Fourteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

In August 2022, I conducted a series of interviews with fifteen local women of between 59 and 89 years in age to obtain data about fish consumption, reproductive work and popular eating habits around fish in the seaside city of Blanes, my hometown, in the Costa Brava region of Catalonia. The interviews were part of a research project called “Women and fish gastronomy, a study about fish consumption and food habits in the city of Blanes”, promoted by the local historical archives and the city council with funding from the EMFF (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund), which supports coastal communities. The aim of this research was to investigate the current popular eating habits around fish and how they have changed during recent decades. I set out to obtain as much reliable information as I could on any of the aspects related with fish consumption: the ways of obtaining it, the most popular sourcing locations, the different species and fishing techniques; and further information related to local traditions such as the culinary rituals and food liturgies, the differences between daily and festive meals and the many techniques for preparing fish. Due to my background as a feminist activist and my research interest in the field of gender studies, I proposed for the research to take into account the gender dimensions of the fishing labour.