watch a show simply by arriving and taking note. That may not be the main reason people come, but it is an important side benefit.”
Why do people enjoy going to food halls? Partaking of and shopping for food are the main reasons. But why do people stay longer, walk around, and observe, before or after having their meals? Elijah Anderson calls it “entertainment.”
In a recent Food Market Culture Report by the Culinary Visions Panel, the study identified a trend among consumers to further learn, explore, and interact with their food and its providers [4]. Consumers like going to artisanal food markets and food festivals because they get to discover new cuisine, observe how it is prepared, and also get to know the vendors [11].
GRANVILLE MARKET, VANCOUVER
VENDORS & CLIENTS IN ACTION
Food as entertainment has been an ongoing trend for quite a long time. Cable TV shows started the trend by providing a lot more variety in terms of cooking shows [7]. They promoted “celebrity chefs” who developed their loyal followers [7]. The “eat local” movement also encouraged people to search for local food and get to know the producers and chefs in their geographic area [3]. All of these “food as entertainment” trends contributed to the popularity of food halls, which basically celebrate the unique and creative food experience delivered by each local vendor or chef.
Food and Entertainment: Trends and Statistics
“Half of Americans watch cooking shows occasionally or more” [7]
“Cooking shows and celebrity chefs inspire purchases” [7]
“Women, southerners, reality dominate Top 10 cooking shows” (e.g. 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, Paula’s Home Cooking, Emeril Live, Iron Chef, Top Chef) [7]
“Living La Vida Locavore: There will be an increase in eating locally, both at home and in restaurants that buy from local farmers. [3] This will give rise to:
Knowing the grower/celebrity farmers and having food literally branded to a region
Eating seasonally since local food equates with fresh. This also will be accompanied by an increase in urban gardening.”
Reading Terminal Market
Charcuterie meat carving stall offering roast pork hock
In most restaurants, your roasted meat comes out carved and ready to eat on a plate. In a food hall, having roast meat for lunch is a shared ritual. You watch it come out of the oven and savor its aroma. The vendor carves it in front of you, with the warm juice oozing out of the roast. As you watch hungrily, the vendor may even add an extra sliver of the meat as he hands the plate over to you, with a smile.
Boqueria Market, Barcelona
Local charcuterie stall offering “jamon serrano”, “lomo iberico bellota”, and “llonganissa”
In the Boqueria market in Barcelona, there is artistry inherent in the way the various meat products are displayed on the counters. The stall displays are meant to visually delight and tease the nose and palate. White paper cones are available to allow one to partake of a few slivers, before making a final decision as to which to choose among the many options.
newton hawker’s market, singapore
Local charcuterie stall offering glazed barbecued pork
In a Singapore hawker’s market, part of the entertainment involves watching where the long lines form during lunch, despite the heat and the waiting time required. The locals know which stalls offer the best meals. As one joins the crowd, the entertainment continues as you watch the Peking Duck or pork rib unhinged from the steel display rack, chopped into bite-sized pieces, and then added to the hot broth or the tasty noodles.
Designing food halls as “entertainment” brings in a question of whether the food experience is primarily being provided as “entertainment” for tourists. Planning for food halls necessarily includes the objective of increasing the number of visitors, to ensure its overall economic sustainability. In planning food halls, we cannot ignore the role and impact of tourism. Food tourism is a growing trend globally [9, 10] and successful food halls have benefited from an increase in the number of visits coming from tourists. However, there is a need to balance the needs of the community and the demands of tourism.
Sustainable tourism recommends a holistic concept. The aim is to ensure that destinations like food markets continue to: (1) cater first to the needs of the residents in terms of affordable and healthy food; (2) are reflective of local culture; (3) offers local products; and (4) preserves a community’s history[2, 5, 6, 8, 9]. Principles of sustainable tourism include recognizing that the host community is important and that the economic return of tourism must be for their benefit[10]. It espouses tourists to respect staff and behave responsibly [10]. Sustainable tourism also includes practices which respect the environment and slows down the speed of development [10]. The concept of food as “entertainment” must, therefore, reflect a respect for the community and a preservation of its culture and values.
Sources:
Elijah Anderson, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life (New York, New York, W.W. Norton & Co., c 2011. 1st ed.).
Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona and Darko Dimitrovski, 'Urban Food Markets in the Context of a Tourist Attraction: La Boqueria Market in Barcelona Spain', Tourism Geographies, 20 (2018), 397-417.
'Food Channel Top 10 Trends for 2009' in Marketing Charts.com (2009).
'Food Market Culture Report', (Culinary Visions Panel, 2017).
Karen Franck, 'The City as Dining Room, Market, and Farm', Architecture Design May/June 2005.
———, 'Food for the City, Food in the City', Architecture Design May/June 2005.
'Harris Poll Cooking & Cooking Show Survey 2010' in Marketing Charts.com (2010).
Susan Parham, 'Designing the Gastronomic Quarter', Architecture Design May/June 2005.
Greg Richards, Cultural Tourism: Global and Local Perspectives (New York, Hayworth Hospitality Press, c 2007).
Rosario Scarpato, 'Sustainable Gastronomy as a Tourist Product', in Tourism and Gastronomy, ed. by Anne-Mette Hjalager and Greg Richards (London and New York, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2002).
Tad Wilkes, 'Food Halls and Markets Still on-Trend ', in Hotel F&B (2017).