The Guachinches of Tenerife: Food Culture, Informality and Regulation

Abstract

This article analyses some catering establishments in Tenerife, in Canary Islands, Spain, known as guachinches, highlighting their importance in the informal economy and their role as key elements of local culture and society. These establishments, which emerged as occasional spaces for the sale of surplus wine and homemade food, are revealed as alternatives to the globalisation of food, preserving local culinary and wine-making customs. Using an ethnographic methodology, we explore how the guachinches have been historically shaped by economic informality, their struggle to maintain and assert themselves in the face of friction between the traditional and informal and the field of the modern and formal. This research highlights how the current legal framework does not cover the totality of these enterprises, revealing a distinction between those that are legally recognised and those that operate outside the regulations. Despite the regulatory and economic challenges, the guachinches remain bastions of Tenerife’s identity, demonstrating the importance of preserving local agro-food processes.