Preview

Observatory of Culture

Advanced search
Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

The Phenomenon of Synergy in the Development of French Gastronomy and Gastronomic Literature

https://doi.org/10.25281/2072-3156-2026-23-2-202-212

Abstract

French gastronomy is a significant aspect of French life, combining culture and language, providing plenty food for thought and analysis on their interaction, interpenetration, and mutual influence. In this article, the author proposes to consider the phenomenon of synergy in the development of French gastronomy and gastronomic literature. The gastronomic tradition in France developed not only as a culinary art, but also thanks in large part to the works of culinary critics and the literary works of chefs themselves. The article diachronically examines national characteristics and the broad genre palette of this interaction. Language captured culinary ideas, methods, and knowledge, transmitted and disseminated them through intellectual literary forms, and cemented them in the national consciousness. The empirical material for this article includes cookbooks, philosophical works, works by chefs and literary critics, and journalistic materials from the printed press, which have not previously been published in Russian and are unfamiliar to Russian readers, which determines the novelty of this study. The methodological framework of the work relies on an interdisciplinary approach and incorporates a range of scientific methods, including contextual-interpretive analysis, historical description, a diachronic approach, cultural-background interpretation, and an axiological method related to the study of culture as a set of values. The relevance of the topic stems from the linguistic and cultural focus of the study: the French gastronomic tradition has been understudied from a linguistic perspective. At the same time, gastronomic discourse in France is socially significant, embodying value-oriented categories of interest to researchers in various fields of the humanities.

About the Author

Anastasia A. Yatskevich
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University)
Russian Federation

76 Vernadsky Ave., Moscow, 119454, Russia

ORCID 0009-0001-2944-6319; SPIN 5009-1343



References

1. Zagryazkina T.Yu. The French National Identity: A Myth or a Reality? Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19. Lingvistika i mezhkul’turnaya kommunikatsiya [Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication], 2011, no. 1, pp. 39—54 (in Russ.).

2. Molchanova G.G. Gastic Traditions as a Reflection of National and Regional Identity, Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19. Lingvistika i mezhkul’turnaya kommunikatsiya [Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication], 2013, no. 2, pp. 20—26 (in Russ.).

3. Kalmykova M.V. Food Culture in France and Italy: Commonalities and Differences, Ehtnosotsium i mezhnatsional’naya kul’tura [Etnosoсium (Multinational Society)], 2024, no. 1 (187), pp. 83—91 (in Russ.).

4. Volkova T.A., Tarantova A.M. Cookbooks in a Cross-Cultural Context:Translator’s Approach and Translation Strategies, Sotsial’nye i gumanitarnye nauki na Dal’nem Vostoke [The Humanities and Social Studies in the Far East], 2025, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 179—186. DOI: 10.31079/1992-2868-2025-22-1-179-186 (in Russ.).

5. Semenenko I.S. Identity Politics in Conditions of Ethnocultural Diversity: A New Agenda, Identichnost’: lichnost’, obshchestvo, politika: ehntsiklopedicheskoe izdanie [Identity: The Individual, Society, Politics: An Encyclopedia]. Moscow, Ves’ Mir Publ., 2017, pp. 102—114 (in Russ.).

6. Izotova N.N. The Cultural Code as a Research Object of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Kul’tura i tsivilizatsiya [Culture and Civilization], 2020, vol. 10, no. 3A, pp. 185—191. DOI: 10.34670/AR.2020.19.12.023 (in Russ.).

7. Melgunova A.G. On the Importance of Learning Foreign Languages for the Preservation of National Identity, Mezhdunarodnyi nauchno-issledovatel’skii zhurnal [International Research Journal], 2024, no. 8 (146), pp. 1—7. DOI: 10.60797/IRJ.2024.146.150 (in Russ.).

8. Barilova E.E. “Food” as the Fragment of the Russian and French Linguistic World Mapping, Vestnik Pskovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Sotsial’no-gumanitarnye nauki [Journal of Pskov State Pedagogical University. Series: Social Sciences, Humanities, Psychology and Pedagogy], 2011, issue 13, pp. 152—155 (in Russ.).

9. Sedykh A.P. French Linguistic Culture and National Heritage, Nauchnyi rezul’tat. Voprosy teoreticheskoi i prikladnoi lingvistiki [Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics], 2014, vol. 1, no. 1 (1), pp. 112—117 (in Russ.).

10. Yatskevich A.A. Linguoculturemes of the Thematic Group “French Cuisine”, Tsennosti i smysly [Values and Meanings], 2024, no. 5 (93), pp. 145—160. DOI: 10.24412/2071-6427-2024-5-145-160 (in Russ.).

11. Alaeva A.A. Lexical and Semantic Features of Gastronomy in French Media Discourse, Studencheskii vestnik, 2021, no. 18 (163), pp. 13—15 (in Russ.).

12. Kaplina M.M., Zhezlova S.A. Transformation Techniques in Gastronomic Terminology of Alsace (Linguoculturological Aspect), Vestnik Kostromskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Vestnik of Kostroma State University], 2023, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 175—181. DOI: 10.34216/1998-0817-2023-29-2-175-181 (in Russ.).

13. Guy C. Histoire de la Gastronomie en France. Paris, Editions Fernand Nathan Publ., 1985, 142 p.

14. Drouard A. Le Mythe Gastronomique Français. Paris, CNRS Éditions Publ, 2010. 155 p.

15. Le Maistre d’Hostel: Qui Apprend l’Ordre de Bien Servir sur Table et d’y Ranger des Seruices. Paris, chez Pierre David Publ., 1659, 145 p. Available at: https://archive.org/details/lemaistredhostel00unse/page/n1/mode/2up (accessed 06.11.2025).

16. L.S.R. L’Art de Bien Traiter. Lyon, Claude Bachelu Publ., 1693, 428 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6565874p (accessed 06.11.2025).

17. La Varenne F. Le Cuisinier François Enseignant la Manière de Bien Apprêter et Assaisonner Toutes Sortes de Viandes Grasses et Maigres, Légumes, Pâtisserie en Perfection & c. Troyes, chez la Veuve de Jacques Oudot Publ., 1723—1741, 257 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1511936 p.image (accessed 06.11.2025).

18. Bonnefons N. Les Délices de la Campagne. Amsterdam, chez Raphael Smith Publ., 1655, 405 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1088619.image (accessed 06.11.2025).

19. Reynière de la G., Dumas F.G. Almanach des Gourmands. Paris, Librairie Nilson Publ., 1803, 302 p. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2012bit51698/?r=-1.167,-0.001,3.333,1.433,0 (accessed 06.11.2025).

20. Monselet C. Les Vignes du Seigneur. Paris, V. Lecou Publ., 1854, 146 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t5405041x (accessed 06.11.2025).

21. Monselet C. La Cuisinière Poétique. Leipzig, A. Durr Publ., 1859, 216 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9682092b/f146.item.r%3D%22sacr%C3%A9-chien%22 (accessed 06.11.2025).

22. Monselet C. Lettres Gourmandes: Manuel de l’Homme à Table. Paris, E. Dentu Publ., 1877, 328 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3042024q/ (accessed 06.11.2025).

23. Monselet C. Les Mois Gastronomiques. Paris, Société Anonyme de Publications Périodique, 1880, 60 p. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t54175081z (accessed 06.11.2025).

24. Dumas A. Propos d’Art et de Cuisine. Paris, Calmann Lévy Publ., 1877, 304 p. Available at: https://books.google.ru/books/about/Propos_d_art_et_de_cuisine.html?id=lBs_AAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y (accessed 06.11.2025).

25. Dumas A. Fils. Francillon: Pièce en Trois Actes. Paris, Calmann Lévy Publ., 1887, 174 p. Available at: https://ia600908.us.archive.org/29/items/francillonpice00dumauoft/francillonpice00dumauoft.pdf (accessed 06.11.2025).

26. Dumas A. Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine. Paris, Alphonse Lemerre Publ., 1873, 650 p.


Review

For citations:


Yatskevich A.A. The Phenomenon of Synergy in the Development of French Gastronomy and Gastronomic Literature. Observatory of Culture. 2026;23(2):202-212. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25281/2072-3156-2026-23-2-202-212

Views: 152

JATS XML

ISSN 2072-3156 (Print)
ISSN 2588-0047 (Online)