For sociologists, the school serves as one of the most crucial sites of socialization. Literature is abundant in the field of the Sociology of education. As Gurpinder Singh Lalli says, as a ‘microcosm of society’, schools provide useful insights to researchers to understand how social relations are formed and interactions occur among children. In the book Schools, Space and Culinary Capital published by Routledge in 2022, Lalli foregrounds the importance of school meals, dining halls and mealtimes in the socialization of children. Sociologically, Lalli writes, ‘mealtimes are considered as cultural sites for the socialization of individuals who are inducted into being competent citizens of society’ (p.38). But are these institutional sites and food practices innocent? No. Observations of school meal times and spaces are incomplete without a discussion of the connections between food and social identities of race, class and gender. In India, for instance, while government programmes like mid-day meals in schools encourage commensality and inter-dining, scholars have also noted the persistence of caste-based discrimination in mealtime practices (Thorat and Lee 2005).

Lalli refers to the notion of culinary capital that draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s framework of cultural capital where the question of power and distinction is implicit and unavoidable. Mealtime, therefore, is not only a fertile ground to understand what takes place in terms of socialization, imbibing mannerisms and etiquette or learning how to eat in a social setting, but also social interactions and the formation of groups. Who sits with whom and who gets excluded? On these lines, the book tries to explore how children experience their school mealtimes and how power relations seep into these experiences. The book draws insights from ethnographic fieldwork conducted by the author in a mixed-sex school with pupils of White British heritage from a largely lower socio-economic group.

The study of food and food education is also crucial for children’s physical and cognitive development, especially in the context of poverty and food insecurity. On the other hand, concerns over childhood obesity are also growing. Lalli, therefore, sees the potential of school meals and mealtimes in promoting the overall well-being of children and reducing inequalities through school food education. Therefore, the discussions are important for policy context.

The book is organized primarily into six chapters. The first introductory chapter is followed by a succinct review of the history of English school meals. Chapter two explores the policy narratives and political discourses that have shaped school meal plans in the UK. The remaining three chapters present a discussion of existing literature and conceptual frameworks. This discussion is interwoven with data from interviews with students, management and school staff.

In chapter three, Johansson et. al’s concept of foodscapes and Mikkelsen’s idea of ‘institutional foodscape’ such as school dining halls are discussed. Foodscape entails “places and contexts where children eat and come into contact with food and the meanings and associations connected to them” (p.8). This chapter also highlights the benefits and connotations of family meal time. Family meal time is more than just the consumption of food which is again a site for bonding and socialization for children. Mealtime is also for introducing and reinforcing etiquette and norms. But it is not all innocent as these processes are also gendered and classed. In chapter four, Lalli tries to discuss the children’s voice about school lunchtime and food that is available, for instance, the packed lunches and school food. The perspectives of the school staff and children on Free School Meals are also discussed here concerning stigma and accessibility. 

The primary objective of the book is to emphasize the importance of the socio-spatial environment of school mealtime and the interactions and practices that unfold during this time. According to the author, the physical space of the dining hall and the sensory, and olfactory attributes are important in promoting a positive attitude towards food and social interaction. Lalli also focuses on the disciplinary gaze of the adults that attempt to regulate children’s behaviour during meal time using the Foucauldian notion of governmentality which highlights how meal time is not completely free from adult surveillance. The role of food, spaces and mealtimes in socializing children into becoming healthy citizens is a recurrent point. I would like to mention, however, that while the importance of children’s agency and voice about school mealtime is the author’s main concern, the chapter, however, draws more from secondary literature. 

Chapter five which is theoretical discusses the concept of culinary capital (Naccarato and Lebesco) a concept that features in the title of the book. It is the association of food practices with a sense of distinction which goes beyond the monetary value. Culinary capital is explored in relation to food, class, race and gender but this chapter relies on the analysis of secondary literature. It would have been better had observations from the school been integrated into this chapter to shed light on the notion of culinary capital. The last chapter is an Afterword which discusses the school food context during the COVID pandemic.

The book is rich in textual analysis but I felt that the field notes and observations could have been more. After reviewing the existing works, the author also raises several questions in all the key chapters. Take, for example, questions like ‘what about the dialogues, what do children discuss, how do they interact and what influence might this have on their daily routines?’ are raised at the end of chapter five (p.102). The ethnography could have provided answers to some of these questions. The abstract says that ‘the book gender, class and race to understand the school dining hall’ but I found the ethnographic insights as well secondary literature on this aspect very limited. The name of the school is inconsistent. In some places, it is Maple Field Academy while in others it is Maple Tree Academy. 

This work will be useful for scholars in the field of Sociology of education and food as well as those in policy development.

References:

Sukhdeo Thorat, & Joel Lee. (2005). Caste Discrimination and Food Security Programmes. Economic and Political Weekly. 40 (39), 4198-4201.

***

Sriti Ganguly is an Assistant Professor at the School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana.