THE GASTRONOMIC IMAGE OF THE TERRITORY: STRUCTURE AND SPECIFICITY

The article is devoted to the gastronomic culture and its derivative – the gastronomic image of the territory. Gastronomy, as a field of knowledge, reveals the connection between food and culture and is an urgent topic of cultural research. Within the framework of this article, the subject of research is the study of the gastronomic image of the territory from a theoretical point of view. The author seeks to answer the questions: what are the system-forming elements of the gastronomic culture, how do the concepts of “gastronomic image” / “gastronomic brand” relate, what is the structure and what is the specificity of the gastronomic image of the territory in comparison with other perspectives of the positioning of the territory. Method and methodology: the ideas of this article are based on systematic, practical, semiotic approaches in understanding the gastronomic culture, modern gastronomic practices, and the gastronomic image of the city. The novelty and the author’s contribution lies in the theoretical positions that fit into the mainstream of cultural knowledge. The author offers his vision of the system-forming elements of gastronomic culture and his vision of the structure of the gastronomic image of the city as a 4-component fashion: food, places, people, events. The author identifies three specific characteristics of the gastronomic image of the city: 1) authenticity as an optional, not a mandatory feature; 2) dynamism as an indicator of the potentially high variability of the gastronomic image following changing living conditions and available resources; 3) a possible break with the local cultural tradition existing in hidden everyday life, while the gastronomic image is formed in the public sphere with the help of traditional and new media, greedy for hype. The results of the study can be applied in such an area of applied cultural studies as geobrending. A good theory is a guide to action, if you undertake to form a gastronomic image of the city, you need to understand its structure and specifics. The scope of the results: geobranding, cultural industries related to food, brand communications in regional media and new media, tourism.