Opportunities and Challenges of Developing a Culinary Food Studies Bachelor’s Degree

Abstract

Although Food Studies has been acknowledged as a distinctive field in Canada for almost two decades, until now there has not been an undergraduate degree in Food Studies in this country. This is changing with the development of Canada’s first Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Food Studies (BFS) at George Brown College, launched in September 2021. This field report describes the process, opportunities, and challenges of developing a Food Studies degree at an Ontario college. It explores the unique openings at the intersection of food studies education and applied practical skills training for work in the food sector. In particular, we ask: What can food studies bring to culinary education? And, what can culinary education bring to food studies? We contend that food studies can contribute to a more transformative culinary education focussed on social, cultural, political, and environmental influences in the food system. Simultaneously, culinary education brings distinct insights into operationalization within the food sector which provide new openings for applied research in food studies. We demonstrate how this new collaboration and knowledge are a necessity in a turbulent world.