Authentic-Ish: Ramen, Culinary Tourism, and Canadian Foodways pp. 67-81
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Abstract
Originating from a food shortage in Japan, ramen—or Japanese noodle soup—has become a sought-after dish across Canada. Canadian ramen restaurants add their own twists, combining the traditionality of Japanese ramen with Canadian culture. Using local ingredients and tastes, they describe their food as “authentic” or “Japanese inspired” rather than “traditional.” Through an autoethnographic examination of two ramen restaurants—one in Atlantic Canada, the other in Ontario— I explore ramen’s transformation from a food of poverty to a desirable form of Canadian ethnic cuisine. Drawing on Lucy M. Long’s concept of “culinary tourism,” I consider how ramen restaurants function as tourism not only for consumers of ramen, but also for the people who cook and serve it. Ramen may be “just noodles and soup,” but as culinary tourism, it conflates and contests socio-economic status, cultural identities, and racial identities in complex ways.
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