Diasporada Kimliğin Oluşumunda Mutfak Kültürünün Rolü: Paris’te Bir Türk Mahallesi
The Role of Culinary Culture in Identity Formation in the Diaspora: Turkish Neighborhood in Paris

Summary/Abstract: Human beings construct themselves relationally in the context of the social, cultural, economic and political world in which they live. It is not possible to describe a human being solely as a biological being isolated from society. Culinary culture, shaped by human eating and drinking habits, is one of the important dynamics that constitute the social aspect of being human. Thus, food, by acquiring a symbolic meaning, plays a considerable role as a component of the process of identity construction. Culinary culture, which should be considered as another form of memory transmission, is an important phenomenon in the preservation and transmission of the cultural memory of immigrants. Nevertheless, the “culinary culture” shaped in Europe by the Turkish diaspora, although carrying the memory of the past and interactions with other cultures during the acculturation process. As the results of field research show, the homeland is no longer the only source of reference for the identity formed around culinary culture. Interaction with other diaspora cultures means that the “traditional” form of cooking, which carries strong memory, expands and acquires new meaning. As part of this study, the culinary culture of Turks in Paris, one of the important places of migration to Europe since the second half of the 1960s, will be evaluated. The Strasbourg Saint-Denis district, called “Little Turkey” in the center of Paris, is an important place for visibility of Turkish culinary culture with its markets, cafes, restaurants and grocery stores. Therefore, the conduct of the field research is based on entographic observations carried out in this neighborhood. The main finding of this study is that culinary culture plays a central and decisive role in the preservation and reconstruction of cultural identity among migrants living in diaspora contexts.

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