Taste, memory and cooking recipes in fictional TV series: The case of Samurai Gourmet (2017)

Abstract

This article examines a Japanese television format, in which fiction narrative merges with cooking programmes, creating thus the hybrid Gourmet TV drama, a Japanese product that became known worldwide through the Samurai Gourmet TV series, first presented on Netflix’s platform in 2017. In the past few years, Japan has set the bar for food shows particularly high because series like Samurai Gourmet do not simply teach the audience how to cook, but they also teach the art of eating, presenting recipes with sumptuous and voluptuous food footage. The article examines how food functions in the twelve episodes of the series (in relation to memory, criticism of foreign cuisine and reassertion of social values), and how image and sound, through different techniques, try to make up for the audio-visual medium’s lack of taste and smell.