Analyzing the field of gastronomy in terms of art position: A grounded theory study

The concept of art is one of the most difficult concepts to define, which also contains various debates within itself. Although the aesthetic properties of the object, the aesthetic experience of the viewer or the creativity of the producer are inherent in a work of art, they are not a sufficient condition of art. For this reason, this study aims to investigate the relationship of gastronomy with art and whether it can be evaluated as a branch of art by qualitative research method and grounded theory research design. The population of this research is academicians working under the umbrella of fine arts with the title of doctor and above. Since it is not possible to access the entire universe within the scope of the research, 182 academics who are working in the relevant field and have contact information were reached through the YÖK Akademik database by providing information about the purpose and method of the research, pilot interviews were conducted with the first three people who agreed to participate in the research, advice was received to develop a semi-structured questionnaire, and the data collection process ended with a total of 25 interviews. In the analysis of the data, grounded theory analysis was used in accordance with the grounded theory research pattern. According to the findings of the study, the participants' interest in the field of gastronomy can be divided into two as "amateur" based on facts such as cooking, liking to eat, eating healthy, or "professional" on academic grounds. The relationship between gastronomy and art was established through the themes of "gastronomy in art", "art in gastronomy", "structural similarity" and "art education". Although there were differences of opinion among the participants, they referred to ten criteria, including "definition of art", "aesthetics", "creativity", "viewer", "artist attitude", "idea", "education", "branches of art", "uniqueness" and "function", to evaluate gastronomy as a branch of art.