The Role of Parents on Intergenerational Transmission of Cuisine Culture in Türkiye

Abstract

Food choices are determined by experience, structural and habitual factors. With regards to social learning, the family plays a crucial role to develop perception of nutrition. This study aims to investigate the role of parents in the formation of children's knowledge on Turkish cuisine culture. For this aim, a research model was created with an ethnographic design and an interpretative model. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect data from nine participants via face-to-face interviews. Parents who have children between the ages of 7-16 were interviewed. As a result of thematic analysis, four themes were determined: socio-cultural structure of the family, traditional consumption habits, learning by doing/experience and social norms. As a result, consumption habits that parents transmit to their children are affected by the transmission they have acquired at a young age, and female figures are dominant in this cultural transmission. This study reveals important findings for the transmission of Turkish cuisine culture to future generations and parents’ role in this process.