Content area
Full Text
Introduction
In 1956, the food writer Clementine Paddleford noted the popularity of outdoor grilling in America. After the Second World War, houses in America were built smaller than pre-war houses and they were made even smaller with the baby boom. The lack of space along with the feeling of “togetherness” produced by fathers’ involvement in family activities made outdoor grilling popular (Miller, 2010; Marcus, 2013). As stated by Moss (2014), barbecue grills were built in California houses in 1933, evoking “Old Mexico” and its romantic association with “rancho” life, where a “caballero rode the haciendas looking for the great fiesta.” Because of its geographic proximity to the USA, northern Mexico was strongly influenced by the consumption of grilled food, making outdoor grilling a traditional experience for families.
Mexicans recognize grilled food as one of the most common types of food eaten in the northern region, and there is a slang word specifically for the person who cooks the meat, “parrillero,” which in English is translated as cook, chef or BBQ master. Once adopted, grilling became a family tradition and represents an important consumption experience. This is particularly true for Monterrey, México, a city that won a Guinness World Record for the largest grilling event in 2013; more than 45,000 people participated in the event, and approximately 18 tons of meat were grilled (El Universal, 2013). In fact, the average annual consumption of red meat by people in Monterrey is 37 kg, whereas the national annual average consumption in Mexico is 14 kg (El Horizonte, 2017). Monterrey is an urbanized and verticalized city with buildings up to 276 m tall. The number of housing developments has increased in recent years, but the size of houses has continually decreased. A unique aspect is that almost all of these new housing complexes include a grilling area.
The literature has addressed family rituals as a means of socialization and the influence of family members on consumption experiences (John, 1999; Kerrane and Hogg, 2013). In particular, food rituals and consumption can be classified as an important social interaction for family members in which the process and habit of eating meals together with family and friends can result in traditions, provide continuity with the past and reflect cultural ideas (Marshall, 2005). Although several...