"More than food: Community culinary heritage as a source of social recognition and perceived emotional benefits in El Morro, Ecuador"

Abstract

"Community-based culinary heritage initiatives play an important role in safeguarding traditional food knowledge, yet little is known about how the people who sustain these initiatives experience their participation. This study examines how participants experience social recognition through a long-term university–community culinary heritage initiative in El Morro, Ecuador. Using an interpretive qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten community members actively involved in the initiative and analyzed through thematic analysis. Four interrelated themes emerged: living culinary knowledge, recognition through participation, perceived meanings of recognition, and commitment to culinary heritage continuity. The findings show that participation extended beyond knowledge transmission by creating opportunities for local knowledge holders to share their expertise, perceive it as socially valued, and strengthen their commitment to preserving and transmitting local culinary traditions. By introducing social recognition as a relational perspective, this study extends culinary heritage research and suggests that safeguarding culinary heritage depends not only on preserving traditions but also on recognizing the people who continue to keep them alive. © 2026 Elsevier B.V."