GASTROMANIA ON ITALIAN TV

By turning on the TV, at any time of the day or night, one can comeacross programs in which food is the undisputed protagonist. Actually, thepresence of food on TV is not a contemporary phenomenon, but it goesback to the origins of television. Over time, the way of narrating food hasbeen transformed, as well as the role attributed to it and the values (gastronomicand social) associated to it.In this paper, after having traced a historical overview of Italian foodtelevision programming, we focus on the analysis of four recent programs.The objective is to understand how settings, rhythmic and temporal scansion,and the distribution of roles among the various actors involved configurenarratives with well-structured mechanisms and convey differentways of understanding cooking, the role of the chef, and the relationshipwith the audience at home.