The Future of Food Festivals
Would you rather eat a burger grown from stem cells or deep fried crickets? Attend a festival in a tiny, traditional village or spend big at an exclusive long lunch?
Would you rather eat a burger grown from stem cells or deep fried crickets? Attend a festival in a tiny, traditional village or spend big at an exclusive long lunch?
'What is the future of food festivals?' was the central question that postgraduate students researched as part of TOUR 413: Scenarios for World Tourism.
Tourism postgraduate students Katherine Findlay, Sandra Goh, Sochea Nhem and Sophea Tieng looked into their crystal ball and constructed four scenarios about the future of international culinary festivals. Their findings were presented as part of the 2014 Wellington on a Plate Festival.
These scenarios included Dr Spock’s Food Festival, that portrayed a Tokyo in 2050 in which more food was grown in the laboratory than in the field. This was a festival about science, stem cell burgers and pizzas delivered via a 3D printer.
The Roots Festival was positioned as a future world where food is bland and homogeneous, so destinations position themselves based upon local culture and authenticity.
La Natura was a paradise scenario in which destinations create a vision of utopia, whereas Royal Appetite was a scenario of exclusive experiences and hedonism.
The research was commissioned by Wellington Culinary Events Trust to understand what the future could be for Wellington on a Plate.
The Victoria Business School students concluded that the festival has a good balance of commercial events, represented in the Roots and Royal Appetite scenarios.
Key issues included festivals as elite events alienating local communities, wellness and safety becoming more important, safeguarding local identity, Maori involvement in food creation, and the political capital of food festivals.
Wellington on a Plate Festival Blogger Sofia Levin also wrote about the Tourism postgraduate students' food festival scenarios.