ITthe doctoral dissertation in sociology on the New Romanian Kitchen written by Adriana Sohodoleanu and published in December by the GastroArt Publishing House is on the short list of nominations for the prize for the best culinary book in or about Eastern Europe at the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook awards. The volume is sold exclusively through the network of bookstores Cărtureşti.
The competition was founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau and rewards, among other things, the best gastronomy books, printed or digital, from around the world. In Europe these awards are always called the Oscars for the gastronomic industry.
Last year, the volume "Zămuri - soups, soups and stews; Transylvanian recipes from the elders” by Mircea Groza, also published by the GastroArt publishing house, was nominated in two categories "Food Heritage book" and "Eastern Europe book" and managed to win the prize for the best book from Eastern Europe.
What's new in the New Romanian Kitchen is Adriana Sohodoleanu's doctoral dissertation in sociology. The thesis analyzes the main directions of modernization of the local cuisine and presents the conclusions of a research of about 5 years in which the author interviewed all the chefs who contributed to the face change of the culinary landscape in our country and participated and analyzed all the local gastronomic experiences of interest to the theme. The book also benefits from some recipes proposed by some of the best-known chefs from us.
The New Romanian Cuisine is the local form of an international phenomenon that gravitates to the orbit of the New Nordic Cuisine, which has accelerated nationalistic or just regional culinary trends all over the world. In Romania, the term "new cuisine" began to be used first in Bucharest with relative frequency in 2018, but its impact is still low. The twelve restaurants identified were the subject of extensive empirical research over four years. The paper shows that restaurants appear as author's projects opposed to culinary practices standardized in the communist decades and still persisting today. Their initiators claim that they have assumed the responsibility of performing an alternative Romanian cuisine, which shows the richness, tradition and potential of Romanian food. The data collected lead to the conclusion that new restaurants create their field by performing the local and re-specifying authenticity. The mechanisms employed are the identity discourse and the local recipe. The chefs pay attention exclusively to local ingredients and practices that express the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, recovering and promoting those of them that represent, suggest, signify the place, the terroir, the community. If necessary, they create a positive identity imaginary associated with Romanian cuisine by exploiting ingredients and recipes that have associated memories, stories, traditions and historical references with the potential to activate feelings of national pride and nostalgia. The restaurants under review explore the relationship between heritage and food, seeing in this duty and opportunity and thus addressing sets of conflicting parameters.
"I believe that the New Romanian Kitchen is both a historical continuity and a break with the past. The movement, although relatively Brownian, constructs its field by appealing to material resources such as local seasonal ingredients, micro-local recipes, and symbolic resources such as traditions, histories, and memories through which it patronizes the concept of local. Noua Bucătărie Românească narrates the performative and theatrical locale, offering an experience at an affordable price to a class with surplus economic and cultural capital. She makes a positive contribution to the development of the local gastronomic community, and although she is influential, she does not (yet) break through the boundaries of the foodie community. Part of disparate efforts aimed at improving the country's services and image both domestically and, or especially, externally, it remains to be seen to what extent these restaurants can create change among the targeted middle class. This aspect as well as the ways in which the consumer perceives the new culinary offer remain as future research topics to contribute to deepening the knowledge of the New Romanian Cuisine" (Adriana Sohodoleanu)
Adriana Sohodoleanu, PhD in sociology from 2021, is a gastronomist. Her doctoral thesis, which analyzed the phenomenon of the New Romanian Cuisine, validates her as a researcher, and her experience as the owner of an artisan confectionery ensures her practical anchoring in laboratory work and in industry. Adriana has contributed articles to publications such as Oxford Food Symposium's Proceedings, Dilema Veche, Iscoada, Zile si Nopti and others. Her essays explore the connections between food and society, drawing attention to the complex ways in which food culture intertwines with broader socio-political contexts. Adriana is the co-author of a book of historical dessert recipes, together with Cosmin Dragomir, and has weekly interventions at Radio Romania Cultural under the umbrella of his Culture on the Plate project which also includes lectures at the Calea Victoriei Foundation, cultural dinners in collaboration with chefs and sommeliers, tastings, etc.
List of nominations for the Best Eastern European Book Award
• Bosnia – Barbara's culinary code, in honor of Barbara Liskov
• Estonia – Rockem Void, Vladislas Djatsuk (Menu Meedia)
• Lithuania – Taste Lithuania, revised 2024, Beata Nicholson
• North Macedonia – Despina Clarke, Philip Clarke
• Romania – What's new in the New Romanesque Kitchen, Adriana Sohodoleanu, Preface Marius Tudosiei, Afterword Cosmin Dragomir (GastroArt)
• UK – Sweet Polish Kitchen, Ren Behan (Pavilion)
• USA – The Kingdom of Rye, Darra Goldstein (University of California)
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