Gastronomic Societies in the Basque Country

Abstract

This chapter deals with a unique Basque invention—the gastronomic society, sometimes also referred to as the cooking society (in Spanish, sociedad gastronomica; in Basque, txoko). The author gives a brief overview of the historical origins of the txoko and its developments until the present time and discusses the formal and informal dimensions of the txoko that give life to the institution. He also notes the homogenization and differentiation processes that explain some of the cultural peculiarities of the Basque Country and its culinary geography and history. The chapter concludes with an attempt to contextualize the phenomenon of the gastronomic society, particularly in relation to the unique position that the txoko occupies as an institution between the public and the private sphere.