My research highlights culture’s role in the sustainability challenges and opportunities within the gastronomic sector, and how culture can contribute to a more sustainable restaurant industry.
I am a Doctoral student and my research focuses on Sustainable gastronomy by exploring sustainability perceptions of restaurant professionals and other stakeholders in the restaurant supply chain in Sweden from a cultural perspective. I also include the voices of local and Indigenous communities as important stakeholders within the gastronomic sector. I believe that restaurants constitute an interesting place to study the interactions between individuals, context, and practices inherent to a particular society as they are embedded in the crossroads between the food industry and the household consumption. Furthermore, I intend to understand how notions such as food quality are understood and negotiated against ideals of sustainability in a specific socio-cultural context, such as the restaurant industry in Sweden. More broadly, I am interested in food culture, sustainability, identity formation, power relations and Cultural Political Economy.
Background
I am originally from Mexico, and I have had the opportunity of study and work in five different countries: Mexico, USA, France, Spain, and Sweden. I obtained a MSc in Management from Stockholm University, a Master of Food Quality and Safety from the Universidad del País Vasco in Spain, a Professional Diploma as Sommelier-Conseil from the Université du Vin in France, and my BSc Degree in Culinary Arts from Instituto Culinario de México. I have also 8 years of international experience in the Food and Beverages Industry as a whole, from working in restaurants, in wine distribution and as a Food Quality coordinator for the Food Industry.
I teach courses that focus on Sustainability aspects, with both theoretical and practical orientation within the Gastronomy and Nutrition program. In the Gastronomy program I specialize in Service (classic and modern techniques) and Sommelerie. I also participate in independent courses which deal with Sustainability, in particular the relationship between food and the environment.