Satomi Fukutomi on Consumers, Culinary Stories, and the Creation of Authenticity

Before the 2000s, Japanese cuisine was almost absent from the Perth, Australia food scene, but within a decade, it could be found everywhere. In this episode, Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Jaclyn Rohel talks with anthropologist Satomi Fukutomi about how the increasing availability of Japanese cuisine in Perth changed how people considered what is “authentic” about these foods. Drawing on social media analysis and fieldwork at eateries in Perth, Fukutomi discusses why authenticity is meaningful, or not so meaningful, in this changing foodscape.