The Social Significance of Dining Out : A Study of Continuity and Change

The book reports on a major mixed-methods research project on dining out in England. It is a re-study of the populations of three cities – London, Bristol and Preston – based on a unique systematic comparison of behaviour between 2015 and 1995. It reveals social differences in practice and charts the dynamic relationship between eating in and eating out. It addresses topics including the changing frequency and meaning of dining out, patterns of domestic hospitality, changing domestic divisions of labour around food preparation, the variety of culinary experience for different sections of the population, class differences in taste and the pleasures and satisfactions associated with eating out. It shows how the practice of eating out in the three cities has evolved over twenty years. The findings are put in the context of controversies about the nature of taste, the role of social class, the application of theories of practice and the effects of institutional change in the UK. The subject matter is central to many disciplines: Food Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Marketing, Hospitality and Tourism Studies, Media and Communication, Social History, Social and Cultural Geography. It is suitable for scholars, researchers, postgraduate students and advanced undergraduate students in the UK, Europe, North America and East Asia. Academic interest in the book should be accentuated by its theoretical, methodological and substantive aspects. It will also be of interest to the catering trades and a general readership on the back of burgeoning interest in food and eating fostered by mass and social media. Dining out used to be considered exceptional; however, the Food Standards Authority reported that in 2014, one meal in six was eaten away from home in Britain. Previously considered a necessary substitute for an inability to obtain a meal in a family home, dining out has become a popular recreational activity for a majority of the population, offering pleasure as well as refreshment. Based on a major mixed-methods research project on dining out in England, this book offers a unique comparison of the social differences between London, Bristol and Preston from 1995 to 2015, charting the dynamic relationship between eating in and eating out. Addressing topics such as the changing domestic divisions of labour around food preparation, the variety of culinary experience for different sections of the population, and class differences in taste and the pleasures and satisfactions associated with dining out, the authors explore how the practice has evolved across the three cities. Front matter Contents List of figures List of tables Notes on authors Acknowledgements Part I: Introduction Dining out Method and context Part II: Familiarisation Patterns of dining out The meaning of eating out Part III: Informalisation Food at home Domestic hospitality Restaurant performances Organising eating Part IV: Diversification Regard for variety Aesthetics, enthusiasm and culinary omnivorousness Landscape of variety Part V: Continuity and change The practice of eating out Explaining continuity and change Methodological appendix References Index The book reports on a major research project on changes in dining out in three cities in England. It compares systematically popular practice in 1995 and 2015. Differences in taste and behaviour surrounding eating in restaurants and as guests of friends are put in the context of wider social and cultural trends.