Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Gastronomy
Special Issues
Science, Art, Culture, and Culinary Innovation in Gastronomy
share announcement

Science, Art, Culture, and Culinary Innovation in Gastronomy

A special issue of Gastronomy (ISSN 2813-513X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2027 | Viewed by 2637

Editors

Prof. Dr. Andrea Pieroni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ethnobotany and Ethnobiology, University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 9, Pollenzo, I-12042 Cuneo, Italy
Interests: food heritage; ethnobiology; ethnobotany; wild food plants; fermentations; neglected species
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maciej Ireneusz Kluz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Gustawa Herlinga-Grudzinskiego 1, 30-705 Krakow, Poland
2. School of Medical and Health Sciences, VIZJA University, Okopowa 59, 01-043 Warszawa, Poland
Interests: food; microbiology and biotechnology; microbiological identification; bioprocesses
Prof. Dr. Joanna Stadnik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Skromna 8, 20-704 Lublin, Poland
Interests: dry-cured meat products; probiotic meat products; biogenic amines in food; bioactive peptides in meat and meat products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites contributions that explore gastronomy as a dynamic field situated at the crossroads of scientific inquiry, culinary creativity, and cultural expression. Moving beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, contemporary gastronomy encompasses food chemistry and microbiology, sensory and nutritional sciences, and culinary arts and design, as well as the historical, anthropological, and philosophical dimensions of food. This Special Issue aims to foreground gastronomy as both a material and symbolic practice, shaped by technological innovation, cultural heritage, sustainability concerns, and evolving social imaginaries surrounding food.

We welcome original research, theoretical reflections, methodological discussions, and practice-based or artistic investigations that examine how gastronomic knowledge is produced, transmitted, and transformed. Topics may include but are not limited to the following: molecular and experimental gastronomy; gastronomic engineering and new ingredient development; culinary creativity and contemporary food aesthetics; historical and anthropological analyses of food traditions; gastronomic tourism and heritage valorization; food media, communication, and consumer cultures; sustainability transitions in food systems; and the role of gastronomy in advancing food sovereignty and quality of life.

By bringing together diverse scholarly and professional perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to illuminate how gastronomy operates as a space where science and art converge, where cultural identities are negotiated, and where the futures of food are imagined and enacted. In addition to the call for papers, articles presented at Gastronomy Unexplored: Integrating Science, Art and Culture in Culinary Innovation will be invited to be submitted in their extended versions. We encourage interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and cross-cultural contributions that reflect the plurality and complexity of today’s global food landscape.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Pieroni
Dr. Maciej Ireneusz Kluz
Prof. Dr. Joanna Stadnik
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gastronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gastronomy
  • culinary innovation
  • food science
  • cultural heritage
  • molecular gastronomy
  • food anthropology
  • sensory studies
  • sustainability
  • gastro-engineering
  • food aesthetics

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 4421 KB  
Article
Which Smell Looks Strongest? Visual Aroma Symbols and Food Perception in Digital Gastronomy
by Abdul Hannan Zulkarnain, Balázs Boncsarovszki, Chengfang Tao and Attila Gere
Gastronomy 2026, 4(3), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/gastronomy4030017 - 19 Aug 2026
Viewed by 73
Abstract
Digital food images cannot transmit real aroma, but visual aroma symbols may help communicate expected smell, freshness, and eating appeal. This repeated-measures visual perception study compared black visual aroma symbols applied to a digital pasta bolognese image. After exclusion of one pilot/test response, [...] Read more.
Digital food images cannot transmit real aroma, but visual aroma symbols may help communicate expected smell, freshness, and eating appeal. This repeated-measures visual perception study compared black visual aroma symbols applied to a digital pasta bolognese image. After exclusion of one pilot/test response, 366 participants evaluated one no-symbol control image and 14 visual aroma-symbol conditions; no real odour was presented. Repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) accounted for the repeated evaluations made by each participant. Participants rated suitability, perceived smell strength, perceived smell pleasantness, willingness to eat, image-evoked hunger, and image-evoked fullness. The visual aroma-symbol condition was significantly associated with suitability, perceived smell strength, perceived smell pleasantness, willingness to eat, and image-evoked hunger, but not image-evoked fullness. Symbol 1 had the strongest overall positive rating profile, followed by Symbol 7 and Symbol 11. More ambiguous or irregular designs had weaker profiles and were more often associated with confusion or less pleasant smell meanings. The findings describe self-reported responses to complete visual aroma-symbol designs; they do not demonstrate real odour perception, actual food choice, ordering behaviour, sales conversion, or consumption. Future studies should examine colour, animation, directionality, food category, cultural context, real odour delivery, eye tracking, biometric responses, and behavioural outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Science, Art, Culture, and Culinary Innovation in Gastronomy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 784 KB  
Review
Urban Gastronomy and the Mediterranean Diet: A Sustainable Approach for Modern Society
by Milia Tzoutzou, Ioanna Ravani, Eirini Marini, Andrea Paola Rojas Gil, George Panoutsopoulos, Tonia Vasilakou and Paraskevi Detopoulou
Gastronomy 2026, 4(3), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/gastronomy4030015 - 15 Jul 2026
Viewed by 454
Abstract
Although the Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recognized as a healthy dietary pattern, its potential role as a framework for sustainable urban gastronomy has received limited attention. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from nutrition, environmental studies, gastronomy, tourism, and urban food systems. The [...] Read more.
Although the Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recognized as a healthy dietary pattern, its potential role as a framework for sustainable urban gastronomy has received limited attention. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from nutrition, environmental studies, gastronomy, tourism, and urban food systems. The review explores MD’s sustainability dimensions, food waste and urban food systems, cultural heritage, and trends in urban gastronomy. The findings suggest that the MD is a strong model for sustainable urban food futures, combining nutritional adequacy, relatively low environmental impact, and socio-cultural legitimacy. Evidence indicates that Mediterranean-style dietary patterns are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions, land use, energy use, and water consumption than Western diets, while also remaining comparatively affordable when based on staple plant foods. However, important challenges remain, including affordability, especially across vulnerable social groups; dependence on local supply systems; authenticity under tourism pressure; and the need for effective governance. Overall, the evidence suggests that the MD provides a useful framework for integrating health, sustainability, and cultural heritage objectives within urban food systems. Future research should focus on city-level implementation strategies, food service and restaurant sector practices, and hotel meal planning within urban MD frameworks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Science, Art, Culture, and Culinary Innovation in Gastronomy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 987 KB  
Review
The Flavour of Sustainability: Mediterranean Aromatic Plants as Enablers of Nutrient-Dense and Low-Salt Gastronomy
by Petra Jones, Renald Blundell and Melania Spiteri
Gastronomy 2026, 4(3), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/gastronomy4030013 - 26 Jun 2026
Viewed by 609
Abstract
Transitioning to sustainable, plant-forward diets, such as the Planetary Health Diet is a global priority; however, the palatability gap remains a formidable barrier, as consumers often perceive low-sodium, plant-centric diets as sensory-deficient. While aromatic herbs could bridge this gap, the current literature rarely [...] Read more.
Transitioning to sustainable, plant-forward diets, such as the Planetary Health Diet is a global priority; however, the palatability gap remains a formidable barrier, as consumers often perceive low-sodium, plant-centric diets as sensory-deficient. While aromatic herbs could bridge this gap, the current literature rarely integrates their sensory, ecological, phytochemical, and cultural dimensions. This narrative review explores how Mediterranean aromatic plants indigenous to the Maltese Islands function as sensory and molecular catalysts to bridge this gap. Through a thematic synthesis (2005–2026) integrating ethnobotanical evidence with molecular nutrition and sensory science, the Maltese archipelago is examined as a small-island ecological model. Chronic abiotic stressors, including high salinity and intense solar exposure, induce phytochemical priming, significantly enhancing secondary metabolites like polyphenols and terpenoids. These compounds establish a folk–medicine bridge, where traditional culinary practices align with modern biochemical validation. These bioactives demonstrate a capacity to modulate the NF-κB inflammatory axis, mitigate systemic inflammaging, and support the gut–microbiome–brain axis. Furthermore, these aromatics serve as translational tools for EAT-Lancet 2025 targets by facilitating cross-modal sensory compensation for sodium reduction and improving nutrient bioaccessibility via the culinary entourage effect. The TASTE-MED framework positions culinary nutrition as a vital translational bridge, asserting that flavour is a prerequisite for dietary sustainability and aligning individual molecular resilience with broader planetary health goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Science, Art, Culture, and Culinary Innovation in Gastronomy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop