Presuming I'm a prosumer is no presumption

I am a prosumer. You're probably a prosumer and so is everyone else who has ever eaten at a McDonalds, washed his or her own car at a self-operated car wash, used an ATM, or picked fruit and vegetables for themselves. Although it would be hasty of me to make presumptions about how you live your life, I know, in some way, shape or form, you sir/madam have been a prosumer throughout your life as well. 

(c) Image courtesy of http://www.customerservice.ae/

In the early days - say the 1600s - prosumerism was alive and kicking. People would often grow their own vegetables and fruits, rear their own animals and toil their own land.  People would consume what they would produce - their own goods and services (Kotler, P, 1986), all in the name of survival - the true nature of prosumer. 

Then the Industrial revolution happened. Then Mao, Stalin and nearly every other left wing dictator changed it all (well partly...). The revolution(s) saw a divide occur between producers and consumers - though not effectively seperating the two (Ritzer, G, 2010, p. 17). The collectivisation of agriculture by Stalin in 1925 saw farms mass producing grains, fruit and vegetables for factory workers during one of his five year plans. 

But how, in 2013, am I prosumer?

Two weeks ago I woke up to a wet, overcast, traditional Melbourne morning. I got in my car and drove an hour and a half into the outskirts of Melbourne to a pine forest to go forage for Saffron milk-cap mushrooms, otherwise known as pine mushrooms. 

(c) Image courtesy of Flickr

Retail price = $80/90 per kilo. Prosumer price = free.

A prosumer is anybody who produces, and consumes, any of their own goods or services. Although, sure I didn't plant the spores to grow the wild mushrooms, I did indeed cut out the middle man - my aggrieved vegetable supplier - to get them. I did however grow the garlic I sauteed with them!

My love of foraging and food is just one avenue in which i am an prosumer. Web 2.0 has turned even those recluse/never left their own house/surviving off of delivery pizza and on the dole type people into prosumers as well. All through orchestrating an online identity through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or commenting on this here blog, you too will be prosuming like myself - consuming my work and producing a comment of your own.

Thanks for reading! Till next time....

Reference List:

Jurgenson, N & Ritzer, G 2010, 'Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital 'prosumer'', Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 10, Issue 1, pp. 13-36.

Kotler, P 1986, 'The Prosumer Movement: A new challenge for marketers', Advances In Consumer Research, Vol. 13, Issue 1, pp. 510-513, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 August 2013.

The New Economy and Prosumption 2010, YouTube, exposedlie, April 2, retrieved 26 August 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV4Ir-2UrN8> 

To reinterpret or to copy? That is the question...

Cookery has long been based upon a chefs re-interpretations of classic recipes and flavours. The word 'de-constructed' has become somewhat of a menu staple these days as chefs aim to break down dishes into individual elements. This could include Lolly Bags at Luxbite, to the greasy fish and chip shop icon of the Chiko Roll available at Marmalade & Soul.

These reinterpretations often use the flavours existent in past recipes - the Lolly bag cake contains real lollies such as peppermint leaves and redskins (albeit deconstructed), but does this mean chefs are copyists? 

(c)http://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1hr0b9/this_spaghetti_hoop_looks_like_a_copyright_symbol/

Raustiala and Sprigman (2012, p. 58) state 'like fashion, the world of cuisine features extensive imitation - call it borrowing, copying, or, if you prefer, piracy'. Issues of copyright have affected many restaurants over the years. In such a competitive industry a proven formula was seen to good to pass up for the case of Ed's Lobster Bar, with owner Ed Mcfarland sued by former employers Pearl Oyster Bar for plagiarising a restaurant concept.

Copying incurs many moral and ethical issues in cookery, and although recipe books themselves are copyrighted, each individual recipe is not (Raustiala, K & Sprigman, C 2012). This leaves a lot of grey area for chefs to work with, but does it stunt creativity or embrace it?

(c)http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/9092601876_e4270d0a09_z.jpg

Georges Auguste Escoffier has long been seen as one of the forefathers of modern French cookery. Born in 1846, Escoffier changed the face of French cuisine. His approach to cookery was more of a refined, modern (for the early 1900s anyway) version of what was originally known as ‘haute’ cuisine – made popular by a chef named Marie-Antoine Carême. 

Escoffier these days is heralded, sometimes given premise over chefs such as Carême. It is with creativity that he adapted the recipes of Carême, using them as inspiration, and shaping the culinary landscape of today.

One of Escoffier's triumphs saw the creation of five master sauces of which nearly every sauce in modern french cuisine is based off. During an apprenticeship, these sauces are a main component of a whole units work where students must practice and refine the 'classics' and offer there own flavour interpretations.

It is with this re-interpretation that the battle against copyright is often vindicated. In their article assessing file sharing, Martin, Moore and Salter (2010) conclude 'that industry has been most effective when using methods of devaluation and reinterpretation'. Such an analysis resembles that of the hospitality industry wherein chefs continue to re-interpret and re-produce classic dishes in an attempt to grasp some form of unattainable originality. Every idea has a pre-cursor after all.

Thanks for reading! Till next time...

Reference List:

Martin, B, Moore, C and Salter, C. 2010, ‘Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry’, First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12.

Raustiala, K & Sprigman, C. 2012, 'The knockoff economy: how imitation sparks innovation', Oxford University Press, USA, <http://deakin.eblib.com.au.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=978156>

Foodism

Modernism is innovation. It is creativity inspired by future, by technologies and by convergence.
It seeks to revolutionise the 'traditional' forms of art - deeming them not representative of the times.

Restaurant cookery has long been contested as an art form. 'Foodies' will often argue to their blue in the face over the subject. However to many people food is a necessity, a comfort or an energy fix.
The key thing to remember here is that art is subjective. After all, One man’s Picasso is another mans placemat. 

Modernism in food has become a trend in the the last decade. The worlds renowned chefs now rely on their culinary skills and their chemistry skills. Names such as Heston Blumenthal, Rene Redzepi, Ferran Adrià and Andoni Luis Aduriz have become synonymous with a style of cookery incorporating molecular gastronomy.

Molecular gastronomy is described as the practice of employing scientific principles to food and cooking techniques.

Noma, in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a fine example of modernism in cookery. Currently rated the worlds number two restaurant in the 2013 San Pelligrino Top 50 restaurants guide, Chef Rene Redzepi held the coveted number one ranking for three years prior to his usurping by three spanish brothers at El Celler De Can Roca in Girona, Spain.

Redzepi has been described as the pioneer of 'new' Nordic cuisine. His style of foraged local ingredients coupled with precise cooking techniques, and a lot of creativity, has given birth to a food culture which has taken over restaurant scenes all over the globe.

(c) Ditte Isager, p. 136, 2010.

It is the innovation displayed in dishes such as ‘Blueberries surrounded by their natural environment', and a modern interpretation of ‘Æbleskiver’, a type of Danish pancake usually seved as a sweet, show how Redzepi has brought modernism into traditional cuisine, turning it into a worldwide culinary phenomenon.

 

(c) Ditte Isager, 2010

Modernism, as stated by Giddens represents a 'complex organisation of society, technological innovation and institutions unlike any preceding culture, one that aimed at the future, rather than as maintenance of the past' (1998, p. 94).

Modern techniques of cookery have benefitted from technological innovation. Thermal immersion circulators, Pacojet systems and nitrous chargers now fill the kitchens of most top calibre restaurants and are used to present new textures and approaches to recipes and ingredients. 

Ever read a menu and wondered how they make a gel? a foam? flavoured caviar? how they sous-vide?

All these modernist approaches to cookery have changed the worldwide perception of national foods. Traditional nordic cuisine has long been held synonymous with recipes and ingredients such as gravlax, rye bread, herring and root vegetables. Chefs like Redzepi are carrying the flag to revolutionise a long standing stereotype. Google 'Nordic cuisine' now and have a look what comes up. My first link was to 'New Danish cuisine' -  citing Rene Redzepi and his modern interpretation of what he deems to be art.

Further viewing on Noma:

Thanks for reading! till next time...

Reference List:

Giddens, A & Pierson, C 1998, Conversations with Anthony Giddens : making sense of modernity, Stanford University Press, California.

Redzepi, R & Isager, D 2010, Noma: time and place in Nordic cuisine, Phaidon Press Limited, London.

René Redzepi Head Chef Restaurant noma Episode 2 2011, YouTube, Staff Canteen, retrieved 4 August 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuIpDUk8cvs>