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JOHANNES, VENETIA, 2020, Nourishing the Nation - Food as National Identity in Catalonia,  

Oxford: Berghahn Books, 278 pp., ISBN 978-1-78920-438-4 

Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork and a deep reservoir of various works on Catalonia, Venetia 

Johaness’ Nourishing the Nation provides a succinct yet informative discussion on the pivotal role 

that food plays in the formation of Catalan identity, and how these quotidian objects serve as an 

impetus for pro-independence (and anti-independence) movements. In its ordinariness, Johannes 

treats food carefully in the important contexts within which it finds itself: history, politics, 

gastronomy, and most importantly, culture. The author structured the book in a manner so strategic 

that it facilitates a smooth contextualization of the subject, tracing its history through secondary 

research and examining its relevance in contemporary Catalan society through ethnography; the 

latter substantiated by the length of time the author spent in fieldwork. Equally tactical is the 

anthropologist’s choice of field site — the town of Vic — in that the practices surrounding Catalan 

food are at their most authentic form, with no external pressure from international tourism that 

now pervades the entire region. Heeding Llobera’s (2004) call for “in-depth studies” of nationalist 

movements, Nourishing the Nation: Food as National Identity in Catalonia surely renders service 

to the task that its author daringly accepted.  

In Chapter 1, Johannes examines, in a quite extensive manner, Catalan culinary cookbooks from 

the medieval up to the contemporary period. It is in this part where the author historicizes Catalan 

food and its place in the lives of the people. It is also here that the prominent names in Catalan 

food history are introduced, both from Catalonia’s “golden era” during the Middle Ages, and the 

those who to this day bring it to the local and international stage. Through these cookbooks, 

communal practices were preserved and are handed down. It is also interesting to note that the 

remaking of these centuries-old recipes concretely mirrors the continuity in Catalan kitchens, 

where the ‘old’ never dies and is consistently introduced to the ‘new.’ In maintaining such 



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continuity, what made it possible are the culinary calendars that drove the Catalans to partake of 

the same cuisines during important holidays of the year.  

In the second chapter, the author turns the attention to the culinary aspects that give Catalan food 

its peculiarity. It primarily focuses on the sofregit, picada and allioli. These sauces are no basic 

concoctions: they do not just form the very base of what Catalans consume, but also mirror 

Catalonia’s character as ‘terra de pas,’ land of migration, as these are not Catalan in the strictest 

sense of the word. These sauces reflect Catalonia’s openness to peoples of diverse cultural 

backgrounds who brought with them their cultures, and left their marks in the place they once (and 

still) inhabit. Catalonia’s identity as ‘terra de pas’ simply proves that nationalism does not have to 

take a “purist” definition; it can be an acknowledgement of how the movements of people shape 

places and practices. The very same practices are what bind the Catalans together.  

In the third chapter, Johannes situates food in the historical and political context of Catalonia. The 

author brilliantly provides an account of how a corpus of agencies contribute to making Catalan 

food an intangible cultural heritage. These actors span from local up to international bodies. The 

author also showed how Catalan cuisine, staying true to Catalonia’s inherent openness towards 

others, assumes and maintains connections with other regions, such as the Mediterranean and the 

Països Catalans. While Mary Douglas’ concept of ‘commensality’ (2002) was already subtly 

referred to in the preceding discussions, this concept is all the more stressed here; the recognition 

of similarities of cuisines in Catalonia, the Mediterranean and the Països Catalans maintain these 

regions’ social bonds. It also emphasizes Catalonia's assertion of unity with the Països Catalans 

and its ongoing effort to grapple with its (non)identification with the larger Spain.  

The fourth chapter delves deeper into the authors' exploration, focusing considerably on the 

Catalan gastronomic calendar's function in shaping "seasonality in national identity." Both 

religious and gastronomic calendars guide people toward shared commensality, resulting in 

uniform consumption of specific foods during celebrations, ultimately creating a collective 

gastronomic experience. The author's insightful observations highlight the significance of material 

objects during these events, exemplified by the extended tables facilitating interactions among 

individuals. Given the material nature of cooking and food being a cultural artifact (Crowther, 

2013), this chapter contributes to discussions on material culture and the anthropology of daily 

life. It can therefore be argued that the imagined Catalan community brought forth seasonally by 



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religious and gastronomic calendars is also palpably shaped by tangible objects, integral to the 

rituals of these festivities. The last chapter centers on the emergence of "new Catalan food" and 

how the Catalans perceive them. This is where readers are confronted with the discourse 

distinguishing between what is deemed 'historically Catalan' versus 'commercially Catalan.' While 

this discussion may be intricate, its very existence underscores the notion that national identity is 

constructed on daily basis; it is contested and performed.  

 At the end of the book’s densely ethnographic core, the reader will arrive at the conclusion that 

national identity in Catalonia is continuously formed through — as Bruno Latour calls it — a 

network (Latour, 1993; 2005). While people and institutions are what can be referred to as the 

main actors in this process, food itself contributes in it as seen in how it creates imagined 

communities, stirs nationalist movements, and drives the re-making and re-living of Catalonia’s 

past. The question as to whether or not food possesses agency was not thoroughly discussed by the 

author, notwithstanding a brief mention that it does not have (p.84).  Nevertheless, the very thesis 

of this work is grounded in the fact that quotidian objects, such as food, also have ‘the socio-

culturally mediated capacity to act’ (Ahern, 2001: 110). All that this book brilliantly discusses, and 

food’s central place in it, acquires greater sense if food is seen as an object not just passively 

‘worked upon,’ but in being ‘worked upon,’ influences the socio-cultural fabric in which it is 

carefully knitted.  

Nourishing the Nation: Food as National Identity in Catalonia presents a captivating and 

compelling ethnographic study centered on Catalonia, exploring nationalist movements and 

tangible cultural aspects. This book holds immense appeal for students across diverse fields within 

the social sciences, effectively connecting history, anthropology, and even political science. 

Furthermore, the book showcases innovation and creativity by employing photo-elicitation as a 

method in ethnographic research. Despite its theoretical sophistication, the book maintains an 

approachable and engaging style, making it accessible even to the general public with an interest 

in understanding Catalonia’s rich history, and how the Catalans’ take pride with their gastronomic 

tradition.  

 

Works cited: 



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Ahearn, Laura. 2001. ‘Language and agency’, Annual Review of Anthropology, 30: 109–37. 

Crowther, Gillian. 2013.  Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food. Canada: University 

of Toronto Press. 

Douglas, Mary. 2002. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. New 

York: Routledge.  

Latour, Bruno. 1993. We have Never Been Modern. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf. 

Latour, Bruno. 2005. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford, 

UK/New York: Oxford University Press 

Llobera, Josep R. 2004. Foundations of National Identity: From Catalonia to Europe. New York 

and Oxford: Berghahn Books. 

 

Venes Carmelo Tiñana Banquiles is a cultural anthropologist trained in Hungary. His research 

interests include material culture, consumption, migration, the Filipino diaspora and radical 

politics in the Philippines. Now based in Colombia, he is to commence his training in political 

studies.  

 

 

© 2023 Venes Carmelo Tiñana Banquiles 

 

  


