Description
The connections of food and national identity have gained significant traction in public, policy, and academic debates. Central to these discourses – and policies – are concepts of heritage and terroir. Importantly, these food narratives are highly political both in their construction and their impacts.
In the EU, the appeal to culinary heritage and terroir is formalised through its extensive Geographical Indication system. While being based on the French appellation of origin system, the EU clearly reconstructs Geographical Indications in terms of European identity, in that they “represent the wealth and diversity of our European culinary heritage” (European Commission 2022). This indicates that beyond reinforcing processes of gastronationalism, the EU also promotes narratives of Gastroeuropeanism in which culinary discourse is tied to European identity constructions. Importantly, the EU encourages non-members to adopt its Geographical Indication legislation, including in the Eastern Neighbourhood.
Thus, the paper investigates how these processes interact with national and European identity constructions in Georgia. In Georgia, Geographical Indications are narrated as a signifier of cultural similarity to EU-member states, especially France. At the same time, they are used to distinguish from a narrative Other, in this case the country’s Soviet history and present-day Russia.
