Sensing gourmetization and gastronomy as organizing practices

This article aims to understand the role of ‘senses in action’ and how they become forms of organizing gourmetization and gastronomy in a texture of practices based on the ‘Festa Junina’ in Campina Grande, Paraíba State (Brazil). The ‘Festa Junina’ is the largest Saint John’s Festival in the world. Drawing on the perspective of practice theories, we present how the gourmet culture influences gastronomy practice in the festival, focusing on aesthetic judgments and sensible knowledge. We performed sensory ethnography during two years of the festival (2017 and 2018). Our results show that gourmetization and gastronomy practices involve sensing: (a) the artisanal, (b) the enactment of quality in dish preparation, (c) materiality, and (d) taste-making. We conclude that gourmetization is an emerging phenomenon in gastronomy practice, highlighting the role of the senses in contemporary forms of organizing and culture.