The Quest for the Best—Searching for the “authentic” in food travel

Like any foodie, I am always eager to try that newest dish, follow the odd new trend, or indulge in the local treat. When I travel, food is the most important item on my to-do list—my itinerary revolves around what I’ll eat. Unlike museums featuring the local culture or architecture highlighting the region, food is by far the best way to experience a new place.

Often, however, I find myself scrolling through travel websites and food guides to make sure that my meal in that place is the best it can be.  While it’s always good to do your research, sometimes relying on others’ opinions can be your downfall.  When I started to travel on my own, I kept coming back to one specific word—authentic.

But what even is authentic?

Obviously, if I go to Paris, I need to get a croissant. You wouldn’t go to Chicago and not get a Hot Dog! But where do I go, and why do I go there? A 4€ pain au chocolat by the Eiffle Tour is nothing compared to the 0,90€ one across town where you must speak French. This is pretty obvious, just like knowing Starbucks isn’t as good as your local coffee shop. But for those eager, culture-seeking tourists, how can you even begin your quest for the best?

Let’s take a brief glimpse at our dilemma first. What is authentic? Too often we hear ‘authentic Thai food’ or see advertisements broadcasting that this establishment is ‘original’, ‘genuine,’ or simply the best. The bummer is that authentic isn’t really authentic­. If you imagine your authentic meal as locals gathered around a table, can you ever join? By your presence as an outsider in the local circle, wouldn’t you negate that true authentic?

Tourism scholars have long been infatuated with the concept of authenticity. Heavy academic literature on authenticity in tourism agrees on Erik Cohen’s simple definition “genuineness or realness of artifacts or events, and also as a human attribute signifying being one’s true self or being true to one’s essential nature”[i]. So duh! Of course, we foodies are eager to travel seeking authenticity, to experience our hosts genuinely as they are.

Despite this desire, however, authenticity is very rarely provided to us.  Rather, we experience staged authenticity. This basically means we are tricked into thinking that we are eating true to the culture. Staged authenticity is the performance of local culture to create an impression of authenticity for a tourist audience [ii]. So, even if we are to find a delicious spot and we believe that we found something new, the sad truth is our naïve assumption that this place exists solely for locals and we are lucky to experience a glimpse. The ‘authentic’ nature of the site is staged by its performance of exclusivity. But come on, no restaurant only lets in locals, how could you even enforce that?

Bruner deserves a bit more analysis to put our minds at ease. He outright defines authenticity as a red herring—impossible to discover [iii]. All experiences are authentic in that they are new for everyone and constantly changing.

Eating a Hot Dog will never occur the same way—The time and place will be different, your mood will be different, the staff will be different, and even the ingredients will come from different sources (it won’t be the same pickle!). Authenticity is constantly changing and its performance is solely reliant on the individual.

Therefore, the important thing to remember about authenticity is its outright failure. As a social paradox, the definition of authenticity fluctuates based upon the viewer. MacCannell reminds us that authenticity in travel is only achievable outside of tourism. So, basically null and void. The tourist destroys the very definition of authentic by their presence[iv]. So, sadly, we can never say we had that ‘authentic’ croissant.

Outside of anthropological theory though, it’s still fun to search for that best meal. It’s our experience that makes it memorable, right? If you take that expensive, flakey bite as you admire the Eiffle Tour listening to La Vie en Rose and you’re content, that’s authentic. If you trek your way through the 11ème arrondissement avoiding all English, order your gourmandise aux pepites and love that croissant, that’s authentic too!

Personally, I’ve accepted the fact that I can never have a true authentic meal, but I still try! First, I remain aware, always, that I am privileged enough to visit and experience a new place. I’m comfortable that I am a tourist and attempt the language no matter how awkward I am. What I’ve found works best is to read up on the local food guides from that place­. TripAdvisor is a big no-no because its other tourists telling you their opinions [v]. Buy a local newspaper and scan to see what’s hot. At home in France, I rely a lot on Gault&Millau, a monthly gastronomy magazine. When all else fails, just ask a local where they ate lunch yesterday and go there!

When you embark on your next trip and smell the new smells of that place, remember, anything you get will be authentic, because you’re there. (Obviously going to McDonald’s or only eating food you’re comfortable with is a silly way to experience new cultures, but if you’re reading this clearly it isn’t you!). Eat your way through the new place and rely only on your own opinions to establish its genuine quality. Challenge yourself to taste new things and, most importantly, be proud of your own opinions!

 

References—

[i] Cohen, Erik. 2007. ‘Authenticity’ in Tourism Studies: Après la Lutte. Tourism Recreation Research 32(2):75.

[ii] MacCannell, Dean. 1973. Staged Authenticity: Arrangements of Social Space in Tourist Settings in American Journal of Sociology 79(3):591

[iii] Bruner, Edward. 1989 Tourism, Creativity, and Authenticity. Studies in Symbolic Interaction 10:110.

[iv] MacCannell, Dean. 1976. “The Tourist. A New Theory of the Leisure Class” Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p13.

^[v] Walters, Noah. 2019. “The Duality of TripAdvisor: The Quality of Reviews Deterring Strategists from Quality Sites” Student Anthropologist. In print. https://studentanthropologist.wordpress.com/the-duality-of-tripadvisor/