Dr Naaz Rashid's research

Eating the Other: Exploring the dynamics of London's pop-up restaurant scene

Image of Hackney Chinese Community Centre taken by Naaz Rashid

Dr Naaz Rashid's project, Eating the Other: Exploring the dynamics of London's pop-up restaurant scene, which received a British Academy Small Grant, examines London’s pop-up restaurant scene, specifically ‘supper clubs’ hosted at home or elsewhere on a temporary basis. It explores the cultural phenomenon both from the perspective of producers i.e. supper-club hosts and consumers i.e. the guests.

The project explores how different ‘ethnic’ cuisines are represented and perceived, particularly in the context of ‘authenticity’ and ethnic commodification. study consists of interviews with hosts and guest as well as autoethnographic accounts of participating in supper clubs and other related ‘foodie’ events.

The research brings together important debates about everyday multiculturalism and contextualises it within a wider landscape incorporating neoliberal entrepreneurship, gentrification, and Brexit. It will contribute to the emerging interdisciplinary field of Critical Food Studies at an important political juncture in the UK.