jody mellor

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore how friendships are “done” through processes of eating together formally within the British context, paying attention to how taste is displayed through food. Existing research on food consumption and social differentiation has in the main concentrated on eating out, but there is little research on entertaining inside the home. Based on qualitative interviews with middle class couples at different stages of life in the north of England, we use one example of home entertaining—the dinner party—to ...

In this article we argue that despite methodological and analytical advancements in the field of social class research, these developments have not led to a wholehearted discussion about class positionality and situatedness in relation to interviewer–participant dynamics. Despite—or perhaps due to—this methodological gap, there remains an unspoken expectation that class matching, particularly when investigating working-class groups and practices, is desirable as it engenders empathy on the part of the interviewer which allows for openness on the part of the participant. The team of four interviewers reflect upon their varying experiences of conducting interviews about class with a group of middle- and working-class students at university, arguing that even if class matching between participant and researcher were possible, shared class position does not necessarily equate with similar life experiences, or enable a strong rapport nor a more ethical analysis or understanding of working-class people's lives. We explore some of the complexities regarding the class-related positions of the researchers and the participants and consequently advocate that class researchers engage in reflexive practices in order to explore the myriad ways in which the researcher's own class history and current class position both advantage and disadvantage the research process, often in unpredictable ways.

Increasing awareness and concern with global climate change has led to a push to identify local food consumption as a way to reduce food miles and help preserve the environment. The journey from farm to fork is rarely a simple connection between farmer and consumer but involves a range of different actors and agents, located in different places and at different socioeconomic scales. The result is a confusing array of meanings that can be attached to food items considered to be local (eg, local supplier, local producer, local commodity ...