American Midwest Culinary and Cultural History

Madison's Magical Market
Presented by Terese Allen,
Culinary Historian and writer

Come join us as one of Wisconsin’s most celebrated culinary historians and food writers, Terese Allen, takes us on a delicious journey into our nation’s largest produce-only farmers’ market, The Dane County Farmers’ Market.


Held in Madison’s vast Capitol Square, this more than half-century old market has helped area agriculture flourish, and dramatically changed the character of food culture in the region. Terese will share all this and introduce us to the colorful farmers.

Terese has also captured the full flavor off the market in her just-released (and 14th book), The Dane County Farmers’ Market Cookbook, Local Foods, Global Flavors. The book offers 125 recipes. For a sampling, click link on this page.

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BIOGRAPHY: Terese Allen has been called Wisconsin’s “premier food writer” and “the keeper of its culinary heritage.” She has written scores of books and articles about the pleasures and benefits of regional foods, sustainable cooking and culinary folklore. She is author of The Dane County Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Local Foods, Global Flavors, a tribute to one of the nation’s largest and most renowned farmers markets. Among her other titles are: the prize-winning The Flavor of Wisconsin, an extensive history of food and cooking in the Badger State, with more than 450 recipes, The Flavor of Wisconsin for Kids, Wisconsin Local Foods Journal, Fresh Market Wisconsin, Wisconsin Hometown Flavor and The Ovens of Brittany Cookbook.

Terese has been a food columnist for Edible Madison, Edible Door, Wisconsin Trails magazine, and Isthmus newspaper, among other publications, and is a co-founder and long-time leader of the Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW). She served for a decade as food editor for Organic Valley Family of Farms, and for fifteen years was a key leader of REAP Food Group, a cutting edge organization that fosters a sustainable food system in southern Wisconsin. She lives in Madison and on Washington Island.

Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, September 20, 2023

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Culinary Historians of Chicago

Madison's Magical Market

Identification of Mushrooms: More than the sum of their parts
Presented by Patrick Leacock, PhD

This presentation covers visible mushroom features found with caps, gills, stems, and veils. These features are used to key out and identify wild mushrooms. We can combine these features to learn the "stature types" of gilled mushrooms, such as amanita, pluteus, tricholoma, mycena, etc.

Patrick is a mycologist documenting the mushrooms of the Upper Midwest with collections going to the Field Museum of Natural History. He teaches botany and mycology at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He assists on forays as a scientific advisor for the IMA. He started his mushroom activities with the Minnesota Mycological Society before moving to Chicago. Patrick is also active with the Wisconsin Mycological Society.

Recorded at the Niles History Center, Illinois via Zoom on October 2, 2023

IllinoisMyco.org

Illinois Mycological Association

Identification of Mushrooms: More than the sum of their parts

What’s behind Italy’s ingredients?
Presented by Viola Buitoni

Come join us as Viola Buitoni (yes, she’s a member of that illustrious pasta-manufacturing family) shares the history and geography of Italy’s most iconic ingredients, and gives tips on how we can incorporate their vibrant flavors and techniques into our kitchens. (Think balsamic vinegar, flakes of parmigiano reggiano, fresh ricotta and creamy grains of risotto.) As a native Roman raised in the Umbrian countryside, Viola grew up savoring these artisanal foods.

Viola will also give us a preview of her just-released debut cookbook Italy by Ingredient: Artisanal Foods, Modern Recipes

Viola is now a San Francisco-based cooking instructor and food writer. In 2020, the President of the Italian Republic honored her with the title Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her work furthering the culture and business of Italian food.

Recorded via Zoom on October 4, 2023

www.CulinaryHistorians.org

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What’s behind Italy’s ingredients?

National Ask An Archivist Day: Nancy Webster, Archivist

Celebrate ‘Ask An Archivist Day’ – Ask anything about archives and history, especially Highland Park history with Nancy Webster, Archivist.

#AskAnArchivist Day

Ask me anything, Highland Park, Illinois and beyond.

If you are already on our email list, you will receive a link, otherwise please contact us. Questions may be posed live or before the meeting via email: archives@highlandparkhistory.org or telephone: 847.432.7090.

Frequently asked questions about the history of Highland Park:
Is Roger Williams Street named after the piano player?
I was trying to find this house number, but it does not seem to exist. Is the home still there?
Where do I go to find out about my family who served at Fort Sheridan?
What do archivists do?
What is the coolest item in your collection?
Who invented the telephone?
Where is the oldest standing house of worship?
How can I use the archives?
How do I find ...?

Recorded via Zoom on October 5, 2023

www.HighlandParkHistory.com

Highland Park Historical Society

National Ask An Archivist Day: Nancy Webster, Archivist

Feeding the Art Deco Spirit
Presented by Teri Edelstein, PhD

Cover image: Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Paris: Librairie de la Construction moderne, 1930

A central aspect of the culture and lifestyle of the 1920s and 30s was the creation and consumption of food. You could exist in an Art Deco world where everything from the soup to the nuts was inflected with this style. As a pervasive mode, Deco shaped a total environment and food and drink were an integral part of this. The lecture will focus upon some of the more striking results of this encounter.

Dr. Teri J. Edelstein, curator and museum consultant is principal of Teri J. Edelstein, Museum Strategies. She served as Deputy Director of The Art Institute of Chicago and before that as director of the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. She has taught at Yale University, Mount Holyoke College, and The University of Chicago. Her numerous publications include many articles and exhibition catalogues as well as the book Art for All: British Posters for Transport. She contributed a major essay to Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America. Most recently, she curated Everyone’s Art Gallery: Posters of the London Underground for the Art Institute of Chicago and contributed an essay to the book E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising.

Recorded via Zoom on Monday, October 16, 2023

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Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Feeding the Art Deco Spirit

The Delmonico Way
Max Tucci

From Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of Chicago

I just couldn’t pass it up. When I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference in New York this past September, one limited-seating event had me signing up immediately: an historic dinner in the board room at Delmonico’s, hosted by third generation partner and global brand officer, Max Tucci.

Max regaled us with the luscious history of what is widely recognized as America’s first fine dining restaurant, that began in 1827 in Manhattan as a small cafe and pastry shop. It was  opened by Italian-Swiss immigrants, the brothers Giovanni and Pietro Delmonico. Ten years later, in 1837, they moved nearby to what is still Delmonico’s present location at 56 Beaver Street — in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district. The rich, powerful  and famous frequented the eatery.

Fast forward 100 years, to 1926, and Italian immigrant Oscar Tucci (Max’s grandfather) buys Delmonico’s, opens a speakeasy in the basement, continues attracting celebrities and world leaders (i.e.,Elvis, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Nixon)  and institutes many of the professional restaurant standards in use today, known as the Delmonico Way. During the height of the Tucci era, Delmonico’s, with its many rooms was considered the largest restaurant in the world. (63,000 sq. ft.) One of the lush private dining rooms included an en suite bedroom — if only the walls could talk!

Delmonico’s is also credited with being the first U.S. restaurant to use white tablecloths, and the creator of Delmonico steak, Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, Lobster Newberg and the Wedge Salad.

So do join us as Max Tucci takes us on his personal tour of his beloved Delmonico’s. Max has also captured his family’s legacy in his book, The Delmonico Way. Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant that Made New York! (Rizzoli).

Recorded via Zoom on November 9, 2023

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The Delmonico Way

A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes
Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel

In 2014, food historians Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel cooked up a NYC supper club called Edible History, a pairing of fine dining and intellectual stimulation. Now they’ve spun their experience into a recently published book, A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes (Rizzoli).

Come join us as the authors share highlights from their work and give us a world of culinary traditions and unfamiliar ingredients through dishes that make up 10 historical dinners: think Tudor England’s Cockatrice — a chicken sewn into a pig, then roasted; or Glazed Whore’s Farts (meringues) from Versailles. And they point out how we, too, can reenact these dishes at home.

Bios: Victoria Flexner is a food historian and founder of Edible History, a NYC-based historical supper club. Jay Reifel, Edible History’s executive chef, studied at the French Culinary Institute. He has competed on Chopped, and Beat Bobby Flay.

Recorded via Zoom on December 11, 2023

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A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes

Ignite The Conversation: A Exploration Into Chicago-style BBQ

Dominique Leach (Lexington Betty Smokehouse) – Brian Jupiter (Frontier/Ina Mae Tavern)- Daniel Hammond (Smoky Soul BBQ)- Ron Conner (U Want Dat Smoke BBQ)

Media Speakers: Journalist Monica Eng of AXIOS Chicago and co-author of Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites & James Beard Award-winning food writer/video producer Mike Gebert of Fooditor

Moderator: Catherine Lambrecht, Culinary Historians of Chicago

We’ve all heard of the classic BBQ styles from regions like Kansas City, Memphis or Texas-style. But what about Chicago-style BBQ?

From Rib tips to Hot Links to Mild Sauce and more, Chicago Chef and Pitmaster Dominique Leach of the Black-Women-Queer-Owned and award-winning restaurant Lexington Betty’s Smokehouse, plus the 2023 winner and the current reigning “MASTER OF ‘CUE” of the Food Network’s Hit Show BBQ Brawl , is making it her mission to further define this unique style and put it on the map in 2024. And she’s calling on a few more experts to help!

On Sunday, February 25th, join us for Ignite the Conversation, an educational panel and BBQ tasting with BBQ legends from throughout Chicago and top local journalists to lead a discussion on the origins of Chicago-style BBQ, its variations, and its future. To moderate the discussion, she has tapped Catherine Lambrecht of the Culinary Historians of Chicago with proceeds of this event to be made to their American Midwest Scholarship fund which provides financial support for the study of Midwestern foods and food-related institutions.

Recorded live at Lexington Betty Smokehouse on February 25, 2024

www.CulinaryHistorians.org

Culinary Historians of Chicago, guest moderator

Ignite The Conversation: A Exploration Into Chicago-style BBQ

From Bean to Bar – Exploring the Complex World of Chocolate
Presented by Adam Centamore

Chocolate is one of the world’s most beloved foods, and it’s no surprise why. Few treats can rival the sweet, rich flavors of a well-made bar of chocolate. When it comes to the history, creation and production of cacao, however, most people are far less familiar with those details. It’s time to see what makes this global favorite tick! Spend an evening learning all about chocolate with educator and writer (and chocolate fiend) Adam Centamore. He’ll share chocolate’s origins and history, how different styles of chocolate are made, and what makes it so special. He’ll also touch on why chocolate has been such a controversial food on the global stage, and how the industry is responding. Get to know one of the world’s most favorite foods – chocolate!

BIOGRAPHY: Adam Centamore is a culinary educator and writer with thousands of events and seminars to his name, including hundreds on the topic of chocolate alone. From casual tasting seminars to more formal academic presentations, Adam has been sharing his knowledge and love of chocolate with students for more than 15 years. He is also a writer and journalist with chocolate-themed stories written for Chocolate Professor, Edible Magazine, and other print and online publications.

Recorded on February 28, 2024 via Zoom

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From Bean to Bar – Exploring the Complex World of Chocolate

Illinois Has a Lot to Wine About: A Toast and Tasting to Our State’s Great History

Presented by
Clara Orban, PhD, author and sommelier


Illinois has a thriving wine industry although this may come as a surprise to many residents of Illinois and beyond. Clara Orban, author of Illinois Wines and Wineries: the Essential Guide (SIU Press, 2014) will present the history of Illinois wines, with some little-known facts about an industry that dates back more than 150 years. She will also compare Illinois to other Midwest States and then see how the Illinois wine industry compares to that of the West Coast powerhouses. She will give an overview of the different wine regions of Illinois, the current status of grape varieties, and look into the future of Illinois wine. After the presentation, attendees will have the chance to sample some Illinois wines and purchase a copy of the book which Dr. Orban will be glad to sign.

Clara Orban, PhD, is Professor of French and Italian at DePaul and chair of the Department of Modern Languages. Her publications range from seventeenth-century linguistics to the pedagogy of upper-division Italian conversation courses. She has written several books including: Wine Lessons: Ten Questions to Guide Your Appreciation of Wine (second edition 2012) and Illinois Wine and Wineries: the Essential Guide (2014). Part of her teaching load includes Geography 350: the World of Wine. Dr. Orban became a certified sommelier in 2007.

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Recorded live at Kendall College School of Culinary Arts on December 13, 2014

Illinois Has A Lot To Wine About

How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America 
Sarah B. Franklin

Come join us as food historian and author Sara Franklin gives insight into Judith Jones, the visionary behind some of the most important authors of the 20th century, including Julia Child, Anne Frank, John Updike and Sylvia Plath. This iconic editor finally gets her due in Ms. Franklin’s newly released book, The Editor.

Ms. Franklin recounts that when Judith Jones began working at Doubleday’s Paris office in 1949, the then twenty-five-year-old spent most of her time wading through manuscripts in the slush pile and passing on projects—until one day, a manuscript caught her eye. She read the book in one sitting, then begged her boss to consider publishing it. A year later, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl became a bestseller. It was the start of Jones’ culture-defining career in publishing.

Jones moved to Knopf publishing, and during her more than fifty years at that company, she published the who’s who of food writing, including Edna Lewis, M.F.K. Fisher, Madhur Jaffrey, James Beard, Joan Nathan, and, most famously, Julia Child. Jones helped turn these authors into household names and changed the way Americans think about food, cooking, and culinary diversity.

Ms. Franklin became friendly with Ms. Jones, conducted numerous interviews with her and studied her personal papers. And now she wants to share the life of one of our country’s most influential tastemakers.

Biography:

Sara B. Franklin received a 2020–2021 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) public scholars grant for her research on Judith Jones and teaches courses on food culture, writing, and oral history at NYU’s Gallatin School for Individualized Study and via the NYU Prison Education Initiative at Wallkill Correctional Facility. She is the author of Edna Lewis and The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook. She holds a PhD in food studies from NYU and studied documentary radio and nonfiction at both the Duke Center for Documentary Studies and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. SaraBFranklin.com.

Recorded via Zoom on June 10, 2024

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How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America

Chicago began as a frontier town on the edge of white settlement and as the product of removal of culturally rich and diverse indigenous populations. The town grew into a place of speculation with the planned building of the Illinois and Michigan canal, a boomtown, and finally a mature city of immigrants from both overseas and elsewhere in the US. In this environment, cultures mixed, first at the taverns around Wolf Point, where the forks of the Chicago River join, and later at the jazz and other clubs along the “Stroll” in the black belt, and in the storefront ethnic restaurants of today.

Chicago was the place where the transcontinental railroads from the West and the “trunk” roads from the East met. Many downtown restaurants catered specifically to passengers transferring from train to train between one of the five major downtown railroad stations. This also led to “destination” restaurants, where Hollywood stars and their onlookers would dine during overnight layovers between trains.  At the same time, Chicago became the candy capital of the US and a leading city for national conventions, catering to the many participants looking for a great steak and atmosphere. Beyond hosting conventions and commerce, Chicagoans also simply needed to eat—safely and relatively cheaply.

Chicago grew amazingly fast, becoming the second largest city in the US in 1890. Chicago itself and its immediate surrounding area was also the site of agriculture, both producing food for the city and for shipment elsewhere. Within the city, industrial food manufacturers prospered, highlighted by the meat processors at the Chicago stockyards, but also including candy makers such as Brach’s and Curtiss, and companies such as Kraft Foods. At the same time, large markets for local consumption emerged.

The food biography of Chicago is a story of not just culture, economics, and innovation, but also a history of regulation and regulators, as they protected Chicago’s food supply and built Chicago into a city where people not only come to eat, but where locals rely on the availability of safe food and water. With vivid details and stories of local restaurants and food, Block and Rosing reveal Chicago to be one of the foremost eating destinations in the country.

Recorded live at Kendall College on January 23, 2016.

This program is hosted by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable. 

http://culinaryhistorians.org/chicago-food-biography/

Chicago: A Food Biography

Presented by Bruce Kraig, PhD
Author, President Emeritus, Culinary Historians of Chicago
CELEBRATING OUR 25TH YEAR—

On New Year’s Day 1836, President Andrew Jackson received a momentous culinary gift, a humongous cheese, 2 feet thick, 11 feet in circumference, and weighing 1400 pounds. It was created in the summer of 1835 by Col. Thomas S. Meacham, a prosperous dairy farmer with lands near Lake Ontario north of Syracuse New York. The mammoth cheese was sent by boat along the Erie Canal on to Washington. It was a public sensation. James Fenimore Cooper wrote of the same area of New York only two generations before as a wilderness that only gradually was being transformed.

The world of food sure started changing fast in America.
The small ears of corn grown on the land by Native Americans have become row upon row of cornflakes on supermarket shelves. The immense seas of grass and the animals that they supported are now colossal farms with enormous yields of soybeans, corn and wheat that feed the world.
But how did this happen and why? From the first Native Americans to modern industrial farmers, people have shaped the North American continent and its climate based on the foods they wanted and the crops and animals they raised.

Please join as one of America’s most distinguished culinary historians, Dr. Bruce Kraig, looks at the food people have dished up from their kitchens or eaten in public dining places throughout American history. Dr. Kraig will also give us some savory insight on the creation of modern American food systems. Copies of Dr. Kraig’s latest book, A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America, will be offered at the discounted price of $30, including tax. (Full retail is $39.)

Biography: Bruce Kraig, PhD, was an original founder in 1993, and president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago for more than 20 years. He is professor emeritus of history at Roosevelt University, Chicago. Trained in history and archaeology, his specialty is the history of food in America and around the world. He has published hundreds of articles in journals and newspapers, has spoken and appeared in media internationally, and has written and hosted a series of award-winning PBS television shows about food and culture globally. Among his books are: The Cuisines of Hidden Mexico; Hot Dog: A Global Histor; Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America; Street Food Around the World (with Colleen Sen); The Chicago Food Encyclopedia (with Colleen Sen and Carol Haddix); and his latest,  A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America. He also edits the “Heartland Foodways” series for the University of Illinois Press.

http://culinaryhistorians.org/american-food-history-wouldnt-believe/

American Food has a History You Wouldn't Believe!

Presented by Coeditors Carol Haddix and Colleen Sen,
and contributors Judy Hevrdejs and Scott Warner

Everyone knows that Chicago is the world’s greatest food city – and we now have a book that tells you why: The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Edited by Carol Mighton Haddix, Bruce Kraig and Colleen Taylor Sen, this 300- page volume is a free-ranging portrait of a culinary paradise, with nearly 300 entries written by 70 of the city’s leading academics, journalists, and industry experts. 

Coeditors Carol Haddix and Colleen Sen will describe the genesis of this project, and some of the pitfalls and surprises they encountered along the way. To give a flavor of its contents, three of the contributors will talk about their entries: John Carruthers on Lunch Counters, Judy Hevrdejs on Czechs and Bohemians, and Scott Warner on Chef Louis Szathmary and his famed restaurant, The Bakery.

Copies of the Encyclopedia will be available for purchase and signing by the editors, with proceeds used to fund the Culinary Historians of Chicago. And, there will be a tasting of some iconic Chicago foods.

Bios:

Carol Mighton Haddix is the former food editor of the Chicago Tribune. She is the editor of many Chicago Tribune Cookbooks as well as Chicago Cooks: 25 Years of Food History with Menus, Recipes, and Tips from Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Judy Hevrdejs retired as a food and features writer at the Chicago Tribune.

Colleen Taylor Sen’s books include Curry: A Global History; Feasts and Fasts: The History of Food in India; Turmeric: the Wonder Spice; and (with Bruce Kraig) Street Food: Everything You Need to Know About Open-Air Stands, Cars, and Food Trucks Across the Globe.

Scott J. Warner, a freelance food writer, is president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
……..
Bruce Kraig, PhD, coeditor (not present), is President Emeritus of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, and is Professor Emeritus of history and the humanities at Roosevelt University. His books include Mexican-American Plain Cooking, The Cuisines of Hidden Mexico, Hot Dog: A Global History, Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America, and A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America.

Recorded at Kendall College on October 28, 2017.

http://www.culinaryhistorians.org/chicago-food-encyclopedia-debuts

Chicago Food Encyclopedia

Pigs were the first food animals to be domesticated, so they have a history with humans that goes back more than 12,000 years. Antiquity is only one of the reasons, however, that pork is the most commonly eaten meat in the world. This odd, contradictory animal offers a great range of advantages when it comes to feeding large populations, especially urban populations, though historically, it has also offered several disadvantages. Pork was virtually the only meat available to most of Europe during the Middle Ages, and if you ask for meat in China, you will get pork. From the invention of blood sausage by the Assyrians to creation of such American icons as barbecue and hot dogs, pig has remained on the menu for all but a few notable people groups. Celebrated at fairs and looked to for medical research, pigs offer culinary delight and potential promise but also create some challenges. So the topic of pigs is as far-ranging as the pigs themselves.

Cynthia Clampitt is a writer, speaker, and food historian. She has pursued her love of culture, history, and food in thirty-seven countries on six continents (so far) but has in recent years increasingly focused her studies on the American Midwest. Clampitt has been writing and talking about food history for more than twenty years. She is the author of Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs: From Wild Boar to Baconfest (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) and Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland (University of Illinois Press, 2015). In addition, she contributed major articles to the Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia and Street Food Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture and shorter articles to the Encyclopedia of Chicago Food and Drink. Clampitt is a member of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, Culinary Historians of Chicago, the Society of Women Geographers, the Agricultural History Society, the Association of Food Journalists, the Midwestern History Association, and the history section of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. 

This program is hosted by the Greater Midwest Foodways. 

The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance is dedicated to celebrating, exploring and preserving the American Midwest’s unique food traditions and their cultural contexts.

Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on November 10, 2018.

http://www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance

From Wild Boar to Baconfest: Pigs in History and Popular Culture

Culinary Historians of Chicago studies the history of food and drink in human cultures. Why we procure, prepare and serve the food we do has cultural, sociological, geographical, financial and political influences. We encourage participation from all walks of life: from academics to home cooks, chefs to grill masters, farmers to heirloom gardeners, food scientists to students. Our programs, and those of our sister organization Chicago Foodways Roundtable, are supported by research, fieldwork and scholarship, though geared to an informed popular audience. We welcome everyone to gather at our table to share food, drink and their life’s culinary experiences.

If you would like to contact us, please e-mail us at CulinaryHistorians@gmail.com

From Wild Boar to Baconfest: Pigs in History and Popular Culture

CulinaryHistory

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