Bouillabaisse

the Elevation of a Regional Speciality

Authors

  • Barbara Santich University of Adelaide Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ppc.27727

Keywords:

Bouillabaisse, iconic dishes, French cuisine, 19th-century, regionality, culinary history, mediterranean, seafood, culinary fashions, cultural identity, restaurant culture, socioeconomic, leisure, marketing, tourism, recipe evolution & standardization

Abstract

Bouillabaisse, indissolubly associated with Marseille, a classic of Provençal cuisine, began life as a humble fisherman’s dish that might even trace its history back to the Greek founders of the city who, around 600 bc, brought with them the simple fish stew known as kakavia. Until the end of the eighteenth century it remained exclusive to the fishing community, eluding all visitors to Marseille, all writers on Provence, suddenly to emerge in the early nineteenth century as a restaurant speciality and the city’s emblematic dish. Such a rapid transformation is rare in the gastronomic world and deserves investigation.

Author Biography

  • Barbara Santich, University of Adelaide

    Barbara Santich in Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Adelaide. Her first book was The Original Mediterranean Cuisine (1995, Prospect Books) and she has since written much on Australian food history. Her next offering, on Provence in the eighteenth century, is soon to be published by Bloomsbury Academic.

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Published

2023-04-01

Issue

PPC 125 (2023)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Santich, Barbara. 2023. “Bouillabaisse: The Elevation of a Regional Speciality”. Petits Propos Culinaires, April, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1558/ppc.27727.