Embedding food in place and rural development: Insights from the Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival in Donggang, Taiwan.

This paper examines the role of the "Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival" in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, sustainability, and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Donggang, Southern Taiwan, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts, and contested issues of local identity, sustainability, and an aging society. This paper draws on public discourse and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in Donggang to understand the conditions required for substantiating authenticity of the gastronomic products and experiences and the promotion of an appealing gastronomic image. This study traces the process of embedding bluefin tuna in Donggang through marketing, branding and provides a preliminary conceptualization of interrelations between gastronomic tourism and community development in East Asia. The paper draws attention to these particular issues issues: the commodification of local heritage and countryside capital, strategies and challenges of hosting culinary festivals and resolving the issue of return migration. • Local food is a marker of openness and balance between fine palate and sustainability. • Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival connects consumers to perceived culture and heritage. • Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival shows that local food can enhance visitor experience. • Social relationships with food are at odds with the ecosystem's health and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]