A cross-cultural approach to eating together: Practices of commensality among French, German and Spanish young adults

Abstract

This article explores commensal practices of French, German and Spanish young adults. In doing so, it aims to fill a gap in research on commensality and on contemporary eating practices in Europe within a qualitative cross-cultural approach. The different nationalities of the informants, along with their country of residence, contribute to emphasizing cultural diversity and laying the foundations for the highlighting of poignant differences between French, German and Spanish young people, particularly in relation to meal times and content, places of food sociability, social organization surrounding shared meals and the role of food sharing in their social life. These aspects reveal different social meanings attached to food and commensality, as well as variability of commensal forms between young people living in or coming from different European countries.