Rural Restaurant Cuisine and Its Adaptation to the Landscape in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico

Abstract

Cuisines represent a way of exploring the identity of a territory. These, as well as the use of certain ingredients, are a crucial example of the practices of gastronomic landscape in rural contexts. This article aims to analyze the characteristics of rural restaurant cuisines in a local context and identify the practices implemented in restaurants in the territory of Valle de Guadalupe in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. For this, a research study was carried out covering twelve months, distributed between 2022 and 2023. The starting point was a quali­tative study with a phenomenological approach, which made it possible to identify different variables, such as local and non-local ingredients, good practices, and felt needs, thanks to the discourse of people who are part of restaurants located in the rural context. The results show how rural restaurant cuisines are characterized in the context of Baja California, what ingredi­ents are part of their cuisines, and what good practices are implemented to adapt to the rural territory. The originality of this work lies in highlighting the characteristics of rural restaurant cuisines based on iconic ingredients from local gastronomic landscapes, as well as the best practices distinctive in rural contexts that address local environmental issues.