Culinary Historians of Chicago: Recent Episodes
CulinaryHistory
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
The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago DiningMichael GebertFrom a city associated with steak and the stockyards, Chicago has become a capitol of innovative, even avant-garde cuisine—but how? That’s the story that James Beard-winning Chicago food journalist Michael Gebert tells in The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago Dining (Agate, $36.00). https://www.agatepublishing.com/97815728…/the-chicago-way/ The story goes back sixty-plus years, beginning with Chicago’s first celebrity chef, Louis Szathmary, whose The Bakery would help establish a gang-ridden neighborhood called Lincoln Park as the home of what were soon to be called “yuppies.” From there, ersatz “Continental” cuisine gave way to authentic French cooking under chef-owners like Jean Banchet and Jovan Trboyevic. In turn, young American chefs like Charlie Trotter and Michael Foley would develop a similarly artisanal form of American cooking, while chefs like Rick Bayless and Tony Mantuano brought us authentic cuisine from other countries, helping to develop farmers markets and wine culture—as well as hot dining neighborhoods. Gebert interviewed over 200 chefs, diners, and media and real estate figures, including Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz, Stephanie Izard, Paul Kahan and Culinary Historians of Chicago’s president and vice-president Scott Warner and Cathy Lambrecht to tell their story in their own words. His network throughout the Chicago food world offers a unique inside look at how our restaurants changed Chicago—and the world. Biography:Michael Gebert is the editor of Fooditor and a James Beard Award-winning food writer and video producer. He was also an editor of Grub Street Chicago, a contributor to publications such as Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Reader, and a founder of the online culinary chat site LTHForum. He lives in Chicago.Recorded via Zoom on February 12, 2026CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Orange Blossoms: Fresh and Classic Recipes from My Lebanese Kitchen, was a Michigan Notable Book and an International Association of Culinary Professionals finalist. Her writing and recipes have appeared widely, including in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Saveur, Food52, and NPR. She teaches Lebanese cooking through her website and social media channels, and she lives in Harbor Springs and East Lansing, Michigan.Recorded via Zoom on November 19, 2025***CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Oakford Pecans - a story of discovery and Pumpkin/Squash updateLinda Eilks grew up on a farm outside of Oakford, Illinois. After careers at both IL Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, she retired and moved into a home within the village of Oakford. There she was faced with an abundance of pecans falling from the trees in her yard. She researched what to do with them and found some interesting historical facts about the pecan trees in the area. She will talk about pecan trees in general, those that grow around Oakford, and especially those that grow in her yard.Many moons ago, Catherine Lambrecht was a University of Illinois Extension Master Food Preserver instructed by Linda Eilks. As it happens, Eilks now lives in the region where pumpkins are commercially grown (80-mile radius from Morton, Illinois). Knowing Lambrecht was looking for a Dickinson Squash, Eilks found one of these squash for her. Lambrecht will update on her experience. One piece of wisdom: all pumpkins are squash, but not all squash are pumpkins!!Just saw this the next day:https://www.allrecipes.com/what-is-canned-pumpkin-11747656Recorded via Zoom on November 5, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American KitchenPresented by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon MukharjiCome join us as a mother and son duo talk about the historical and cultural context of traditional and diasporic Indian recipes. They will base their talk on their new book, Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen.Cooking instructor Jyoti Mukharji chose 99 of her favorite recipes to build the core of Heartland Masala. Her recipes hail from throughout India, with a special emphasis on the cuisines of Punjab and Bengal. To complement his mother’s recipes and recollections, culinary historian Auyon Mukharji offers a generous helping of culturally focused vignettes.Auyon writes: “The Hindustani word masala, which translates to ‘spice mixture, feels an appropriate metaphor for not only the multifaceted and diasporic quality of my mother’s cooking, but also for the twists and turns of history that landed a daughter of Punjab here in the American heartland.”“The history of Indian cooking is theIndiana cooking” he continues. “The cuisine itself is in constant flux, both within and beyond India’s national borders. Any attempt to pin it down is merely a record of a moment and place.”https://www.heartlandmasala.com/https://heartlandmasala.substack.com/Biographies Jyoti Mukharji is a chef, teacher, and retired physician. She immigrated to the US from India in the late 1970s, and began teaching weekly Indian cooking classes out of her home in Prairie Village, Kansas, in 2010. Jyoti has since welcomed several thousand students into her kitchen.Auyon Mukharji is a musician, writer, and culinary historian who spends most of his time thinking about food. He studied biology at Williams College and was awarded a Watson Fellowship in 2007 to study self-expression in folk music. Since 2009, Auyon has toured with, and cooked for, the indie-folk band Darlingside. He otherwise finds time to work in and around kitchens (and farms) in both his hometown of Kansas City and his adopted state-of-residence of Massachusetts.Recorded via Zoom on October 29, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Chinese Table MannersInterpreted by Kelly Chang,Co-owner and general manager of Sun Wah BBQSun Wah BBQ was founded by Mr. Cheng who immigrated from China. His Americanborn children who are now Sun Wah’s co-owners: son Michael and daughters Kelly andChef Laura, who trained at Kendall College. The children have one foot in Chineseculture and one foot in American, allowing them to convey Chinese table manners aspracticed at home.Kelly proposed this talk over a year ago. Since then, she has been testing herknowledge with Chinese elders who have affirmed she is more knowledgeable thanthey expected.Please arrive early to allow the program to proceed on time. If you wish to take ChineseBBQ home, order it upon arrival. This will be an intimate meal to allow discussion and demonstration.MenuBBQ combinationBoiled ChickenDragon EggplantSteamed Dover SoleSteamed Shrimp Paste Stuffed TofuStir Fried Mixed VegetablesBeef with BittermelonSteamed BBQ Pork Buns Beverages are a la carte. If you wish to order additional food, it will be served once the full menu has been served. It is suggested food ordered to take home be ordered early. *** Sun Wah BBQ5041 N. Broadway (just north of Argyle)Chicago, Illinois 60640 Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 6:30 pm Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, September 17, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Whys and Wheys of Wisconsin CheesePresented by Nicole Bujewski, Kristin Mitchell, Keith Burrows and Leslie DamasoWisconsin cheese is more than a local delicacy—it’s a national treasure. Join us from the historic town of Mineral Point, in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, for a look at The Wisconsin Whey—what the book is about, how it came to life, and why this landscape makes such exceptional dairy possible. Our storytellers come from a community steeped in cheesemaking history. They’ll share notes on gathering voices from the region, highlight revered makers and their craft, and offer a taste of the lore that gives Wisconsin its “cheesehead” pride—truly a compliment here.Nicole Bujewski is a pastry chef who trained and then taught at the French Pastry School in Chicago and operated leFlour, a neighborhood bakery in Chicago. Nicole founded The Book Kitchen, inside the Republic of Letters bookstore in Mineral Point, in 2024. At the Book Kitchen, Nicole teaches cooking classes, sharing her passion for the culinary arts with students and enthusiasts. Kristin Mitchell, a graphic designer with more than 30 years of experience, expanded her Mineral Point-based design business in 2011 by founding Little Creek Press, an independent publishing division dedicated to producing books of literary merit.Keith Burrows is a scientist and writer who has lived in the Driftless Area since 2007, and is co-owner of the Republic of Letters bookstore in Mineral Point. Leslie Damaso is a Filipino-American singer, musician, visual artist, poet, writer, teacher and co-owner of Republic of Letters.***Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, September 17, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Foods of the African DiasporaPresented by Rahim Muhammad and Magic Johnson,Mahari restaurant, Chicago’s Hyde ParkAmerica offers a melting pot of cuisines, with the foods from such countries as Mexico, Italy, France and China becoming as familiar to us as apple pie. But there’s an entire continent, Africa, where most of us have not explored its vast cuisine, let alone the cuisine of the African diaspora.Do join us as principals from the recently opened Mahari restaurant in Hyde Park talk about their culinary creations that pay homage to the diverse culture that has shaped their heritage; Mahari Chef Rahim Muhammad and special events coordinator Magic Johnson will take us on a culinary journey that celebrates the diverse traditions and foods of the African diaspora. They will weave together the flavors and traditions from Africa, the Caribbean, creole, Afro-Latina, and soul food cuisines to the comfort foods of the American South;Bios:Rahim Muhammad, executive chef, is a third-generation chef. Born in Chicago and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Chef “Rah” graduated from Chicago’s Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and launched his career as an apprentice to Chef Art Smith at Table 52.Magic Johnson is Director of Community and Culture at Mahari.Wednesday, August 27, 2025Recorded via Zoom onCONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking to the President’s Tastewith Adrian Miller and Deborah ChangCome join us to hear about the virtually unknown history of the many Asian heritage chefs who have prepared meals for U.S. presidents extending back more than a century and continuing to the present day. Yet many of their names are largely unknown.Our speakers, Adrian Miller, a two-time James Beard Award-winning author, and culinary authority Deborah Chang, will present stories from their just-published book, Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking to the President’s Taste.Their book uncovers the stories of these chefs who hailed from China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand; they were instrumental in preparing meals at state dinners, on presidential yachts, and at Camp David.During the presentation, Adrian and Deborah will spotlight five chefs they featured in their book, Their discussion will begin with the early immigrants who served on presidential yachts, and then delve into the life of Lee Ping Quan, the chef who served Presidents Harding and Coolidge. Their story will continue with the experiences of chefs at presidential retreats, rounding out with profiles of current and former White House chefs.Deborah, who adapted sixty recipes for today’s home kitchen, will also share insights on how these chefs have influenced fusion cuisine and American classics.Adrian Miller is a food writer and attorney. A two-time James Beard Award winner, his books include Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas, and Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. He received his A.B. in International Relations from Stanford University in 1991, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. In 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Denver Institute for Urban Studies and Adult College. From 1999 to 2001, Adrian served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America and went on to serve as a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. Since 2013, Adrian has been the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches. A certified barbecue judge, Adrian lives in Denver, Colorado.Deborah Chang, a former attorney, graduated from the Napa Valley Culinary School, cooked at numerous Bay Area restaurants, created award winning recipes for Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and the National Peanut Board. She was born and raised in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, where she wondered why almond chicken was the most popular dish at her parent’s restaurant, Dragon Inn. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Michigan Law School. Her career has included being an attorney, a tech executive, and most recently a career counselor.***Recorded via Zoom on May 21, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Legacy and Impact of the Farm-to-Table Movement in ChicagoChef Jason HammelCome join us as one of Chicago’s most iconic chefs, Jason Hammel, takes us back to the 1990s, tracing his journey from East Coast outsider to one of the Midwest’s most passionate advocates for hyper-local sourcing. He’ll recount the early days of the farm-to-table movement, the founding of Green City Market, and the rise of restaurants dedicated to local ingredients. Lula Café, his restaurant of 25 years, has grown in parallel step to this movement, and through stories from its early days, he’ll highlight the challenges and resistance that once stood in its way.But this conversation isn’t just about the past—it’s about the economic and ethical decisions chefs face when choosing where and how to source their ingredients. As Hammel enters his third decade in the industry, he’ll reflect on the movement’s impact: What has changed in the restaurant world and beyond? What progress has been made for local, organic producers? And what does the future hold for Lula, for chefs across the Midwest, and for the next evolution of farm-to-table dining?BIOGRAPHY: Jason Hammel is the executive chef and owner of Lula Cafe in Chicago, the Logan Square eatery known for its seasonal cuisine. His debut cookbook, The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories, was published by Phaidon in 2024.Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut, Hammel aspired to be a writer, not a chef. After graduating in 1994 with a degree in English, he traveled to Italy, where an accidental stay across the street from Florence’s central market foresaw his career as a chef dedicated to seasonality.In 2017 the Museum of Contemporary Art named Chef Hammel as executive chef/culinary curator for the museum’s new restaurant, Marisol, Hammel himself was named the Jean Banchet 2019 Chef of the Year, and in 2024 Lula Cafe was awarded for Outstanding Hospitality by the James Beard Foundation. Today Hammel splits his time between Lula, Marisol, and the non-profit food education group Pilot Light, which he co-founded in 2010.jasonhammel@lulacafe.com / instagramRecorded via Zoom on April 16, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Two Great Chefs: Chicago’s Evolution as a Food MeccaJohn Hogan and Tony MantuanoCome join us as two of Chicago’s most acclaimed chefs, John Hogan and Tony Mantuano, look back on their 40+ year careers in Europe and Chicago, and reveal how our city has evolved as a world class food destination since the 1980’s, the significant changes in the restaurant industry, the farm-to-table movement, and their vision of restaurants in the future.BIOSChef John Hogan began his career in the 1979 learning the craft of French cuisine in some of Chicago’s finest restaurants. In 1987 he was contacted by Chef Jean Joho at the four-star Everest. Chef Joho took Hogan under his tutelage and groomed him to run the kitchen. Later Chef Joho recommended Hogan to Georges “Kiki” Cuiance, where he spent the next five years developing his style of French food. Kiki’s Bistro is where he earned many accolades in both local and national press, He then was tapped by David Burke to run the Chicago outpost of Park Avenue. Later he fulfilled his dream of opening his own French restaurant, Savarin. When he opened Savarin, the Chicago Tribune named Hogan as one of the “Top 10 Chefs in Chicago. Following Savarin, Hogan joined Glenn Keefer, who was a well-regarded Chicago steak house legend and opened Keefer’s. After a successful thirteen year run, Hogan took a trip to London with his longtime friend, Tony Mantuano, where they together created the idea of a English style Roast House, River Roast, on the Chicago River. The eatery features whole roasted meats, and a charcuterie program. After being named Chef of the year in 2018 and inducted in to the Chicago Chef Hall of Fame, Hogan decided it was time to move on. He is currently pursuing his vision for the production and distribution of charcuterie, as well as a blues based television show,Chef Tony Mantuano has been credited as being among the first to bring fine Italian dining to Chicago at Spiaggia, one of the country’s most decorated Italian restaurants. He is respected as a mentor to others and has received 12 nominations from The James Beard Foundation, winning Best Chef Midwest in 2005. He was also honored by President Obama for his culinary contributions to diplomacy (and cooked at the White House as well!) Most recently he served as Food and Beverage Partner at Yolan, an Italian restaurant in Nashville that was voted the #1 restaurant in America by Food & Wine readers. He is also the co-author of Wine Bar Food, a celebration of the Mediterranean.Recorded via Zoom on February 19, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
How Vienna Changed Baking EverywhereRick Rodgers’ book, Kaffeehause: Exquisite Desserts from Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, has been in print for over two decades. Its longevity is primarily due to the luscious recipes, which are so different from those in the Franco-Italo canon.Also, readers are fascinated by the interesting story of the coffeehouse culture. In his presentation, Rick will discuss how the Viennese (it was not Marie Antoinette) brought the crescent roll (kipferl) to Paris, its transformation into the croissant, and subsequent conquering of the pastry world. In Europe, what we Americans call Danish are called Viennoiserie, but do you know the story behind the discrepancy? What famous dessert was the basis of a long and expensive lawsuit to determine the legal owner of the recipe? What is the difference between “masculine/feminine” and “sugar/flour” desserts on Viennese menu? Rick will also tell how he researched his book, and his work as a ghostwriter with many celebrities, chefs, and social media influencers.Rick Rodgers is the sole author, co-author, ghostwriters, or editor of over a hundred cookbooks, many of which have been nominated for Beard, IACP, and Gourmand Awards. He is also the recipient of Bon Appétit Magazine’s Food & Entertaining Award for Outstanding Culinary Teacher. He is currently consulting social media influencers as they transition to cookbook writing.Recorded via Zoom on Tuesday, January 7, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
How Vienna Changed Baking EverywhereRick Rodgers’ book, Kaffeehause: Exquisite Desserts from Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, has been in print for over two decades. Its longevity is primarily due to the luscious recipes, which are so different from those in the Franco-Italo canon.Also, readers are fascinated by the interesting story of the coffeehouse culture. In his presentation, Rick will discuss how the Viennese (it was not Marie Antoinette) brought the crescent roll (kipferl) to Paris, its transformation into the croissant, and subsequent conquering of the pastry world. In Europe, what we Americans call Danish are called Viennoiserie, but do you know the story behind the discrepancy? What famous dessert was the basis of a long and expensive lawsuit to determine the legal owner of the recipe? What is the difference between “masculine/feminine” and “sugar/flour” desserts on Viennese menu? Rick will also tell how he researched his book, and his work as a ghostwriter with many celebrities, chefs, and social media influencers.Rick Rodgers is the sole author, co-author, ghostwriters, or editor of over a hundred cookbooks, many of which have been nominated for Beard, IACP, and Gourmand Awards. He is also the recipient of Bon Appétit Magazine’s Food & Entertaining Award for Outstanding Culinary Teacher. He is currently consulting social media influencers as they transition to cookbook writing.Recorded via Zoom on Tuesday, January 7, 2025CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Chicago’s Astounding Food Evolution: 1990 ’til NowChef Dean ZanellaFounder and instructor, Tutore Italian Cooking SchoolThe past 35 years have seen a sea change in Chicago dining. And who better than to take us on a voyage through this period than a master chef who has sailed through this time?Come join us as chef Dean Zanella takes us from the local culinary world of 1990 to the present; where fine dining no longer requires white tablecloths; where non-European cuisine has been elevated; where chefs are the main focus of the restaurant; and where chefs work with local farmers. And he’ll dish on the impact of TV’s Food Network on our dining experience. Chef Zanella will also give his take on some of Chicago’s key chef influencers, like Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless, and more recently, Erik Williams. “They held their standards high and made people expand their palates,” he says.Bio: Chef Dean Zanella is a founder and instructor at Chicago’s Tutore Italian Cooking School. He has worked at some of Chicago’s finest restaurants, including Charlie Trotter’s and Gordon, in addition to helming such notable eateries as 312 Chicago, and Rhapsody Restaurant at the Chicago Symphony Center. He is a strong supporter of Chicago’s Green City Market.Recorded via Zoom on December 16, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Story of Chicago’s South Asians and Their FoodColleen Taylor SenChicago has the country’s third-largest urban population of South Asians (a community that includes Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Nepalis) – and a vibrant South Asian food scene.Colleen Taylor Sen will tell the story of this community from the early 20th century when a small community lived on the Far South Side to the present. She’ll also talk about the evolution of the city’s South Asian grocery stores and restaurants, including the transformation of Devon Avenue on the Far North Side from a mainly Jewish shopping district in the 1960s to a mecca for South Asian shoppers from all over the Midwest.Today, Chicago’s Indian food lovers can enjoy a wide range of cuisines from the simple fare of taxi drivers’ "dhabas" to a Michelin-starred temple of cuisine.Biography: Colleen Sen has presented many programs before the Culinary Historians of Chicago. A prolific author and editor, she has contributed free-lance articles to such publications as Travel and Leisure, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and was a regular participant in the Oxford Symposia on Food and Cookery. She has written eight books, among them Food Culture in India, Curry: A Global History, and Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. In 2017 Colleen coedited The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Her books have been translated into Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. She has also organized many culinary tours of Indian stores and has given talks and cooking demonstrations on Indian cuisine.Recorded via Zoom on December 3, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Leftovers A History of Food Waste & PreservationEleanor Barnett, PhDA third of all the food we produce goes to waste globally, and if all this needlessly discarded food were a country it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China and the US! How did we become such a wasteful society? What can we learn about building a sustainable food future by looking to the past?Based on Dr Eleanor Barnett’s newly-published book Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation, this talk will explore the many ingenious ways our ancestors sought to avoid food waste through preservation, recycling or otherwise disposing of food scraps. Beginning in the Tudor kitchen, it’s a delicious and disgusting story that takes us to medieval streets lined with butchers’ offal, that explores the world-changing inventions in preservation of the Industrial Revolution, the hidden history of Victorian street-food scavengers, the thrifty recipes of the World Wars, right through to the AI restaurants of the future. Through our leftovers, we learn a lot more about our culture and our shared history, from poverty and inequality to globalisation. If we are what we don’t eat, we are equally defined by what we don’t eat!Eleanor Barnett is a historian of food and religion with a PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK). She is currently a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Cardiff University in Wales, where her research uses food as a unique lens through which to view the daily lives, beliefs, and identities of ordinary people in the past. Her first book, Leftovers: A History of Food and Preservation has just been released in 2024, exploring the topical issue of wasting food from a historical lens that moves from the medieval era to the AI restaurants of the future! Her other area of expertise focuses on the links between food and religion in the early modern world, exploring shared meals to break down traditional Christian-centric notions of major themes from the Reformation to colonisation. As @historyeats on Instagram, Eleanor posts daily food history facts, stories, and art to a large international following . She is a regular contributor to public-facing media, including TV, podcasts, and radio, and writes the monthly food history column for BBC History Magazine.Recorded via Zoom on November 9, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Glory of Chicago-Style BBQDominique LeachWe’ve all heard of the classic BBQ styles from regions like Kansas City, Memphis or Texas. 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 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.Join us to hear Dominique discuss the origins of Chicago-style BBQ, its variations, and its future.Biography: Known as one of the Chicago’s leading BBQ chefs, Dominique Leach is a classically trained chef turned nationally recognized pitmaster. First garnering culinary experience in some of Chicago’s most prestigious kitchens under the direction of such chef icons as Tony Mantuano at Spiaggia, and Sarah Grueneberg at Monteverde, Leach then branched out with her wife Tanisha in 2016 to create her own catering company “Cater to You Events & Drop Offs.”Inspired by fond childhood memories of her grandmother, Betty King of Lexington, Mississippi, who filled the house with flavorful aromas of home-cooked meals, Dominique then took those aromas and applied techniques to launch a successful food truck, Lexington Betty Smoke House.Her expertise and soulful food would earn her a spot on The Food Network’s show “Chopped” and as a judge/contestant on Food Network Canada “Fire Masters,” recognition as the “Best Barbecue in Chicago” by Good Morning America, as well as a full brick-and-mortar home for Lexington Betty on Chicago’s South Side.Chef Leach and her wife’s persistence in a male-dominated industry have helped them to carve out a name for themselves in the culinary world in Chicago and beyond.Recorded via Zoom on October 30, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Sould of Jewish FoodPresented by Dylan Maysick, co-owner Diaspora DinnersLinks to Recipes @ CulinaryHistorians.org:Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate, Pistachio, and Orange BlossomHalloumi and Orange Salad with Pomegranate, Pistachio, and HerbsMontreal BagelsWhat is Jewish food? That is the question Dylan Maysick has been on a quest to answer through his Diaspora Dinner project, a Chicago-based series of dinners that explores the cuisines of the Jewish Diaspora.Dylan, a professional baker by trade, follows the common thread of what makes up Jewish food; and it’s a lot more than bagels, and chopped liver. He said that while his knowledge had been limited to Jewish deli foods and the greatest hits of Eastern European Jewish cuisine “I now know that Jewish cuisine represents a much more diverse set of recipes, cultures, and ingredients.” Come join us as Dylan serves a savory summary of the history of Jewish food from ancient times to the state of Jewish food culture in America today. (“Do Chinese food and Jewish food overlap on Christmas, only for that one special day?” Dylan asks.)***Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, May 22, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Meticulous Process of Recipe WritingRaeanne SarazenOne might think that writing a recipe is an easy task; just list some ingredients, their amounts and give some simple instructions on how to combine them, then roast, bake, boil or fry them. But it’s not that easy! Writing a recipe that takes a cook’s hand and guides them into turning out a delicious dish, takes great skill, with a large pinch of talent thrown in.Come join us as Raeanne Sarazen, registered dietitian and chef, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the grueling and glorious art of recipe writing. Raeanne will also delve into the history and evolution of recipes, the art of headnote writing, and the importance of nutrition standards.Raeanne will reference her recently published book, The Complete Recipe Writing Guide, which is an awards finalist at the International Association of Culinary Professionals.BIO: Raeanne Sarazen, a registered dietitian and chef, combines over 20 years of experience producing recipe content as a test kitchen professional, food writer, and editor. Her writing and recipes have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, Cooking Light, and Better Homes and Gardens, among other places. She is the author of The Complete Recipe Writing Guide, a comprehensive resource for food professionals on developing, writing, and publishing successful recipe content. Raeanne currently works as a consultant for major health organizations, nonprofits, and food media companies, incorporating her extensive knowledge and experience to help improve their policies, curriculum, and food and recipe content. Find Raeanne at RaeanneSarazen.com and on Instagram @rsarazen.Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday, September 18, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
My Life in Recipes: Food, Family and MemoriesPresented by Joan NathanJoan Nathan has been called the Jewish Julia Child, and is considered one of the world’s great authorities on Jewish cuisine. She is the author of twelve books, including the award winning Jewish Cooking in America and King Solomon’s Table.Come join us as Joan Nathan serves a buffet of tales from her latest and most personal book, My Life in Recipes/ Food Family and Memories. Joan uses recipes to look back at her own family’s history — their arrival in America from Germany; her childhood in postwar New York and Rhode Island; her years in Paris, and Israel, where she worked for Jerusalem’s mayor, Teddy Kollek.Along the way she earned a graduate degree from Harvard University, married a Washington attorney, had children, wrote for the New York Times, produced and hosted a PBS television series “Jewish Cooking in America”, and ultimately became “The Matriarch of Jewish Cooking”, according to the Jerusalem Post. So, gather ‘round to hear of a life well-lived, centered around all the foods Joan has come to love and share with the world.***Here’s a sampling of Joan’s favorites from My Life in Recipes on our website CulinaryHistorians.org:Pasta with Almond Pesto, Green Beans, Eggplant, and Cherry TomatoesHalibut Gefilte Terrine with Fresh HerbsPassover Pecan Lemon Torte with Lemon Curd FillingRugelach with Raspberry Walnut FillingRecorded via Zoom on Wednesday, August 14, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America Sarah B. FranklinCome 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, 2024CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
From Bean to Bar – Exploring the Complex World of ChocolatePresented by Adam CentamoreChocolate 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 ZoomCONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Ignite The Conversation: A Exploration Into Chicago-style BBQDominique 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 FooditorModerator: Catherine Lambrecht, Culinary Historians of ChicagoWe’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, 2024www.CulinaryHistorians.org
A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 RecipesVictoria Flexner and Jay ReifelIn 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, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPculinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISTculinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ewww.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Kwww.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presentculinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterculinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEwww.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ewww.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Delmonico WayMax TucciFrom Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of ChicagoI 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, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Feeding the Art Deco SpiritPresented by Teri Edelstein, PhDCover image: Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Paris: Librairie de la Construction moderne, 1930A 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, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
What’s behind Italy’s ingredients?Presented by Viola BuitoniCome 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 RecipesViola 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, 2023www.CulinaryHistorians.orgCONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Identification of Mushrooms: More than the sum of their partsPresented by Patrick Leacock, PhDThis 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, 2023IllinoisMyco.org
Madison's Magical MarketPresented by Terese Allen,Culinary Historian and writerCome 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. * ImageBIOGRAPHY: 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, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Much ado about masalas—a deep dive into Indian CuisineCome join us as a maven of masala, Nandita Godbole, explores India’s complex and delicious regional cuisines through its culinary backbone – its masalas (which, by the way, are a vast number of spice mixtures ground into a paste or powder for use in Indian cooking).Nandita will be dishing out a buffet of savory information on the micro cuisines of India, giving us a healthy serving of geopolitical histories that have shaped regional food identities. And she’ll liberally season her talk with her own culinary anecdotes.Nandita is drawing her story from her newly published, seventh cookbook, Masaleydaar: Classic Spice Indian Blends. She says it’s her “love letter” to the micro cuisines of India, The book explores nearly 50 spice blends and offers more than 100 recipes.Our own Culinary Historians member, Colleen Sen, an internationally renowned Indian authority herself, wrote the forward to the book. She calls it “a brilliant culmination of a lifetime of research, practice, thinking and talking about Indian food, an encyclopedia of information about spices and Indian food in general that can serve as a valuable reference work.”Nandita Godbole: instagram: @currycravingsMy Website: www.currycravingskitchen.comInstagram (food): www.Instagram.com/currycravingsInstagram (ceramics): www.Instagram.com/Mrttika_bynanditaDigital book is available on Kindle:https://bit.ly/3EhhwJwGooglePlay/Android: https://bit.ly/3Pk039WiBooks: https://bit.ly/45tPh6pPrint books can be purchased directly from my website: www.currycravingskitchen.com/inventoryI have uploaded the presentation itself into Google Drive, it is here:https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tbjdZy-HQEvon7vWYV4G6JKAtCNbCkSP/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109443269166842455632&rtpof=true&sd=trueRecorded via Zoom on August 30, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Paul Prud'homme, Dinner with the President
You all probably know of Alex Prud’homme as co-author of Julia Child’s best selling memoir, My Life in France. Come join us as Alex takes us into the White House to talk about his latest book, Dinner with the President. Alex will serve us a capsulated history of American food and politics, from the grim meals eaten by George Washington and his starving troops at Valley Forge, to Donald Trump’s burger banquets and Joe Biden’s “performance enhancing” ice cream—what they ate, why they ate it, and what it tells us about the state of the nation.
“At the White House, every meal, every bite, has consequences – some intended, some not,” Alex says.
“Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as U.S. presidents broke bread with friends or foe,” Alex says. “Thomas Jefferson’s nation building receptions in the new capitol, Washington, D.C.; Richard Nixon’s practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; and Jimmy Carter’s cakes and pies that fueled a détente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David.”
Alex will also detail overlooked figures, like George Washington’s enslaved chef, Hercules Posey, whose meals burnished the president’s reputation before the cook narrowly escaped to freedom; and pioneering First Ladies, such as Dolley Madison and Jackie Kennedy, who used food and entertaining to build political and social relationships.
“Food is not just fuel when it is served to the most powerful people in the world,” Alex says says. “It is a tool of communication, a lever of power and persuasion, a form of entertainment, and a symbol of the nation.”
You may purchase his book from your local bookseller or directly from his publisher.
Alex Prud’homme is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and many other publications. He coauthored with his aunt, Julia Child, her memoir, My Life in France, and has authored or coauthored: The French Chef in America, France is a Feast, Born Hungry, The Ripple Effect, Hydrofracking, The Cell Game, and Forewarned. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.
Recorded via Zoom on July 12, 2023
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Flora, Fauna and Foodways with Archivist Nancy Webster
Researching the early 20th century images of local flora and fauna by Jesse Lowe Smith and E. E. Parratt led to further investigation. Twenty-first century publications including Andreas Viestad’s Dinner in Rome a History of the world in one Meal and Arbres et arbustes sauvages des trottoirs toulousains (Wild trees and plants and shrubs of the sidewalks of Toulouse) by Boris Presseq inspired further research of these plants as food sources for humans. We will share selected early 20th century, local images and documentation of these plants’ in early recipes.
Nancy Webster began working with historical collections in Highland Park, Illinois in 2010 when she launched the community archives program with a grant from the National Archives’ National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Since beginning the community archives program in collaboration with the NHPRC, she has written and managed $50,000.00 in local and Illinois state grants for digitization and other history and culture projects. She teaches at Dominican University as an adjunct instructor, currently teaching the Advanced Archives seminar. Previously, she worked at the Bentley Library, the Chicago History Museum and Molex Connector Corporation. She received her MILS and BA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Prior to her 30 year career as an archivist Webster worked as a translator, political science researcher, au pair, waitperson, and bartender. Her years working in restaurants provided a base for this project.
Recorded via Zoom on June 29, 2023
Live from Rome: A Slice of Rice - Italian Style Valentina Masotti (with Viola Buitoni)
Our illustrious speaker, Valentina Masotti, rice sommelier, comes to us from her home in Rome, Italy, where she will serve up a cornucopia of delectable rice history, teach us about the different classifications of rice, and demonstrate how to properly prepare risotto. Here’s what’s on our rice guru’s menu:
- What kind of rice is cultivated in Europe and in Italy.
- What should we use for different recipes? (We’ll discover the European classification to distinguish the different types.)
- The milling process: white rice and whole rice.
- Round rice: from soups to dessert.
- Sushi rice: crystalline round grain.
- Long B grain for salads and pilaf. Not only Basmati!
- Long A grain for risotto.
- Black whole rice and red whole rice.
- The international history of risotto.
- How to prepare risotto in 4 steps.
Bio: Valentina Masotti is considered one of Italy’s most respected food authorities, She is both a certified Rice Sommelier and Wine Sommelier, has published cookbooks on rice, and offers online classes in Italian and English.
Instagram: @rice_sommelier www.facebook.com/thericesommelier e-mail: Masottiv@gmail.com https://www.ricesommelier.com/ (Select English version.)
Recorded on Zoom on June 10, 2023 from Rome, Italy
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Colombian Exchange Hit WorldLike Culinary CometPresented by Bill St. JohnWhat we call the Colombian Exchange was that vast interchange of foodstuffs (and peoples, non-edible plants, technology, cultures, diseases and various animals) between the New World and the Old World that began in 1492 A.D. when Columbus “reunited” those two hemispheres.Come join us as culinary historian Bill St. John serves us the story of the Exchange’s most noteworthy foods: maize, the potato and tomato, cacao, many squashes and beans, the chicken, turkey and the hog.“Note that the exchanges were in both directions” Bill says. “The tomato and turkey, East, for example; in their turns, the chicken and hog, West—and the exchanges or swaps changed each hemisphere’s diet massively and forever.”Some samplings from Bill’s talk:- The North American colonies didn’t even obtain the tomato from its native (what we now call) Mexico; it came to us from British settlers here. And from the likes of Thomas Jefferson, who planted tomatoes at Monticello in 1781.- Unlike the dog, about which you could argue we domesticated it (from the wolf), I like to think that the pig domesticated us.- Of all the foods that Columbus and his peripatetic descendants brought from the New World to the Old——none since has been more widely planted globally than maize (Zea mays), what we call corn. It remains the most important grain consumed by humans in Latin America (and also in Africa), and the second most consumed on earth. But oddly, of the three global grain crops to include rice and wheat, it is the only one not grown primarily for direct human consumption.- Because the turkey, brought back to Spain by Columbus, was from Honduras, where he landed on his fourth voyage, it was of the strain and progeny of the original turkey flocks from Mexico and the (now) Southwestern United States. Because it was so readily accepted, propagated, and cooked with delight by the English and other Europeans, when it was brought (back) to the New World by the English in the late 1580s and into the early 1600s, it was that turkey to make the trip.BIOGRAPHY: During his long career, Bill St. John has worked in the kitchen on the Orient-Express, interviewed the nuns who cook for the Pope, and offered his shoulder as a resting place for a napping Julia Child (twice!) during boring meetings.He has written about food for nearly 50 years, including a five-year stint at Tribune Newspapers where he covered wine and food pairing. He also lectured on history, food, wine and religion for students from the University of Chicago Graham School.Bill has returned to his native Denver, where he was a newspaper and magazine journalist, television reporter and college professor. He’ll be “Zooming” to us from his Colorado home.https://www.billstjohn.com/Recorded via Zoom on May 31, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Fieldwork: A Forager’s MemoirPresented by Iliana ReganAs Regan explores the ancient landscape of Michigan’s boreal forest, her stories of the land, its creatures, and its dazzling profusion of plant and vegetable life are interspersed with efforts to make a home and a business of an inn that’s suddenly, as of their first full season there in 2020, empty of guests due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She discovers where the wild blueberry bushes bear tiny fruit, where to gather wood sorrel, and where and when the land’s different mushroom species appear—even as surrounding parcels of land are suddenly and violently decimated by logging crews that obliterate plant life and drive away the area’s birds.Iliana Regan is a Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur in the Hiawatha National Forest, owner of The Milkweed Inn in Wetmore, Michigan. She received one Michelin star for each year she owned and operated Elizabeth Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois from 2012-2020.Regan was born (1979) in Merrillville, Indiana. Her mother was a scratch cook and her steelworker father was a gardener. She and her three older sisters grew up on a 10-acre farm. She studied chemistry at Indiana University Bloomington before earning a degree in Creative writing at Columbia College Chicago. In the spring of 2022 she earned her MFAW from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.Recorded via Zoom on May 1, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown BitesPresented by Monica Eng and David HammondChicago food shows its true depth in classic dishes conceived in the kitchens of immigrant innovators, neighborhood entrepreneurs, and mom-and-pop visionaries.Monica Eng and David Hammond draw on decades of exploring the city’s food landscape to serve up thirty can’t-miss eats found in all corners of Chicago. From Mild Sauce to the Jibarito and from Taffy Grapes to Steak and Lemonade, Eng and Hammond present stories of the people and places behind each dish while illuminating how these local favorites reflect the multifaceted history of the city and the people who live there.Monica Eng is a reporter for Axios Chicago and co-host of The Chewing Podcast. Before joining Axios, Monica was food, health and Curious City reporter for WBEZ. For 16 years Eng was a food, culture and watchdog-investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune. She has been nominated for the James Beard Award five times for her good writing.David Hammond, born in Chicago, is a father of three, a former college professor and corporate communications consultant. He has written food reviews for Chicago Reader and TimeOut, as well as the Food Detective column for the Chicago Sun-Times; he is a co-founder of LTHForum.com, the Chicago culinary chat site, and he has produced and hosted the Sound Bites series on Chicago Public Radio. He is currently Dining & Drinking Editor at Newcity, Chicago, a regular contributor to Oak Park’s Wednesday Journal, Chicago Tribune, Better, and a number of other local and national publications.Recorded via Zoom on April 6, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
What you probably didn’t know about Indian foodPresented by Colleen SenWhat ‘ethnic food” is universally popular among Indians?Who is known as India’s Julia Child?What Italian restaurateur opened a restaurant called “the Maxim’s of the East?”How are lichens used in Indian cuisine? How do Indian Jews celebrate Purim?Chicago-based Indian food authority and author Colleen Sen will answer these and many more questions when she dishes on the stories in her soon-to-be published work, the new Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine. Colleen was one of three editors of this massive 450-page tome that has more than 200 entries written by leading food writers in India and abroad. The entries cover city and state cuisines, famous restaurants, iconic dishes, food and medicine, cooking utensils, and much more.Biography: Colleen Sen has presented many programs before the Culinary Historians of Chicago. A prolific author and editor, she has contributed free-lance articles to such publications as Travel and Leisure, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and was a regular participant in the Oxford Symposia on Food and Cookery. She has written eight books, among them Food Culture in India, Curry: A Global History, and Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India. In 2017 Colleen coedited The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Her books have been translated into Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. She has also organized many culinary tours of Indian stores and has given talks and cooking demonstrations on Indian cuisine.The pricing of the The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine is intended for academic institutions. If there are at least three requests for this book at your local library, it increases the likelihood it will be ordered:The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian CuisinePublisher : Bloomsbury Academic (February 23, 2023)ISBN-10 : 1350128635Recorded via Zoom on March 29, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Multiple Heritages of Irish Soda BreadPresented by Lucy Long, PhDSoda bread, a quick bread using baking soda as the primary rising agent, is closely associated in the U.S. with Ireland. Its history and meanings, however, are much more complicated—and tasty—than the sweet loaf with raisins that is usually found around St Patrick’s Day in March.This talk discusses the various forms this bread takes in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the U.S., exploring how it represents different notions of Irish heritage in each of those countries. Recipes will be made available.Lucy M. Long directs the non-profit Center for Food and Culture (www.foodandculture.org) and teaches adjunct in American studies, ethnic studies, folklore, nutrition, and tourism at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. With a PhD in Folklore and Folklife (University of Pennsylvania), she has been involved in humanities-based research on food as a medium for creating meaning, identity, and community since the 1980s. She has published extensively on food topics, including Culinary Tourism (2004), Regional American Food Culture (2009), The Food and Folklore Reader ( 2015), Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia (2015, 2016), Honey: A Global History (2017) and Comfort Food Meals and Meanings (2017) and has produced numerous documentaries and community programs on a variety of food-related subjects and issues.Recorded on March 13, 2023 via Zoom.CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Advances in science and community science are positively impacting fungal conservationPresented by Greg Mueller, PhDGreg will discuss how advances in science and community science are positively impacting fungal conservation. This presentation is for all audiences, and no prior knowledge of mycology or biology will be needed to thoroughly enjoy it.Gregory M. Mueller, Ph.D. is Negaunee Chief Scientist and Vice President of Science at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He has been involved with the Illinois Mycological Association nearly 40 years. Among Greg's many interests and duties, he serves as Chair of the ”Fungal Conservation Committee” and the “Mushrooms, Brackets, and Puffballs” Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission. Through this work he acts as a coordinator of the Global Fungal Red List Initiative.http://www.chicagobotanic.org/researc...Recorded via Zoom on March 6, 2023www.IllinoisMyco.org
History of American Pies and Illinois is Well RepresentedPresented by Catherine LambrechtPies are as American as pizza is American: we took a great idea, adapted it to our needs and ran with it. Our ancestors used what they had available locally and made the most from it. You might be thinking that pies are just for dessert, but for our American ancestors, they were often considered survival food. Sometimes, they ate pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner for months at a time.Catherine Lambrecht, who achieved Grand Champion and Best of Show at the Lake County Fair for apple pie, will present the history of pies in America and our state. Illinois’ contribution to our country’s pie culture includes the following: Pumpkin Pie is Illinois’ State Pie, with over 90 percent of canned pumpkin grown in Illinois The pecan pie Did you know Johnny Appleseed roamed our state? Apples originating in Kazakhstan are an introduced crop everywhere in the Americas. Lambrecht will share a story from the Family Heirloom Recipe Contest at the Illinois State Fair of love, family, a special pie, and a gift of immeasurable value.Catherine Lambrecht is a veteran of culinary competitions at the Lake County and Illinois State Fairs, a former University of Illinois Extension volunteer whose specialties were Master Food Preserver and Master Gardner, and a founder of Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, Chicago Foodways Roundtable (sister organization to Culinary Historians of Chicago) and LTHforum.com, a Chicago culinary chat site. Catherine is also program director for the Highland Park Historical Society and Illinois Mycological Association (Mushroom Club) and editor of Heirloom Recipes from the Illinois State Fair, A Bicentennial Project. Since 2020, an Illinois Road Scholar speaker’s bureau for Illinois Humanities."I love my work. I don’t count the hours. I think my work has value." A quote by a French farmer recorded by Patricia Wells.Recorded at the Highland Park Public Library on February 23, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied FranceKitty MorseIn our speaker’s own words: “I’d never come across another suitcase quite like it. But what was the tattered black leather valise doing there, hidden behind a crocheted comforter on the top shelf of my late mother’s closet? The tarnished brass locking mechanism had already been sprung.”… Looking up at me from inside la petite valise was a photographic portrait of a teenage girl dressed in the traditional Alsatian attire of the late 1800s, complete with an oversized black bow in her hair. Blanche Lévy-Neymarck, my great grandmother and namesake. Her portrait partially hid a pocket-size doctor’s notebook titled Carnet Médical 1936, the daily journal of Doctor Prosper Lévy, my great-grandfather, a distinguished army surgeon twice the recipient of the Legion of Honor, that commemorated the advance of the Germans on Eastern France from April to December 1940. As I dug deeper, I retrieved another notebook containing close to 120 of Blanche’s handwritten recipes. This gave rise to the question: what would I do with all the information? The answer became clear. I would publish Prosper’s journal along with Blanche’s recipes—as a way to memorialize and breathe life back into a family so ruthlessly destroyed. I translated journal and recipes from the French, and kitchen-tested the dishes for the American kitchen. My husband, Owen Morse, provided the food photography for Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France.BiographyKitty Morse was born in Casablanca, Morocco, of a French mother and British father, and emigrated to the United States in 1964. She began catering Moroccan parties while studying for her Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Catering and giving Moroccan cooking classes eventually led to writing ten cookbooks, including the award-winning Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen, The vegetarian table: North Africa, and The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco. Her first memoir, Mint Tea and Minarets: a Banquet of Moroccan Memories, which she translated into French as Le Riad au Bord de l’Oued, were recipients of a Gourmet World Cookbook Award.Kitty’s career as a food writer, cooking instructor, and tour leader spans more than three decades. She has contributed articles in French and English to leading publications in the US and abroad, and has been a guest on local and national television stations. She is a staff writer for winedineandtravel.com, an award-winning online travel magazine. Kitty has lectured around the country on Moroccan cuisine and culture. One of the highlights of her career was cooking alongside Julia Child to benefit the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Kitty lives in Vista, CA.To order books: Unsigned copies of Bitter Sweet are listed on Amazon.com as a preorder. The books will be available in March 2023.For a signed copy shipped directly, please contact Kitty Morse at kitty@kittymorse.com. Shipping via media mail in the US only. Send a check for $37.50 made out to Kitty Morse, La Caravane Publishing, P.O. Box 433, Vista CA 92083.Recorded via Zoom on February 15, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Mooooving Day – Transhumance and the Impact on Dairy CulturesPresented by Adam CentamoreEvery spring, Swiss dairy farmer Béat Piller escorts his 56 cows up the slope of the 6,000-foot Alp Vounetz to a grazing pasture and hand-built stable. They will stay there for the next six months, making milk and cheese every single day. In late autumn, they will descend back down to the valley where his family lives year-round. It’s a routine that has existed for millenia.This seasonal shifting, called transhumance, is not uniquely Swiss. Similar journeys are found in Italy, Argentina, France, Brazil…pretty much everywhere on earth where herd animals and mountains or highlands co-exist. While it may seem like a lot of work to simply let animals graze on “the grass up there”, its actually a brilliant solution designed to help valley communities grow and thrive. Do join us to learn more about this elegant cultural practice with culinary educator and author Adam Centamore. He’ll discuss the history, how it works, and why it matters. Beyond the nuts and bolts of transhumance, Adam will also share some secrets of how seasonal grazing impacts some of the world’s favorite alpine cheeses like Swiss Gruyère, Emmentaler, and French Comté, and how to seek out these curdy treasures. Using pictures, stories, and artifacts from his first-hand experiences with transhumance, Adam will share his love of cheese, culture, and culinary travel in what is sure to be an entertaining, informative evening. Notes from the presentation:Adam Centamore: adam@eatdrinklearn.com www.eatdrinklearn.com @eatdrinklearnWine:Chignin (Jacquere), Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, legit Pinot Grigoi, Poulsard, Lagrein, Pinot Nero, Schiavawww.formaggiokitchen.comCheeses mentioned: Gruyere Alpage, Comté, Grand Cru, Extra Grand CruRecorded via Zoom on January 25, 2023CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/member...✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-ou...✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0...✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHist...✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcas...✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0...✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
TrufflesPresented by Susi Gott SéguretNature’s most lauded culinary treasures—are subterranean fungi with magical properties which bring new dimensions to countless dishes.Cooking with Truffles: A Chef’s Guide demystifies the truffle for the professional and the home chef, with over 150 unique and tantalizing recipes to suit every palate and occasion, featuring a variety of recipes, ranging from the simple to the sublime. And if you should happen to find yourself without a truffle in your pantry, the recipes stand well on their own!Join author Susi Gott Séguret on Tuesday evening, January 10th, for an introduction to truffle history—both at home and abroad—as well as a bit of truffle science and geography, and notes on taste profiles and seasonality. If you’ve ever been curious about truffles, here’s your chance to satisfy your yearnings!Susi Gott Séguret, author, chef, fiddler, forager, hails from Madison County, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A Certified Culinary Professional and Certified Specialist of Wine, with a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims, Susi is the founder and director of the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts, which convenes four times a year, in Asheville, Ithaca, Sonoma, and Paris. Susi also orchestrates a series of wine dinners known as the Asheville Wine Experience; the yearly gustatory extravaganza, the Asheville Truffle Experience; and a series of foraging-cooking-dining events called the Appalachian Culinary Experience.Susi has authored a quartet of books: Appalachian Appetite, Child of the Woods, Cooking with Truffles, and A Chef’s Book of Favorite Culinary Quotations.Book references:- There's a delightful little book, "Truffle Hound" by Rowan Jacobsen that has tales about growing and hunting truffles around the world as well as very funny ones about training truffle hounds.- Truffle Underground, by Ryan Jacobs about Truffle related crimeMovie references:- Pig, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11003218/- The Truffle Hunters, https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/thetrufflehuntersRecorded via Zoom on January 10th, 2022CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Soul Food Restaurants & the Civil Rights EraPresented by Dave Hoekstra and Paul NathinDr. Martin Luther King Jr. loved the fried catfish and lemon icebox pie at Memphis’s Four Way restaurant. Beloved nonagenarian chef Leah Chase introduced George W. Bush to baked cheese grits and scolded Barack Obama for putting Tabasco sauce on her gumbo at New Orleans’s Dooky Chase’s. When SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael asked Ben’s Chili Bowl owners Ben and Virginia Ali to keep the restaurant open during the 1968 Washington, DC, riots, they obliged, feeding police, firefighters, and student activists as they worked together to quell the violence.Celebrated former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Dave Hoekstra unearths these stories and hundreds more as he travels, tastes, and talks his way through twenty of America’s best, liveliest, and most historically significant soul food restaurants. Following the “soul food corridor” from the South through northern industrial cities, The People’s Place gives voice to the remarkable chefs, workers, and small business owners (often women) who provided sustenance and a safe haven for civil rights pioneers, not to mention presidents and politicians; music, film, and sports legends; and countless everyday, working-class people. Dave Hoekstra was a Chicago Sun-Times staff writer from 1985-2014. His work has also appeared in Playboy magazine, the Chicago Reader and the Journal of Country Music. Ticket To Everywhere, his collection of Sun-Times travel columns, was published by Lake Claremont Press. He also wrote Farm Aid: A Song For America and contributor to The Unofficial Guide To Chicago.Recorded at Kendall College, School of Culinary Arts on February 20, 2016
Last Kitchen Tour at the Butz House, March 22, 2015Conducted by Leah AxelrodLeah Axelord, charter member and ex-president of the Highland Park Historical Society, conducts the last tour of the period kitchen before the museum closed.Recorded at the Highland Park Historical Society on March 22, 2015.www.HighlandParkHistory.org
The Turkey, An American StoryAndrew F. Smith“Talking turkey” about the bird you thought you knew. Fondly remembered as the centerpiece of family Thanksgiving reunions, the turkey is a cultural symbol as well as a multi-billion dollar industry. As a bird, dinner, commodity, and as a national icon, the turkey has become as American as the bald eagle (with which it actually competed for supremacy on national insignias). Food historian Andrew F. Smith’s sweeping and multifaceted history of Meleagris gallopavo separates fact from fiction. Smith presents the turkey in ten courses, beginning with the bird itself (actually several different species of turkey) flying through the wild. Learn practically every aspect of the iconic bird, including the wild turkey in early America, how it came to be called “turkey,” domestication, turkey mating habits, expansion into Europe, stuffing, conditions in modern industrial turkey factories, its surprising commercial history of boom and bust, and its eventual ascension to holiday mainstay. BIOGRAPHY: Andrew F. Smith has taught food studies courses at the New School University since 1996. He is currently teaching an undergraduate course online “Zero Food Waste.” Andrew is the editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, and is the author or editor of 33 books. His most recent works include the three-volume Food in America (2017), Fast Food: The Good, the Bad and the Hungry (2016), and Why Waste Food? (2020). He serves as the series editor for both the “Edible Series” and the “Food Controversies Series” at Reaktion Books in the United Kingdom.CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Rose Levy Beranbaum: The Cookie BibleHer work can certainly be described as “biblical.” And Rose Levy Beranbaum is certainly one of the most sacred figures in all of cookbook publishing. Please join us as Rose delivers a sweet sermon about her latest scripture, The Cookie Bible. And she’ll do a lot more than tell us how a cookie crumbles. Just sit tight in your pew as Rose regales us with crisp comments about cookie history, her own history, and then preaches baking tips that will save your soul. And be sure to offer your kitchen questions to Rose. Her answers will surely prove to be a blessing. Amen!Bio: Rose Levy Beranbaum has been called the “Diva of Desserts” and “the most meticulous cook who ever lived.” She is an award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, including The Cake Bible, which is now in its astounding 60 th printing. She is a popular guest on major TV, such as The Today Show, Martha Stewart, The Food Network and PBS. And she’s a frequent contributor to The New York Times and all the major food magazines.Rose pioneered the reverse creaming technique of cake-making. In this process, the fat and flour are mixed first before adding the remaining ingredients. By coating the flour in fat, gluten development is inhibited, helping to prevent toughness. This is in contrast to the usual creaming technique, which first mixes fat and sugar.CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Chinese Home Cooking with The Woks of LifeSarah and Kaitlin LeungFor much of recent memory, Chinese food was largely the domain of restaurant kitchens or behind the closed doors of Chinese households—foreign at times even to younger generations wanting to recreate the tastes of home.Today, Chinese home cooking in America is excitingly in flux. Never before has Chinese food been so present in our home kitchens. Along with their parents, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung run the popular Chinese cooking blog The Woks of Life, which has helped fuel the popularity of Chinese home cooking. In this virtual Chicago Foodways Roundtable, Sarah and Kaitlin will share more on the evolution of Chinese home cooking from their experience developing recipes for their blog and new cookbook, The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family.Founded in 2013, The Woks of Life began as a quest to document one family’s history through food and has become the most popular online resource for Chinese cooking in English, recording generations of recipes for millions of home cooks.ImageBill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung have been featured on PBS, Food Network Digital, Magnolia Network, Good Morning America, as well as The New York Times, Eater, and many other publications. Their cookbook, The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family is a New York Times and USA Today Best Seller. The family lives in New Jersey where they cook, write, and photograph recipes together—and continue their eternal debate over what’s for dinner.Recorded via Zoom on December 8, 2022CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO✔ MEMBERSHIPhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/✔ EMAIL LISThttp://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/✔ S U B S C R I B Ehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ F A C E B O O Khttps://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago✔ PODCAST2008 to Presenthttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/By Presenterhttps://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/✔ YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w✔ W E B S I T Ehttps://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Naomi Duguid, A Salty Talk
“Salt”, as Naomi Duguid says, “is the only food we all need.” Come join us as this award-winning writer takes a deep dive into the miracle of salt and its essential role in preserving, fermenting, and transforming food. And she will dish out a generous serving of salt history, harvesting methods and recipes as she quotes from her just-published book, The Miracle of Salt.
“In pre-modern times, access to salt in various forms depended on geography and politics: wars were fought over access,” she says. “Humans around the world have used salt as an essential tool for survival; it all gives me a sense of wonder at human creativity and inventiveness.”
BIO: A former lawyer, Naomi Duguid is a food writer, traveler, and photographer. In her work she explores daily home-cooked foods in their cultural context through stories, recipes, and photographs. Her previous books include Burma: Rivers of Flavor (2012) and Taste of Persia: Culinary Travels in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Kurdistan (2016).
She is also the co-author of six other award-winning books of food and travel.
Recorded via Zoom on November 30, 2022
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From ‘Peanut Weddings’ to ‘Beef Stands’: The Socio-Culinary History of Chicago’s ‘Italian Beef’
Presented by Anthony F. Buccini, PhD
Italian Americans have contributed a considerable number of portable fast foods to regional and local cuisines around the United States, some of which have become extremely popular at the national level. One such food which, despite its frequent discussion in recent food-related media, has remained very much a local dish is Chicago’s ‘Italian beef’. As a sandwich filled with thin slices of roasted beef, this product at first blush looks to be an Italian-American take on the mainstream Anglo-American roast beef sandwich, and popular food writers have accordingly sought its origins in terms of some single ‘inventor’ whose culinary and entrepreneurial stroke of genius came to be imitated by other small entrepreneurs and thus the dish gradually became established throughout the city and ultimately its suburbs. The idea of seeking an individual responsible for the invention of a given dish is common but often misguided, and in the case of Italian beef it is especially so. My own analysis of the issue of the origins of Chicago’s ‘beef sandwich’, based in part on my knowledge of Italian and Italian-American cookery and in part on decades of interactions with older lifelong residents of the Taylor Street neighbourhood, where Italian beef first arose as a fast food, indicates, however, that today’s messy sandwich is a commercial reflection of a festive dish which itself derives directly from a traditional method of preparing meat; in essence, this dish was brought to America by immigrants from southern Italy and more specifically from Naples and its surrounding area. Of particular interest here are the socio-culinary and economic aspects of this bit of Italian-American food history.
Anthony F. Buccini studied at Columbia University (B.A.) and Cornell University (Ph.D. 1992, Germanic Linguistics); he also studied and later conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He taught for many years in various capacities at the University of Chicago (Germanic Languages and Literatures, Linguistics, the College); his current research focusses on Mediterranean and Atlantic World foodways. Buccini is a two-time winner of the Sophie Coe Prize in Food History (2005, 2018). https://anthonybuccini.com
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The Secret House Fungi in the Built Environment
Presented by Keith Seifert Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
We often overlook the built environment as a biological system, partly because we design our shelters to protect us from the climate and competing organisms. Houses and other buildings contain several sub-environments, which vary from location to location. The outer walls and roof, the wooden or metal skeletons that support the structures, the interior surfaces and flooring each have their own distinct mycota. Material introduced into the house, like furniture, bedding, houseplants, food, compost, and human, pet and rodent inhabitants also carry fungi that might become resident. Most parts of the house are like a desert and play host to xerophiles, fungi that do not require much moisture. Symbioses occur between some xerophilic moulds and dust mites (and possibly some insects). The abundant moisture and higher humidity of kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms are like tropical rain forests. Although many of the species are benign, understanding the biology of the fungi in a building is critical. The health of occupants can be affected by fungal spores, β-glucan containing hyphal fragments, or volatile organic compounds that cause allergies or asthma, especially in children. Fungal populations may change dramatically if plumbing systems leak, and spores can be distributed widely by air handling systems. This can have serious consequences in public or multiple dwelling buildings. Studies of indoor microbiomes are relevant to the larger topics of island biogeography and urban biology. In addition, events that concern us on a planetary scale, such as the phenomenon of invasive species, sometimes also occur in the built environment. However, its direct relevance to human health suggests the ecology of buildings deserves much more study.
Keith Seifert is the author of the recent book The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi, which takes readers on a fantastic voyage through the world of microscopic fungi. He spent his career as a Research Scientist for Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa as a mycologist specializing in the identification and classification of microscopic fungi that produce toxins in crops and foods. His academic publications include more than 250 scientific papers and six books. From 2014-2018, he was the President of the International Mycological Association, was the chair of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi, and was an executive editor of the scientific journal Mycologia. He retired in 2019 and is now an adjunct professor at Carleton University in Ottawa. As a writer and speaker, Keith combines humour and philosophy to explore the interactions between science, the humanities, history and society. The stories in his book show the positive and negative effects of fungi on our forests, farms, food and drink, homes, bodies and human economic activities.
If you have any questions, please direct them to Illinois Mycological Association illinoismyco@gmail.com.
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Recorded via Zoom on November 14, 2022
Savoring Appalachia Susi Gott Séguret
When asked which cuisine most typifies America, chefs are bound to tell you it stems from the South. From the luscious belly of our nation, the mountains where sweet corn is grown and the rivers where trout flashes its rainbow colors, all the way down to the Mississippi Delta, the South has a gift for capturing both our hearts and our taste buds.
If the South is the heart of America, Appalachia is the heart of the South. It has been said that to understand America, you must first understand Appalachia. Edgar Allen Poe preferred Appalachia to America as a name for a country of enterprising immigrants.
Join Susi Gott Séguret for an adventure into the soul of the Appalachian Mountains. Susi will dish out a program of stories and song, recipes, and her own fiddle playing. Whet your appetite as you savor the sweetness of the ballads and ingredients which define this region of rare history.
BIO: Susi Gott Séguret, author, chef, fiddler, forager, hails from Madison County, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A Certified Culinary Professional and Certified Specialist of Wine, with a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims, Susi is the founder and director of the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts. The school convenes four times a year; in Asheville, Ithaca, Sonoma, and Paris. Susi also orchestrates a series of wine dinners known as the Asheville Wine Experience; and a series of foraging-cooking-dining events called the Appalachian Culinary Experience.
Susi has authored a quartet of books: Appalachian Appetite, Child of the Woods, Cooking with Truffles, and A Chef’s Book of Favorite Culinary Quotations.
http://www.susigott.com/index.html
Recorded via Zoom on October 25, 2022
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Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron Sam Bilton
Saffron has allured us with its golden hues throughout time. It was the darling of the Medieval kitchen, the saviour of the apothecary’s chest and gave cloth a regal glow. Unlike many spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, saffron can be successfully grown in England. From the middle ages through to the eighteenth century there was a thriving saffron industry in this country. Some people even claimed English saffron was the best to be found in the world. So renowned was the town of Chipping Walden for saffron production that it adopted the spice’s name at some point during the fifteenth century (it is now known as Saffron Walden). Despite its expense, saffron was used extensively in British cookery particularly during the medieval era. It was also valued for its medicinal properties and was said to cure everything from melancholy to the plague. However, as tastes change our ardour for saffron waned and so with it the need and desire to farm it. By the end of the nineteenth century saffron production in England had all but disappeared, although there is a current day revival. Saffron is now a spice more commonly associated with ‘exotic’ dishes from distant climes. Given its lavish reputation (saffron is the most expensive spice in the world) it is no wonder that most people do not have it in their spice cupboard.
Sam Bilton is a food historian, who runs the Repast Supper Club, food events with a historical theme. She is also a food and drink writer, with articles appearing in magazines and online, with English Heritage, and she works on historical recipes, recreating them for the modern day, including an eighteenth-century recipe for a Bride Cake. Sam is a member of the Guild of Food Writers Committee.
Recorded via Zoom on October 1, 2022
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The Pie Must Go On — An American Pie Story
Presented by Catherine Lambrecht
Pies are as American as pizza is American: we took a great idea, adapted it to our needs and ran with it. They used what they had available locally and made the most from it. In the Northeast and Midwest, it was apples; in the South it was molasses pies, in Florida the Key Lime Pie and the Southwest came nut pies. Apple pies were not always dessert, our American ancestors considered them survival food often eating pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner for six month stretches.
This History of American Pies was originally presented to Culinary Historians of Chicago’s, ‘Munching Your Way Through the Midwest: Celebrating the History of America’s Food and Foodways.’ This symposium introduced the newly published Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink.
Catherine Lambrecht is a founder and moderator of LTHforum.com, the Chicago-based culinary chat site. A founder of Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance dedicated to celebrating, exploring and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest. Every month she organizes programs for Chicago Foodways Roundtable of Culinary Historians of Chicago.
Recorded at Lexington College on November 19, 2011 by WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified.
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What Ewe Always Wanted to Know About Lamb Farming In The U.S. Presented by John and Sukey Jamison, owners, Jamison Farm, Latrobe, Pa.
From Scott Warner, president, Culinary Historians of Chicago:
As a kid, I was always hesitant when it came to eating lamb chops; too often they were greasy and usually had an unpleasant “lamby” taste. In the last few years however, the lamb chops I’ve been buying from my local grocery store have been meaty, juicy and non “lamby” tasting.
But it wasn’t until I met lamb farmers John and Sukey Jamison this past spring (at the International Association of Culinary Professionals Annual Conference in Pittsburgh), that I fully realized my new addiction to lamb chops was because I’ve now been eating grass-fed rather than corn-fed lamb.
I had this lamb epiphany when I chatted with the Jamisons as they were signing copies of their recently published book, “Coyotes in the Pasture and Wolves at the Door.” This book of recipes and reminiscences tells how, in the early 80’s, they became entranced with an old stone house in rural Pennsylvania. They wanted to buy it, but the owner, a farmer, wouldn’t sell it without the 210 grassy acres it sat on. So they bought the house, acres and all, and became accidental lamb farmers to make use to make use of the land.
The Jamison’s developed a thriving mail order business, first selling to home cooks, with Sukey providing innovative lamb recipes. Their business greatly expanded when, in the early 90’s, Chuck Williams of Williams Sonoma asked the Jamisons to be in their catalog. Word of their quality lamb also spread to our nation’s top chefs, who ordered custom cuts. In Chicago alone, culinary icons like Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless and Grant Achatz counted themselves as customers.
And here’s what Dan Barber, renowned chef/owner of New York’s Blue Hill restaurant, says about the Jamisons: “John and Sukey broke the mold of modern agriculture. When everyone was heading towards mass production and uniformity, they looked to the past — to the great traditions of peasant farming. The flavor of their lamb speaks for itself.”
Recorded via Zoom on August 24, 2022
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The Invisible 6,000 Year History of Sourdough Eric Pallant
For at least 6000 years, people have summoned sourdough starter seemingly out of the air and combined it with milled wheat, water, and a dash of salt to produce The Staff of Life: Bread. Join us as Professor Eric Pallant slices into a 6,000-year journey through history. We will see why bread was the greatest invention of all time (not the slicer). We will meet ancient Egyptian pyramid builders, bygone Roman bakers, medieval housewives, Gold Rush miners, and historical celebrities like Plato, Pliny the Elder, and Marie Antoinette.
Then we will watch bread fall into deserved disrespect at the end of the twentieth century. Commercial yeast will displace sourdough as bread’s primary leavening agent, machines will replace hands as the tools of manufacture, and monetary efficiency will take the place of flavor as pale squidgy loaves march forth by the millions looking and tasting like they were made by a photocopier. Finally, we will consider the rise of a new artisanal bread culture and see how modern bakers are remaking our bread economy and repurposing our fundamental human connection with food.
Bio Eric Pallant is the author of the recently released Sourdough Culture: The History of Bread Making from Ancient to Modern Bakers. He is a serious amateur baker, a two-time Fulbright Scholar, double, award-winning professor, and the Christine Scott Nelson Endowed Professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability at Allegheny College, in Meadsville, Pennsylania. He is acknowledged for his skill in weaving research narratives into compelling stories for NPR, CNN, Foreign Policy, the Gresham Lecture Series, London, bread symposia, podcasts, and articles for magazines such as Gastronomica, Sierra, and Science. You can learn more about him at Eric Pallant – Author & Professor.
Recorded via Zoom on July 20, 2022
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Show and Tell
Like the “Show and Tell” of our school days, show us what you have to offer that is mushroom related. If not, just join us to hear the collectors’ stories.
Many things can trigger memories or lead to the discovery of forgotten history or unique cultures and customs: – A photo, letter, or postcard discovered in an old family album that re-opened childhood memories and family history. – A unique mushroom flea market find that led you to research and discover culture and lifestyles of other times or places. – A collection of “mushroom stuff” from your travels that you have grown to treasure. – Mushrooming as a hobby that has become a passion and has taught you something you’d like to share with others. – A restaurant menu offering a mushroom-centric menu.
These are all treasures, not necessarily in the financial sense, but invaluable as historical artifacts or keys to a wealth of memories and learning.
Whether or not you have a story to tell, please join us to learn the wide ranging histories and interests of our community members and their amazing experiences. If you have something you’d like to present, please email prior to the meeting. Otherwise please come with your favorite and we will try to fit you in.
If you have any questions, please direct them to Illinois Mycological Association illinoismyco@gmail.com.
Recorded via Zoom on August 1, 2022
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To Ukraine with Love
Come join us as Anna Volyshyna, author of Budmo, Recipes from a Ukranian Kitchen, gives us a poignant and luscious tale of her homeland’s culture and cuisine.
Anna will provide a buffet of topics, including Ukraine's geographical location and how it shaped Ukrainian culture; the role of religious holidays in Ukrainian cooking; and modern versions of traditional Ukranian dishes. (Sample recipes provided via links in this notice.)
Anna will also talk about Ukraine’s Soviet period and the near destruction of Ukrainian culinary identity; and she will give her heartfelt perspective on her homeland’s current war with Russia.
BIOGRAPHY: Anna Voloshyna and her husband Alex moved from Kyiv to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011. Anna is a chef, blogger, and culinary instructor who is particularly known for her wildly successful pop-up dinners and workshops. To learn more about Anna, you can visit https://annavoloshyna.com/ or follow her on IG @ annavoloshynacooks.
BUDMO! Recipes from a Ukranian Kitchen will be published on September 6. The book can be ordered from Rizzoli, who will donate 10 percent of all cookbook pre-sales to World Central Kitchen.
Rizzoli: https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847872565/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/BUDMO-Recipes-Ukrainian-Anna-Voloshyna/dp/0847872564/
Recorded via Zoom on June 22, 2022
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Street talking Indian Street Food Ranjana Bhargava
Mention the words street food and most of us Chicagoans think of food trucks parked downtown at lunchtime with vendors selling a variety of freshly prepared ethnic foods. Our program today takes us to India where street food has abounded for years, but with a different twist — no trucks.
What you’ll see are vendors with open carts preparing food right before your eyes; or vendors sitting on the ground cooking at their stoves; or cooks at storefronts preparing one or more items And while these scenes may be the same across India, the variety of food is endless and served on leaves, newspaper squares, or plates made from clay. Street food addresses the palates and pockets of all, and Indian street food has become a staple for workers, students and tourists.
Join us as Ranjana Bhargava, one of Chicago’s pioneering Indian cooking teachers, discusses the street food of several Indian regions and gives us tips on their preparation. Says Ranjana, “The art of Indian cooking focuses on combining a variety of grains, vegetables, spices and fresh condiments.”
She’ll cover the following (Links to recipes):
Bread, flatbreads, and bread rolls are served with sauces, relishes, or stews. (Paneer Kathi Rolls) https://culinaryhistorians.org/wp-con...
Medley of snacks, nuts, and bite-sized grains-soaked, blended or fried. (Bhel Puri) https://culinaryhistorians.org/wp-con...
Items filled with sauces, spices, vegetables. (Chutneys and Samosa (combined)) https://culinaryhistorians.org/wp-con...
Ranjana Bhargava has taught vegetarian Indian cooking for nearly 40 years. Her focus has been to make Indian foods simplified and accessible to all. She has taught from her home in Chicago’s south side well as in schools, libraries and community centers. She has also led Indian culinary tours of Devon Avenue. A psychologist by profession, Ranjana has served as the executive director of five different non-profits and is the founding member of the first shelter for battered Asian women in the United States.
For information on Ranjana’s classes go to www.indiancookingclass.com
https://culinaryhistorians.org/street...
Recorded via Zoom on May 25, 2022
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Feeding Fascists The Politics of Women’s Food Work Diana Garvin, PhD
Feeding Fascism explores how women negotiated the politics of Italy’s Fascist regime (1922-1943) in their daily lives and how they fed their families through agricultural and industrial labour. Darvin looks at women’s experiences of Fascism by examining the material world in which they lived in relation to their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Over the past decade, Diana Garvin has conducted extensive research in Italian museums, libraries, and archives. Feeding Fascism includes illustrations of rare cookbooks, kitchen utensils, cafeteria plans, and culinary propaganda to connect women’s political beliefs with the places that they lived and worked and the objects that they owned and borrowed. Garvin draws on first-hand accounts, such as diaries, work songs, and drawings, that demonstrate how women and the Fascist state vied for control over national diet across many manifestations – cooking, feeding, and eating – to assert and negotiate their authority. Revealing the national stakes of daily choices, and the fine line between resistance and consent, Feeding Fascism attests to the power of food.
Diana Garvin is an Assistant Professor of Italian with a specialty in Mediterranean Studies in the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Oregon. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the American Academy in Rome as the 2017-2018 Rome Prize winner for Modern Italian Studies. She received her PhD from Cornell University and her AB from Harvard University.
Recorded via Zoom on May 13, 2022
https://dianagarvin.com/ Historical Cooking Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgKUAn-MmE
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The Ten Commandments of Pizza Peter Reinhart
In celebration of his newest book, Pizza Quest: Peter Reinhart’s Never-Ending Search for the Perfect Pizza, the award-winning authority returns for his third visit to the Culinary Historians of Chicago. Peter will reveal his “Ten Commandments of Pizza,” and give an overview of the 35 featured pizza recipes inspired by many of the greatest pizza makers in America. (The book features creative variations on Neapolitan pizza, Detroit-style pan pizza, calzones, strombolis, focaccia, and Sicilian styles.)
Peter will also tell us about many of the pizza luminaries featured in the book, all of whom have appeared on his video podcast, Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart.
Peter says the recipes in the book are tribute versions of their masterpieces, reimagined for use by home cooks and do not require special ovens or equipment. “As I told all of the contributors to the book, you folks are like the Beatles, and I’m the house band playing in the Marriott lounge, covering your greatest hits.”
Bio: Peter Reinhart is the author of 13 books on bread, food & culture and, of course, pizza. His books have won four James Beard and IACP Awards, including Cookbook of the Year for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (2002). He is faculty member at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC, and the Executive Director of the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread, as well as the host and founder of the video website, PizzaQuest.com, where he continues to chronicle his never-ending search for the perfect pizza. His newest book, Pizza Quest, pays tribute to all varieties of pizzas and focaccia, created by 30 of the greatest pizza makers in the country. The book also introduces some of Peter’s new and original techniques for creating, what he believes, is “the best crust you will ever have because, when it comes to pizza, it really is, first and foremost, all about the crust.”
Recorded via zoom on April 27, 2022
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Andrew S. Methven Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences Eastern Illinois University
While most people are scouring the woods for morels in the Spring, there is a treasure trove of other fungi that are often overlooked or ignored in our haste to find food for the table. This talk will focus on some of the fungi, including morels and false morels, which are encountered in Midwestern forests in spring and early summer. You will see images of edible fungi, fascinating pathogens, and a number of fungi which are ecologically important or mycologically interesting.
Andrew Methven is emeritus professor of mycology and lichenology at Eastern Illinois University. He has taught courses in mycology, lichenology, medical mycology, and field mycology, and curated the Cryptogamic Herbarium (with more than 15,000 collections of fungi and lichens). Included among his research interests are systematics and ecology of fungi, mycogeography, the application of molecular techniques to fungal systematics, and the identification and distribution of lichens in Eastern North America.
His research program has examined the distribution of the mushroom genus Lactarius in the Western Hemisphere, the utilization of biological species concepts in systematics studies of fungi, and the application of molecular techniques to phylogenetic studies in Clavariadelphus, Lentaria, and Macrotyphula.
Recent research projects involving undergraduate and graduate students have examined: The effects of sugar maple removal on the occurrence and distribution of fleshy fungi from endemic oak-hickory forests; the occurrence and distribution of fungal endophytes in sugar maple leaves; systematics and ecology of rust fungi on endemic plants; the use of lichens to assess habitat restoration in fragmented forest ecosystems; fungi which inhabit Spartina (cord grass) in the estuaries of coastal Georgia and North Carolina; and, more recently, systematic studies of species complexes in Gyromitra.
If you have any questions or wish for a zoom link, please direct them to Illinois Mycological Association illinoismyco@gmail.com.
Recorded via Zoom on April 4, 2022.
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Often Overlooked Spring Fungi of the Midwest Phylum Basidiomycota
Agrocybe dura Candellomyces candolleanus Coprinellus micaceus Crepidotus crocophyllus Galerina marginata Gymnopus subsulphureus Megacollybia rodmanii Mycena galericulata Panus conchatus Pluteus petasatus Rhodotus palmatus Xeromphalina tenuipes Cerioporus squamosus Lentinus arcularius Neofavolus alveolaris Polyporus umbellatus Auricularia americana Ductifera pululahuana Exidia glandulosa Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae Puccinia podophylli Uromyces ari-tryphylli
Phylum Ascomycota
Aleuria aurantia Dumontinia tuberosa Galiella rufa Helvella costifera Hymenoschyphus fructigenus Microstoma floccosum Pachyella clypeata Phylloscypha phyllogena Sarcoscypha dudleyi Sarcoscypha occidentalis Urnula craterium Disciotis venosa Gyromitra brunnea Gyromitra caroliniana Gyromitra korfii Morchella angusticeps Morchella diminutiva Morchella esculentoides Morchella punctipes Verpa conica
The Making of a Chicago Master Chef And Chicago’s Food Evolution
Presented by Chef Michael Maddox Former Chef/Partner Le Titi de Paris Chef Instructor at College of DePage
What shapes a master chef, especially a chef who has been a key ingredient in Chicago’s evolution into a world class culinary destination? Come join us as Chef Michael Maddox dishes on the many culinary influences in his life, from growing up in a farming community in Illinois, to collaborating with celebrated Chicago chefs like Jean Banchet, Didier Durand, Pierre Pollin and Michael Lachowicz — not to mention his stints working under esteemed chefs in France. He’ll serve up a buffet of other subjects like the time he collaborated with Julia Child, contributing to her The Way to Cook cookbook; how he and his wife, Chef Susan Maddox, successfully operated the iconic Le Titi de Paris restaurant in Arlington Heights; and he’ll offer his perspective on how Chicago became a star on the nation’s culinary stage.
BIOGRAPHY Chef Maddox spent his childhood in Princeville, Illinois, where he raised animals, field crops and vegetable gardens. Chef Maddox received his formal culinary training at Kendall College and The French Pastry School in Chicago and earned his Master of Education degree from Concordia University, Chicago. He is a full-time chef instructor of Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry Arts and Culinology at College of DuPage. Among his many honors was being named a James Beard nominee for Best Chef of the Midwest (2009), and being recognized by both the Zagat Guide and Chicago Magazine as among the Top 50 Chefs in Chicago.
Recorded via Zoom on March 30, 2022
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St. Chrys’ Table: Birth of a Community Cookbook
Culinary Historians member Libbet Richter will interview team members: Jonathan Boyer, Isabel Carpenter, McLaurin Files, and Janet Russo
During the first summer of COVID-19, the Women of St. Chrysostom’s (WOSC), a fellowship group at an Episcopal church on Chicago’s north side, talked about ways to connect and build community. Creating a cookbook was decided to be the ideal pursuit.
Although there were many excellent cooks in the group, the process of making a cookbook was challenging. Culinary Historians member Libbet Richter will interview members of the team about what it took to complete St. Chrys’ Table in the spring of 2021.
Making a cookbook creates connections at a time so many were isolated, but it also could raise money for the church’s various feeding ministries. St Chrysostom’s has for many years prepared monthly free dinners for people in need. During the pandemic, parishioners have also been packing lunches for distribution to other churches and shelters. This new project would support the Women of Saint Chrysostom’s (WOSC – the unifying group of all parish women) outreach activities.
For more information about this book, please email the church office at info@saintc.org.
St Chrys’ Table order form: https://forms.gle/ARkLD9PiirXos66W8 St. Chrys’ Church phone number: (312) 944-1083
Libbet’s article in Classic Chicago: https://www.classicchicagomagazine.com/birth-of-a-cookbook/
Recorded via Zoom on March 16, 2022
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Friendly or Deadly? A View Into the Hidden Lives of Fungi
Fungi are all bad, right? Well…not exactly. You might be surprised by how much you benefit from fungi in your everyday life. Learn what those mushrooms in the woods, or even on your pizza, are doing in nature and what those splotches of color you see on trees and rock are. By providing a window into the hidden lives of these fascinating and important organisms, we will highlight how fungi can be both friendly and deadly.
Presenters from the Field Museum include: Matthew Nelsen - Research Scientist, Negaunee Integrative Research Center Todd Widhelm - Collections Manager of Mycology and Lichenology, Gantz Family Collections Center
If you have any questions, please direct them to Illinois Mycological Association illinoismyco@gmail.com.
Recorded via Zoom on March 7, 2022
IllinoisMyco.org
Black Women in the Kitchen Presented by Sephira Bailey Shuttlesworth PhD
A note from Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of Chicago:
This past fall I had the joy of attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals Annual Conference held in Birmingham, Alabama. The conference offered a buffet of glorious foodwriters and speakers, all accessible and sharing. Among the most moving talks I attended was one by Dr. Sephira Bailey Shuttlesworth who spoke poignantly and personally about ‘Black Women in the Kitchen,’ and what they have contributed to America’s table. She even belted out a spiritual that her grandmother often sang in the kitchen as she cooked for her family. (Dr. Shuttlesworth got a standing ovation. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.)
As soon as the applause died down, I made a beeline to the front stage and asked her if she would share her tale (and throw in a song) for the Culinary Historians of Chicago. She took hold of my hand, smiled and in a nanosecond said yes.
So do come “down by the riverside” and join Dr. Shuttlesworth as she serves and sings up a feast of remembrances and American Culinary History.
A few highlights from her upcoming talk:
“Where I come from, everybody had a Mama or Big Mama. She was most often one’s grandmother and was usually the best cook in the family. My own maternal grandmother held that position not only in our family but was revered as one of the best cooks in our community. When her food arrived at church gatherings, it was sure to be some of the first to disappear! From her double-crusted apple pie to potato salad, boiled cabbage sprouts, and baked chicken and cornbread dressing, she made magic with food! Mama became a widow in her late 40’s, left alone to finish raising 4 children ages 12 to 19. Papa left her a 30-acre farm where she and her children worked season in and season out, (oftentimes plowing the mules herself) to provide for her family! On that little farm, she grew market crops like cotton, corn, and later soybeans; but also, as many as 25 different varieties of fruits and vegetables.They grew (almost) everything they needed to sustain themselves and always enough to share with others.
“One thing Black women over time have excelled at is “making something out of nothing,” especially in the kitchen. It is a skill passed down through the generations. My late husband, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, used to say that he could go into our kitchen and come out sure that there was nothing to eat and certain that it was time to head to the grocery store. Twenty minutes later, I could go into that same kitchen and have a “meat and three” on the stove and dessert in the oven. That’s because I can almost always see a meal where others might not! And I can take scraps and leftovers and make a new and wonderful “taste treat.” It is a skill that I believe has its roots in “slave food.” Slave food consisted of the leftover and discarded rations that slave owners made available to their chattel. From the pig, such parts as the liver, spleen or “light”, intestines (chitterlings), maw (stomach), head, neck bones, pig feet and tails were passed on. From the cow came the tripe, liver, tail, tongue, neck bones and back bones. Slaves were also allowed to scrap “seconds”; oftentimes inferior quality and/or leftover fruits and vegetables. Lard and sorghum molasses were also common.”
Recorded via Zoom on February 9, 2022
www.CulinaryHistorians of Chicago
Women, Philanthropy, Recipes, and Social Progress: A Reexamination of Primary Resources
These presentations were made at the Illinois History Conference at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in October, 2021. Since this is ongoing research, there will be additional information learned after this event.
“The Mary Ethel Crofton Cookbook,” circa 1895 and earlier, Nicole Stocker, Museum Educator, Lake County Forest Preserves, Bess Bower Dunn Museum
“Politics, Gender, and the Local Woman’s Club Records,” Nancy Webster, Archivist, Highland Park Historical Society
“Comparison and Contrast of The Ossoli Club community Cook Book, circa 1911, and Highland Park Woman’s Club Cook Book, circa 1925” Catherine Lambrecht, Chicago Foodways Roundtable, Greater Midwest Foodways, and Highland Park Historical Society
Recorded on January 13, 2022 via Zoom.
http://www.culinaryhistorians.org
https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/ (Dunn Museum)
http://www.HighlandParkHistory.com
Historic Chicago Bakeries
Come join us as author Jennifer Billock explores the sweet and doughy history of Chicago from pioneering bakers to today’s cake makers. At one time, more than 7,000 bakeries dotted Chicago’s streets. Today stalwarts like Dinkel’s, Roeser’s, Weber’s, Pticek, and Ferrara continue a legacy that shaped Chicago’s food traditions: a poppy seed bun for hotdogs, and paczki and zeppole for the holidays; an atomic cake for family celebrations, and bacon buns in the morning.
BIOGRAPHY Jennifer Billock is the author of the just-published “Historic Chicago Bakeries” (The History Press, $22). She is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and writing coach, covering a combination of food, travel, and history. Jennifer edits the Kitchen Witch Newsletter and teaches food and travel writing classes. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at jenniferbillock.com and follow her on Twitter @jenniferbillock. For information on purchasing a signed copy of her book, contact: jenniferjoanbillock@gmail.com
Recorded via Zoom on January 12, 2022
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Slicing into Chicago’s Pizza History Steve Dolinsky
Doesn’t everybody love Pizza?
Well, even if you don’t, you might want to tune into our program when award-wining food reporter Steve Dolinsky delivers a luscious serving of pizza history. Here’s what’s on Steve’s menu:
- The three waves of pizza in Chicago – Post WWII, 1970s and then the pandemic.
- How oven technology helped shape the types of pizza that were made in Chicago.
- How one cook changed the shape (and height) of deep-dish, based on a Mississippi biscuit recipe.
- The 10 distinctive styles of pizza in Chicago, and also how the most popular style (at least among locals) tends to be thin, tavern style rather than deep-dish.
Biography:
Steve Dolinsky has won 13 James Beard Awards for his TV, radio and podcast work.
He is currently the Food Reporter at NBC 5 (Chicago), where his “Food Guy” reports air every Thursday night at 10 p.m. As the Food Reporter for ABC 7 (Chicago) for 17 years, his “Hungry Hound” reports covered a range of food and drink-related topics. Not only did he produce and report two stories each week, he also shot and edited them (and continues to do so at NBC 5).
Steve is also the Producer and Host of “Pizza City” – a bi-monthly podcast featuring some of the greatest pizza makers in the nation, and was previously Co-Creator and Co-Host of The Feed Podcast with Chef Rick Bayless (which garnered a Beard award in 2015 for best podcast), a weekly show that ran from 2014 to 2019. He has also written food and travel stories for the Travel sections of the Chicago Tribune and Canada’s Globe and Mail, and was a frequent contributor to Public Radio International’s “The World.”
Steve is the author of “Pizza City, U.S.A.: 101 Reasons Why Chicago is America’s Greatest Pizza Town” (Northwestern University Press). In order to write the book, he visited 185 places in Chicagoland over the course of six solid months of eating. His “Pizza City U.S.A. Tours” began in May of 2018. Steve curates four tours throughout the city, each one giving guests a chance to sample four styles of pizza in three hours. There is one bus tour (usually led by Steve) and three walking tours every weekend. More info at pizzacityusa.com. His second book, “The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City” is due out in the fall of 2021.
On the consulting side, Steve started Culinary Communications, a food industry- focused media training company that works with chefs and other food and beverage professionals outside of Chicago, teaching them how to prepare for and handle all kinds of media exposure. He also works with real estate companies to curate spaces involving food and drink clients, organizes and leads virtual pizza and/or cocktail experiences for companies and works with individual clients to curate unique culinary experiences.
Since 2009, Steve has been one of 26 Academy Chairs for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, recruiting and overseeing 40 voters in the Mid-USA/Canada region. He has spoken and/or moderated at several industry events, including the James Beard Awards, the Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen and the New York City Wine and Food Festival.
Steve volunteers his time for charitable organizations in the Chicago area that focus on hunger relief, including Share Our Strength and Meals on Wheels.
Before joining ABC 7, Steve was Executive Producer and Host of “Good Eating.” The weekly, half-hour show aired on CLTV, the 24-hour cable news channel owned by The Tribune Company. He produced and hosted 52 shows per year for 8 years, garnering six Beard Awards for his work there.
You can follow his eating adventures on Twitter and Instagram @stevedolinsky, as well as his website: stevedolinsky.com
Recorded via Zoom on December 8, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Thanksgiving: The Great American Holiday
Presented by Penelope Bingham
Nine out of ten Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and most do so around a family table. Food and tradition are the heart and soul of this most-loved, most-observed holiday. Thanksgiving has become the origin myth of America and the expression of deeply held American cultural ideals. As it considers the evolution of Thanksgiving, from the “First Thanksgiving” in 1621 to the present day, this program invites the audience to think about what this holiday and its food traditions mean for American culture and identity.
Following lifelong passions for books and for cooking, Penelope Bingham began accumulating cookbooks over 40 years ago. Her personal collection of cookbooks now exceeds 2,000 volumes. She is particularly interested in the stories American cookbooks of the last two centuries about American culture and identity. She has given programs on American Cookbooks and Culture to libraries and cultural organizations throughout Illinois as a Road Scholar for the Illinois Humanities Council, as well as in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition, “Key Ingredients: America By Food”. She has also addressed the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Culinary Historians of Chicago, The Wednesday Club of the Newberry Library of Chicago, the Cookware Manufacturers Association, and home economists of Kraft Foods. Her work with American Cookbooks and Culture was recently featured in Chicago Magazine and on WBBM/TV’s “Table For Two”. Since 1990, she has been the volunteer “Cookbook Lady” for the Annual Book Fair of the Newberry Library of Chicago, preparing for sale the thousands of vintage cookbooks that are donated each year. Penelope holds degrees from Wellesley College and the University of Chicago. She is a member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Recorded at Kendall College on November 24, 2008 by WBEZ's Chicago Amplfied.
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Talk Turkey to Me! A Good Time in the Kitchen Talking Turkey & All the Trimmings
Presented by Renee Ferguson
“It’s all about an all-American meal—turkey and dressing—and the queen of all things Thanksgiving is cookbook author Renee Ferguson.” Chef Bobby Flay/Food Network
Renee Ferguson is a cookbook author and former Butterball turkey cooking expert who has fielded thousands of questions from stressed out people determined to cook a turkey dinner. Ferguson appreciates great food and time shared with friends and family while keeping stress to a minimum. It’s an evergreen topic, which Ferguson will share her humorous insight, tips and tricks. We will talk turkey with her and share our favorite turkey traumas (and successes).
We will also learn the back-story of Renee’s unexpected appearance on Food Network in a “Throwdown!” with Chef Bobby Flay. The set up: “Nothing brings people together like a mouth-watering Thanksgiving turkey, and Renee Ferguson of Geneva, Illinois is the ultimate turkey expert. This former Butterball Talk- Line “Call Girl” and author of “Talk Turkey to Me,” thinks she is making turkey and dressing for a Food Network Special called “Talkin’ Turkey.” What she doesn’t know is that Bobby Flay is working on his own version of the perfect bird. Will beating the Iron Chef be gravy for this queen of turkey or will Bobby gobble up the competition? One thing is for sure, this will be a Thanksgiving Throwdown to remember.”
Program recorded at Kendall College on November 6, 2010 by WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified.
A Tale of Two Food Journalists: ‘Jane Eddington’ of Chicago Tribune, 1910-1930 and Alma Lach of Chicago Sun-Times, 1957-1965
‘My Dear Miss Eddington’: Reader Letters and Early Twentieth Century Food Media Presented by Emily Martin, University of California, Berkeley
Reader letters to early twentieth century women’s print food media were quite common, though few such letters have survived. This paper investigates a collection of roughly 200 reader letters written to Caroline Maddocks Beard, food writer for the Chicago Tribune from 1910-1930, to consider the complexity and creativity of women’s interaction with food media. I suggest that readers viewed such women’s food media as more intimate, imaginative, and conversational than has previously been recognized.
Emily Martin recently graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in history and classics. Martin is currently a history PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley studying late 19th century US food culture
Alma Lach: A Groundbreaking Midwestern Food Editor, Cook and Businesswoman Presented by Kimberly Voss, PhD, University of Central Florida
Alma Lach was a food expert. She became food editor of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1957, where she wrote columns about gourmet cookery, experimented with recipes in her test kitchen and learned about food photography. After leaving the newspaper, she founded the Alma Lach Cooking School. She also created and starred in her own children’s televised cooking series, Let’s Cook, as well as wrote cookbooks for children. As president of her business, Alma Lach Kitchens, Inc., she tested recipes, created menus, and offered guidance on all aspects of food and dining. She was a consultant to several Chicago restaurants and she designed gourmet airline meals for Midway Airlines flights.
Dr. Kimberly Voss, a full professor at the University of Central Florida, has published several books about women in mass media. Her 2014 book The Food Section earned an award from the Association of Food Journalists. It documented the history of food journalism in newspapers during the 1940s through 1970s. Her third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors. Her 2018 book Re-Evaluating Women’s Page Journalism in the Post-World War II Era tells the stories of significant women journalists who contributed to the women’s liberation movement. Her latest book looks at the history of fashion coverage in newspapers.
Recorded via Zoom on November 15, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Let’s Eat: Celebrating with Food: Thanksgiving and Korean Chuseok
Let’s Eat! Celebrating with Food explores food, culture and history from the American and Korean viewpoints. Learn where people got their ingredients, how technology has changed food preparation, and explore how one ingredient, cabbage, can become very different dishes (sauerkraut and kimchi). We will compare how the harvest holidays of Thanksgiving and Chuseok are expressed in American and Korean culture.
Let’s Eat! Is a partnership between the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago and the Raupp Museum at the Buffalo Grove Park District. Representatives from the Korean Cultural Center will be present to talk about and answer questions related to Korean culture.
Recorded at the Raupp Museum on November 13, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
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The Pilgrim Kitchen The Harvest Celebration of 1621: Plimoth Patuxet Museum, Plymouth Massachusetts Presented by John Ota
As part of the research for his book, The Kitchen, John Ota travelled to Plymouth, Massachusetts where he cooked a meal over an open fire with Pilgrim Foodways historian Kathleen Wall. On the 400th anniversary of the Harvest Feast between the New England colonists and the Wampanoag people, John will share his experiences of the culinary history, architecture, cooking methods and the dishes from the first Thanksgiving of 1621. John’s presentation will include multiple images, 1621 recipes as well as truths and misconceptions about this favorite holiday occasion. Yes, there was turkey – but it was not the main event!
Biography: John Ota has been involved with architecture and design since 1978. He has worked in architecture offices in Toronto, New York and Vancouver and has degrees from the School of Architecture at Columbia University and the University of British Columbia. He has also written articles on architecture and design for major newspapers and magazines across Canada. He is an active member of the Culinary Historians of Canada.
Recorded on Zoom on November 9, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Culture of Mushroomers: What Sparked Your Interest?
What sparked your interest in fungi? There are as many different paths to mycology as there are mushrooms on this Earth.
Several members have been invited to talk about their paths to kick off the dialogue. Presenters were:
Stephanie Kowalyk Greg Mueller Patrick Leacock Nicole Omiotek Catherine Lambrecht Susan Kayser
We will try to fit in as many as possible, though we have finite amount of time. If need be, we can carry this theme over to our holiday party in December.
No story you wish to share? Come anyway to enjoy and learn more about those people you meet at mushroom club meetings and events.
IllinoisMyco.org
Recorded via Zoom on November 1, 2021
First Catch Your Gingerbread! Plus UK Supper Clubs: What Are They?
Sam Bilton, Food Historian and Restauranteur
Food historian and writer Sam Bilton is encouraging bakers to immerse themselves in the joy of making gingerbread.
Gingerbread is a lovely, squidgy treat which has played a part in almost everyone’s childhood. But do you know what gingerbread was made of when it first arrived on our plates? Was it flavoured with honey? When did treacle, dark, sticky, and fairly strong tasting, which adds moisture, depth of flavour and character to baking, first become available? Then there’s the question of when gingerbread migrated from the home kitchen to commercial products. And why did the gingerbread man leap from the tin, and run so fast with a fox snapping at his heels?
Gingerbread is a delectable treat which has played a part in almost everyone’s childhood. First Catch Your Gingerbread is for enthusiastic bakers and families who bake together as well as anyone with an interest in historical food. It explores the history of gingerbread from its early medieval origins when it was made from honey and was considered the height of luxury right up to the treacly confections everyone enjoys today.
‘There is a gingerbread for everyone in this book, adds Sam. ‘Warming spices cheer the soul.’
Sam Bilton is a food historian, who runs the Repast Supper Club, food events with a historical theme. She is also a food and drink writer, with articles appearing in magazines and online, with English Heritage, and she works on historical recipes, recreating them for the modern day, including an eighteenth-century recipe for a Bride Cake. Sam is a member of the Guild of Food Writers Committee.
www.SamBilton,com
Recorded via Zoom on October 30, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
How Ingredients Shaped a Chef with Chef Peter Hoffman
Come join us as acclaimed New York chef Peter Hoffman, author of the recently published book “What’s Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients”,reveals why he combined the story of his career with profiles of the favorite ingredients that he found at his favorite farmers market. Hoffman, founder of iconic Manhattan restaurants Savoy and Back Forty, describes his journey from line cook to chef/owner during New York’s culinary shift from French dominance to a more global and farm-to-table approach.
Chef Hoffman will also read an excerpt from his pepper chapter that touches on the issues of scarcity versus abundance; how we approach our available resources; and how we treat one another. He will discuss the history of pepper distribution across the globe, celebrating this vegetable for its abundance, its flavor and its ability to thrive globally And he will be available to answer your questions via Chat.
BIOGRAPHY: Named “A Locavore Before the Word Existed” by the New York Times, Hoffman sat on the board of Chefs Collaborative from 1997 until 2010, acting as its national chair from 2000-2006.
He has published numerous articles in Edible Manhattan and guest essays in the New York Times. He has also contributed to NPR’s Marketplace. For more than thirty years, he has cycled to the Union Square Greenmarket to source the best in local and seasonal ingredients, the core of his cooking. Chef Hoffman actively consults for food businesses interested in improving their work culture, sourcing, and messaging.
Many of his recent interviews and book notices are posted on his website, peterhoffmancooks.com or on IG @peterhoffmannyc.
For information on Chef Hoffman’s book, “What’s Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients” and to order a signed copy, go to https://www.mcnallyjackson.com/whats-good-signed
Recorded via Zoom on September 29, 2021
CulinaryHistorians.org
Beijing Duck and the Pandemic: The story of Chicago’s iconic Sun Wah BBQ with Kelly Cheng, General Manager
Times certainly have been challenging for our nation’s restaurants during these pandemic times. Come join us as Kelly Cheng tells her savory story of her family’s iconic restaurant and its place in Chicago’s culinary history. Kelly will also regale us with the story of Chinese barbecue and the secret of preparing Beijing duck. And she will share how she and her family and their business have struggled through and survived the pandemic.
A bit of history: Sun Wah BBQ started its journey in New York’s Chinatown where it was crammed into a storefront hardly wider than nine lengths of roast ducks. Its founder, China-born Eric Cheng, continually refined his skills as a Hong Kong style barbecue chef. While Sun Wah did well, it was still “a crowded fish yearning for larger oceans,” Kelly Cheng said. Eric and wife Lynda took their four toddlers to Chicago and made their dream grow.
In the spring of 1987, they opened Sun Wah BBQ in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, a few doors away from the Argyle Redline Station. Over the next two decades, Sun Wah BBQ accumulated a legion of enthusiastic diners and the restaurant helped transform the neighborhood. The children became fixtures on weekends and holidays, learning the fundamentals that would help them ultimately expand their parents’ heart and soul.
In 2018, they received America’s Classics award from the James Beard Foundation.
By September 2008, three of the four children (Kelly, Michael, and Laura) grasped the baton to lead Sun Wah BBQ into its next phase.
Each had been developing skills that would feed into the continued success of the restaurant. Kelly earned her MBA from DePaul University, Michael followed his father’s teachings on mastering Chinese BBQ, and Laura completed her degree from the Kendall College of Culinary Arts.
In 2009, Sun Wah moved around the corner to 5039 N Broadway, an historic building, four times the size of their Argyle restaurant. The Chengs were now able to showcase Chinese barbecue to the max, with their star dish, Beijing Duck, winning national acclaim. Kelly will give us a look at how this delicacy is made and carved at tableside. Quite a show indeed!
(Warning: Attending this Zoom program may cause intense hunger pangs.)
Recorded via Zoom on October 20, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Cicada vs Fungi Matthew Kasson, PhD
Chicago area is three years away from our next cicada invasion. Meanwhile, we can prepare to help scientists study cicada fungi!
Matt Kasson and his lab at West Virginia University are studying the Massospora fungus that infects cicadas. Kasson will be givin us the full story of how this fungi is distributed and how it affects these cicadas.
When you find one, save it (unused ziplock in freezer), and contact Matt @ mtkasson@mail.wvu.edu or on twitter https://twitter.com/kasson_wvu
Dr. Kasson received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the Pennsylvania State University where his research focused on using a native fungus, Verticillium nonalfalfae, as a biological control of the invasive tree, Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven). He also holds an A.A.S. from Paul Smiths College and a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Maine.
IllinoisMyco.org
Recorded via Zoom on September 13, 2021
FOOD IN THE GILDED AGE: What Ordinary Americans Ate with ROBERT DIRKS Emeritus Professor of Anthropology Illinois State University
America’s Gilded Age, the last quarter of the nineteenth century, is renowned for the excesses of robber barons and tycoons. The lavishness of their tables impressed contemporaries and historians alike. But what about the eating habits of ordinary people at the time? Robert Dirks, author of Food in the Gilded Age, poses that question and discovers some surprising answers by peering through the lens of what then was a newly emerging science of nutrition.
Robert Dirks, a member of Chicago Foodways Roundtable, grew up in suburban Milwaukee. After earning a Ph.D. in anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, he joined the faculty at Illinois State University. He retired from there in 2003 and moved to the New Eastside area of Chicago.
Professor Dirks has conducted research on various aspects of food and nutrition worldwide. His publications include papers in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Current Anthropology, American Anthropologist, Journal of Nutrition, and Annual Review of Nutrition. His previous book, Come & Get It! McDonaldization and the Disappearance of Local Food from a Central Illinois Community, traced a changing American food culture from frontier days to the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Recorded at the Chicago History Museum on May 21, 2016
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
About the genus Leccinum and other interesting boletes Presented by Beatriz Ortiz-Santana, PhD
Beatriz Ortiz-Santana is a Research Scientist and fungarium curator at the Center for Forest Mycology Research (- USDA, Forest Service, Northern Research Station) in Madison, Wisconsin. Ortiz-Santana received her PhD in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras. Her research focus is on the diversity and distribution of forest fungi in North America and the Caribbean Basin, in particular the biosystematics of basidiomycete fungi in the Boletales and the families Agaricaceae and Fomitopsidaceae. These fungi play significant roles in nutrient cycling and retention, basic food webs, forest diseases and mutualisms – functions that are critically important to forest health and productivity.
Ortiz-Santana will talk about her experience collecting, describing and identifying boletes and present preliminary results on species delimitation in Leccinum. Collaborating with Michael Kuo, they are studying the diversity of Leccinum by incorporating molecular data to confirm species identity. Currently, Ortiz-Santana is obtaining ribosomal DNA sequences from type species of Leccinum to accurately define species morphologically and incorporate in future phylogenetic studies.
Recorded via Zoom on August 2, 2021
IllinoisMyco.org
Chicago Trib’s New Restaurant Critics Exposed! Meet Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger
Time was we could never get a Chicago food critic to speak to our group; they religiously refused to reveal their identities in public. That is until about three years ago when the Tribune’s esteemed food critic, Phil Vettel, published a story in the paper, complete with his photo, explaining that it was almost impossible for him to remain anonymous when reviewing restaurants. Canny restaurateurs often were able to figure out who he was, and Phil ultimately figured he could still accurately review the food as a fully exposed food critic.
Phil retired in January, after 31 year at the Trib, and thanks to his casting away all attempts at anonymity, he paved the way for us to showcase the Trib’s newly named food critics, Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger.
Please join us in welcoming this dynamic duo as they talk about their evolving roles as food critics, provide an overview of Chicago’s amazingly diverse food culture, and inform us how the pandemic has affected our dining scene.
Following their talk, members will be able to pepper them with questions. Prior to being named the Chicago Tribune’s new food critics, Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger, have been food and dining reporters at the Tribune since 2016.
They each bring a full buffet of experience:
Born in Hong Kong, and raised in Chicago, Louisa has spent a lifetime in restaurants starting as a 4-year-old folding menus for her family’s Chinese-American restaurant on the Near West Side in the 1970s. She worked as a server through high school and college; lived in Paris where she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. She worked in the kitchen at the world renowned El Bulli in Spain and cooked at a fishing lodge in Alaska. She also was a correspondent for Gourmet magazine and worked as a field coordinator for Anthony Bourdain. Louisa continues to co-host the “Chewing” podcast with WBEZ journalist Monica Eng.
A native of southern Indiana, Nick, like Louisa, has a had a lifelong passion for food. His previous work ranged from launching The Paupered Chef, a recipe blog focused on affordable home cooking, to serving as the founding editor of Serious Eats Chicago. He has also written about food for Epicurious, The Washington Post, New York Magazine and Grub Street. You can often find him around the city eating a questionable number of meals for research purposes.
Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday July 28, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Chicago Trib’s New Restaurant Critics Exposed! Meet Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger
Time was we could never get a Chicago food critic to speak to our group; they religiously refused to reveal their identities in public. That is until about three years ago when the Tribune’s esteemed food critic, Phil Vettel, published a story in the paper, complete with his photo, explaining that it was almost impossible for him to remain anonymous when reviewing restaurants. Canny restaurateurs often were able to figure out who he was, and Phil ultimately figured he could still accurately review the food as a fully exposed food critic.
Phil retired in January, after 31 year at the Trib, and thanks to his casting away all attempts at anonymity, he paved the way for us to showcase the Trib’s newly named food critics, Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger.
Please join us in welcoming this dynamic duo as they talk about their evolving roles as food critics, provide an overview of Chicago’s amazingly diverse food culture, and inform us how the pandemic has affected our dining scene.
Following their talk, members will be able to pepper them with questions. Prior to being named the Chicago Tribune’s new food critics, Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger, have been food and dining reporters at the Tribune since 2016.
They each bring a full buffet of experience:
Born in Hong Kong, and raised in Chicago, Louisa has spent a lifetime in restaurants starting as a 4-year-old folding menus for her family’s Chinese-American restaurant on the Near West Side in the 1970s. She worked as a server through high school and college; lived in Paris where she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. She worked in the kitchen at the world renowned El Bulli in Spain and cooked at a fishing lodge in Alaska. She also was a correspondent for Gourmet magazine and worked as a field coordinator for Anthony Bourdain. Louisa continues to co-host the “Chewing” podcast with WBEZ journalist Monica Eng.
A native of southern Indiana, Nick, like Louisa, has a had a lifelong passion for food. His previous work ranged from launching The Paupered Chef, a recipe blog focused on affordable home cooking, to serving as the founding editor of Serious Eats Chicago. He has also written about food for Epicurious, The Washington Post, New York Magazine and Grub Street. You can often find him around the city eating a questionable number of meals for research purposes.
Recorded via Zoom on Wednesday July 28, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Passion for Persia Showcasing a Dazzling Culinary History Presented by Naomi Duguid Traveler, writer, photographer, cook
Here in the west, though we may know a little about the great Persian empires of times past, we have been cut off from an appreciation of Persian culture by complicated geopolitics. And we’re not familiar with the old deep-rooted connections between the various peoples in Iran and neighboring countries.
In the travels of award-winning culinary scribe, Naomi Duguid, this acclaimed author has come to see Iran and the Caucasus countries, together with Kurdistan (in Iraq) as a fascinating culinary region. When Naomi first traveled to Georgia in 1989, it was part of the USSR and felt very remote. She says the food was dazzling, remarkable, a whole new take on some very familiar ingredients. Now Georgia and the other Caucasus countries, Azerbaijan and Armenia, are in the western sphere. Their giant neighbor Iran has been isolated politically for decades, but now it too is slowly becoming more accessible to visitors from the west.
Despite a great diversity of languages, religions, landscapes, all these places share a culinary history, and esthetic, while also having distinctive local cuisines. Naomi will take us traveling there, through photographs and stories, to see the landscapes and to engage with the remarkable and generous people and food traditions she encountered in her travels.
Biography: Naomi Duguid, traveler, writer, photographer, cook, is often described as a culinary anthropologist. Her newest book TASTE OF PERSIA: A Cook’s Travels Through Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, & Kurdistan was just published this month. Copies will be on hand for purchase, with all profits used to fund the Culinary Historians of Chicago.
Naomi is the author of the acclaimed BURMA: Rivers of Flavor (winner, 2013 IACP culinary travel cookbook award), and the co-author of six earlier award-winning books of food and travel: Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through South-East Asia; Seductions of Rice; Flatbreads and Flavors;Home Baking; Mangoes and Curry Leaves; and Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Stories from the Other China. The books explore home-cooked foods in their cultural context, with recipes and photographs as well as stories. Naomi is a frequent contributor to Lucky Peach, and is a contributing editor of Saveur magazine. She conducts intensive cultural-immersion- through-food sessions in northern Thailand each winter, as well as food-focused tours to Burma/Myanmar (for details of the tours this coming winter seehttp://www.immersethrough.com).
Recorded at Kendall College on Saturday, October 1, 2016
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Viennese Cuisine Prior to 1938 Susanne Belovari, Archivist
The famous Wiener Küche had long been a collective culinary tradition of Jews and non-Jews alike. It was perhaps the perfect example, in an imperfect and Anti-Semitic city, of two formerly distinct groups moving towards each other and integrating while daily creating, cooking, and eating one cuisine. This is to be expected of people who lived so long and close to each other, when there still was an ‘us’ in Vienna before 1938, as fragile as it may have been. Any knowledge of this shared history was wiped out by genocide and mass flight – after 1945, there were almost no Viennese Jews left in Vienna to remind us. It required the memories and cookbooks of Jewish refugees and survivors across the world to rediscover the contributions of Viennese Jews to the famous Viennese Cuisine
Trying to search for answers led me along paths of archival and historical research as part of which I met many Viennese Holocaust survivors, formed close friendships with them, and learnt from their stories. The context within which I situate my culinary history is deeply influenced by my interdisciplinary background and my work as a former Holocaust restitution historian and archivist for the Jewish Community of Vienna, Austria (IKG), where I rebuilt the historical IKG archives the National Socialists had closed down.
If this culinary research helps to unearth, acknowledge, and honor the contributions of Viennese Jews to our Viennese Cuisine; if it helps us see the complexities involved in everyday culture and its most simple of acts; if it helps us understand that a genocide kills and maims people and cultures; if it helps us to remember and honor the Viennese Jews I met along the way as well as the amazing grandparents on both sides of my family who held on to the humanity of their neighbors, friends, and their own in troubling and dangerous times, then this research served its purpose.
Belovari, the archivist for faculty papers at the University of Illinois Archives, previously worked as a Holocaust restitution historian and an archivist for the Jewish community in Vienna, and she considers her research on Viennese cuisine a part of her restitution work.
Recorded via Zoom on July 12, 2021
http://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah (Shore) with Flo Selfman
Having been a top singing star, Dinah Shore became a pioneer television personality with “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show,” which showcased her distinctive voice and relaxed Southern charm from 1951 to 1963. In 1970, she returned to television as host of “Dinah’s Place,” an NBC morning show that covered homemaking, crafts, child-rearing, health and beauty—always with a song, of course, and usually a cooking segment, either by Dinah or her celebrity guests. Many leading chefs got their first national exposure on “Dinah’s Place.”
Shortly after the show went on the air, Flo Selfman went to Dinah’s home in Beverly Hills as a two-week office temp to help with fan mail that was flooding in, and soon was asked to stay on. At the time, Shore was working on her first cookbook, “Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah.” An instinctive cook, she didn’t know how much of anything went into a recipe, so she would literally hold a measuring cup or spoon under the ingredient to record the amount.
In this Zoom presentation, Flo Selfman, owner of the Los Angeles agency Selfman & Others Public Relations and a copy editor through WordsalaMode.com, shares her experiences in the kitchen with America’s darling, Dinah, and her studio guests.
(Flo originally gave her talk on Dinah before the Culinary Historians of Southern California (CHSC) on March 13. We thank CHSC for providing the text for this announcement.)
Recorded via Zoom on June 16, 2021
http://www.CulinaryHistorians.com
The Biology and Evolution of Rust Fungi M. Catherine Aime, PhD
In terms of species numbers the rust fungi (Pucciniales) are an incredibly successful lineage. Together, the more than 7000 described species form the largest known monophyletic group of plant pathogens. All are obligate parasites of vascular plants including agricultural, forest and ornamental crops resulting in billions of dollars of damage worldwide each year. An intriguing aspect of rust biology is that species display an alternation of generations, with many species also alternating hosts during development, termed heteroecious. Additionally, most rusts require five different developmental stages to complete their life cycle. Whether these unique characteristics are ancestral or derived within the rusts has never been satisfactorily resolved. Most classical treatments of rust phylogeny and classification were based on the hypothesis that “primitive” hosts (e.g., ferns) harbored “primitive” rusts (e.g., Uredinopsis, Hyalopsora) that alternate on members of the Pinaceae. However, alternative hypotheses of rust evolution have proposed various short-cycled primarily tropical rusts as ancestral, with the defining characteristic of heteroecism thus being derived within the group. Molecular studies based on rDNA genes have since disproved the fern rust hypothesis, but the second hypothesis has not been previously tested. This study analyzes loci from multiple genes and taxa selected from all known families to resolve the base of the rust fungi and infer ancestral characters including the origins of heteroecism, alternation of generations, and the five stage developmental cycle for the order. Implications for rust diversification are discussed.
M. Catherine Aime, Professor of Mycology and Director of the Arthur and Kriebel Herbaria, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, Purdue University.
IllinoisMyco.org
The Taco Truck: How Mexican Street Food Is Transforming the American City
Robert Lemon PhD Author, Geographer, Documentary Film Maker
Icons of Mexican cultural identity and America’s melting pot ideal, taco trucks have transformed cityscapes from coast to coast. The taco truck radiates Mexican culture within non-Mexican spaces with a presence—sometimes desired, sometimes resented—that turns a public street corner into a bustling business.
Drawing on interviews with taco truck workers and his own skills as a geographer, Robert Lemon illuminates new truths about foodways, community, and the unexpected places where ethnicity, class, and culture meet. Lemon focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Columbus, Ohio, to show how the arrival of taco trucks challenge preconceived ideas of urban planning even as cities use them to reinvent whole neighborhoods. As Lemon charts the relationships between food practices and city spaces, he uncovers the many ways residents and politicians alike contest, celebrate, and influence not only where your favorite truck parks, but what’s on the menu.
Robert Lemon is an urban and social researcher in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas Austin, and an urban and social researcher and documentary filmmaker. His films include Transfusión.
Recorded via Zoom on June 2, 2021
www,CulinaryHistorians.org
The Fungi Involved with Devil's Stovepipes at Mt. Baldy, Indiana Dunes National Park
Peter Avis, PhD from University of Maine
In 2013, a young boy fell in a hole at Mt. Baldy. Fortunately, he survived and the pursuit to understand the formation of these holes (aka Devil's Stovepipes) ensued. This presentation will cover an overview of the research colleagues and I have conducted to understand the role of fungi in the formation of these holes. The whole story is about the decomposition of wood conducted by fungi!
Peter Avis, PhD recently moved to accept a position at the University of Maine. He formerly was at Indiana University Northwestfrom 2007 until 2020 and prior to that he had a post doctoral position with Greg Mueller at the Field Museum. His PhD is from Minnesota where he worked with Dave McLauglin, Ris Charvat and Trice Morrow. His research falls into three general categories: Fungal ecology and evolution, molecular methodology for the study of fungi, and ecological restoration monitoring.
Recorded via Zoom on May 3, 2021
IllinoisMyco.org
Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue Presented by Adrian Miller Food Writer, Attorney, Certified Barbecue Judge
Join us as James Beard Award-winning author Adrian Miller discusses the history of African American barbecue culture from his book, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. Black Smoke describes how African Americans inherited a type of cooking that fused Native American meat smoking and European grilling techniques that became known as “barbecue.”
By the early 1800s, African Americans were firmly established as barbecue’s “go to” cooks. Black Smoke further explores different aspects of African American barbecue culture. You’ll find out how barbecue permeated plantation culture and spread with slavery. You’ll see the ways that African Americans made barbecue an essential part of social life in the rural South whether in religious life, politics, or special occasions. You’ll see how African Americans became barbecue’s most effective ambassadors by giving those outside the South a taste of southern barbecue as freelance caterers at special events and restaurant entrepreneurs who settled in new communities during “The Great Migration.”
For generations, African Americans gave people of all types their first taste of barbecue. To accentuate this phenomenal history, Black Smoke profiles sixteen men and women who epitomized barbecue excellence.
About Adrian Miller Adrian Miller is a food writer, James Beard Award winner, attorney, and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, Colorado.
Bibliography Miller’s first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas was published on President’s Day 2017. It was a finalist for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction,” and the 2018 Colorado Book Award for History. Adrian’s third book, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, will be published Spring 2021.
Awards In 2018, Adrian was awarded the Ruth Fertel “Keeper of the Flame Award” by the Southern Foodways Alliance, in recognition of his work on African American foodways. In 2019, Adrian received the Judge Henry N. and Helen T. Graven award from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, for being “an outstanding layperson, whose life is nurtured and guided by a strong sense of Christian calling, and who is making a significant contribution to community, church, and our society.”
Biography Adrian received an A.B in International Relations from Stanford University in 1991, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. From 1999 to 2001, Miller served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America – the first free-standing office in the White House to address issues of racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation. Miller went on to serve as a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. From 2004 to 2010, he served on the board for the Southern Foodways Alliance.
In June 2019, Adrian lectured in the Masters of Gastronomy program at the Università di Scienze Gastronomiche (nicknamed the “Slow Food University”) in Pollenzo, Italy. He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches and, as such, is the first African American, and the first layperson, to hold that position.
Social Media Facebook: Soul Food Scholar Page Instagram: @soulfoodscholar Twitter: @soulfoodscholar
Recorded via Zoom on May 19, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
What's in a Name? Mycology Etymology Anna Henning
Many scientific names for fungi (known as binomial nomenclature) are difficult enough to pronounce, let alone understand. Have you ever wondered what Craterellus means, or why turkey tails are in the genus Trametes? Knoweledge can be challenging to retain if we don't have a framework for understanding it, but this talk will make it fun and easy to remember! Have you ever struggled to remember the scientific names for mushrooms or felt confused when looking through your mycology guide? Often the clues to remembering and understanding binomials are hidden in plain sight, and after attending this talk I'll bet you will be surprised at how much more familiar these tricky names are to you than you thought! For word nerds, history buffs, and mycoenthusiasts alike.
Anna Henning (they/them) is a self-taught mycoenthusiast and native New Englander currently living in Oregon. Lead by curiosity, Anna began learning about mushrooms in 2014, when they happened to be living in an incredibly diverse fungal region of central Massachusetts, and began sharing that knowledge online through Instagram under the name @Breakfast_of_champignonz in 2018. For the last year Anna has been sharing most Mondays about the etymological roots and meanings behind scientific mushroom names in an effort to make binomial nomenclature more accessible to the non-scientific community. An historically picky eater, Anna enjoys finding, photographing, and learning about mushrooms even more than eating them. Anna's favorite fungi to find are Grifola frondosa (Maitake/Hen of the Woods), Calostoma cinnabarinum (stalked puffball), Exsudoporus frostii, and Gyroporus cyanescans, and their life motto is, "Always be looking, always be learning!"
Recorded via Zoom on May 17, 2021
IllinoisMyco.org
Pizzeria Uno and the Mysterious Origins of Deep-Dish Pizza Peter Regas, PizzaHistoryBook.com
Who invented deep-dish pizza? Is there a more controversial question in Chicago food history? There’s little doubt the pizzeria at 29 East Ohio Street in Chicago- originally named “The Pizzeria” later renamed “Pizzeria Uno”- served the original deep-dish pizza. But despite decades of debate and speculation, no one has definitively identified who created the pizza style that now has a market niche worth hundreds of millions of dollars and that -rightly or wrongly- branded Chicago, as a deep-dish pizza town.
Based on twelve years of archival research, this presentation will compare previously published claims with newly discovered archival primary sources to determine what’s true, false, and arguable.
A brief overview of some of the archival sources used in the research:
For these details, go to: https://culinaryhistorians.org/the-origins-of-deep-dish-pizza-whats-true-whats-false-and-whats-arguable/
Conclusions on previous claims:
Some, including the current corporate owners of Pizzeria Uno, say Ike Sewell created deep-dish pizza. Sewell was a Texas-born college football star who came to Chicago in 1934 to work as a sales manager for a liquor company and was the owner of Pizzeria Uno when he died in 1990. But Sewell very likely had no direct or indirect ownership stake in the “The Pizzeria” at 29 East Ohio Street when it opened in December 1943. Sewell indirectly became a part-owner only after “The Pizzeria” opened (Sewell’s wife Florence signed the 1944 partnership agreement). Therefore, Sewell likely had no involvement with the initial creation of deep-dish pizza.
Still, others insist it was Rudy Malnati Sr. the longtime manager of Pizzeria Uno and father of future pizzeria owners Lou Malnati and Rudy Malnati Jr., who created deep-dish pizza. But multiple primary sources show Rudy Malnati Sr. was the pizzeria’s third manager, not the first. Other than later statements made by Sewell and Malnati, there is no primary source evidence Rudy Malnati Sr. had any official involvement with the pizzeria in the 1940s. Interestingly, his son Lou Malnati was a bartender at Pizzeria Uno before Rudy Malnati Sr. was Pizzeria Uno’s manager.
Finally, others say Ric Riccardo created deep-dish pizza. Riccardo, an Italian-American artist who came to Chicago in the late 1920s, eventually opened a popular restaurant on Rush Street, later opened “The Pizzeria” as the sole owner, and then partnered with Ike Sewell’s wife Florence until he died in 1954. Primary sources show Ric Riccardo lived with his family at an apartment at 29 E. Ohio St. from late 1942 until 1944. By November 1942, the previous owners of the basement tavern at 29 E. Ohio St. called “The Pelican” had closed their business. It’s likely that in the late summer/early fall of 1943, Riccardo got the idea to open up “The Pizzeria” and also, during that period, developed the initial deep-dish recipe. Is Riccardo’s original recipe the same deep-dish pizza we eat today? Probably not. It’s certainly possible the original dough recipe was later modified by Uno’s pizza cook Alice Mae Redmond when she was hired sometime in the mid to late 1940s. Additionally, for reasons not entirely clear, deep-dish pizza almost certainly got thicker sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s period.
Recorded via Zoom on May 13, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Ravinia Music Under the Stars Around the World An Archives Access Project Courtesy of the Illinois Secretary of State
Presented by Steve Gianni, Project Archivist for Ravinia Park Collections Nancy Webster, Archivist of the Highland Park Archives and Local History Collections at the library
This project has been a journey of discovery through the basement, closets and file cabinets of an institution established in 1904. A hidden collection laid waiting for an archives program to claim it. We hope this is the beginning of a program that will fill in gaps in the Festival’s institutional memory and documentation.
Thankfully, the Highland Park Historical Society had already begun the work with the Ravinia Park Collection, an important task of collecting of programs, posters, and other historical materials for each season. And, the Ravinia Association donated records to the Newberry Library, creating an additional resource. These materials and many stored on site at the Ravinia Festival have been digitized with a grant to the Highland Park Public Library from the Illinois Secretary of State, as have other materials documenting the festival housed at Ravinia, the Newberry Library, and other locations.
A presentation of key images and documents will be presented to create a historical timeline of Ravinia Festival from this collaboration.
Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute is also a part of this project. Since 1988, the institute has hosted musicians from around the globe in intimate performances and Master Classes with renowned musicians from the classical and jazz world. Luckily, these performances were all video recorded, and are being digitized and uploaded to the Illinois State Library and will be available to the world. Culled from over 1,000 videotapes of various formats from 1988 through 2013, plus over 150 digital video files from 2014 through 2019. This collection will represent the entire history of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, creating an invaluable educational and historical resource.
About the Highland Park Historical Society: The mission of the Highland Park Historical Society is to preserve our community’s past, to inspire an appreciation of our history and culture, and to share with the community and scholars the rich history of Highland Park, Illinois. The Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Archives and Research Collections are housed in the Highland Park Public Library.
Recorded via Zoom on April 22, 2021
www.HighlandParkHistory.com
Linking DNA to the microscope Timothy James PhD
In the past twenty years the field of mycology has been revolutionized by studies that use DNA detected in the environment to reveal a hidden diversity that exceeds the diversity that has been formally described. In other words, what is present in the pages of journals and cabinets of herbaria is only the tip of the iceberg of a vast fungal species diversity. Unfortunately knowing something is there can only tell one so much. Timothy James will discuss some of the approaches we can use to infer the biology of these hidden organisms using a Tree of Life paradigm and microscopy and cultivation methods. He will discuss in particular a project on the aquatic group known as chytrids which are mostly known as aquatic parasites of algae, zooplankton, or as water molds. These fascinating fungi are the only ones that spores that swim around, which is an adaptation for living in an aquatic habitat that has been maintained from before the blossoming of life on land. In this project we are using sequencing from single cells observed in the microscope to read out the evolutionary history and ecological toolkit that is written into the genome.
Timothy James is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan and the Curator of Fungi at the University Herbarium. He received my BSc in Botany from the University of Georgia and PhD from Duke University. His research focuses on reconstructing the Fungal Tree of Life and using DNA sequencing to understand the mysterious ways that fungi reproduce and find food in the environment. His specific groups of interest include the chytrid fungi, a microscopic group that like animals has retained the ability to swim. He recently established a culture collection that maintains over 1000 strains of these fungi for distribution to the scientific community. He has been actively involved in the Mycological Society of America and served as Associate Editor for Mycologia. Additional service roles include Director of the department’s Frontiers Master’s Bridging Program, Co-Founder and Director of the Midwest American Mycological Information educational non-profit, and member of the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s Users Executive Committee.
Recorded via Zoom on April 19, 2021
www.IllinoisMyco.org
The Making of James Beard, An American Legend
Presented by John Birdsall, Author, The Man Who Ate Too Much
Food of the past that comes to us through recipes and cookbooks can appear to be fixed evidence of what generations before us ate, their tastes and preferences. John Birdsall says that his research for The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard (Norton, 2020) challenged all his assumptions about that. The author found that letters between Beard and his agent and publishers revealed that the backstories about how some of the most influential cookbooks published last century included prejudice, messy personal feuds, persuasion, underhandedness, and compromise.
In his talk, Mr. Birdsall will describe the making of three of James Beard’s iconic cookbooks: The Fireside Cook Book of 1949, Delights and Prejudices of 1964, and James Beard’s American Cookery of 1972. He’ll talk about the original pitches for the books, how those changed during the writing; he’ll look at how Beard’s editors shaped his words and his persona; how Beard himself struggled to find his voice and identity; his work with ghost writers and collaborators; and how the books were received by the press and the public.
John Birdsall is a Tucson-based food and culture writer, author of The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard (Norton, 2020), and the recipient of two James Beard Awards for writing. He is the co-author, with chef James Syhabout, of Hawker Fare (Ecco Press, 2018). His articles have appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle, @John_Birdsall
Recorded via Zoom on April 14, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Shooting Spores: Understand the Physics of the Most Amazing Apparatuses on Earth
Presented by Anne Pringle, PhD
Fungi use spores to move between habitats and spore dispersal is critical to their success. Fungi use an astonishing array of apparatuses and strategies to move their progeny: sacs filled with fluid that explode like water balloons, collapsing drops of liquid, and winds created by the cooperative release of hundreds of thousands of their spores. Fungi may even sense impending thunderstorms and use their updrafts to disperse longer distances. I’ll talk about all of this amazing biology and try and convince you that fungi actively manipulate the fates of their spores, a contrast to the perception of spore release as entirely passive.
Anne Pringle was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and spent her childhood traveling through Southeast Asia and West Africa. After being dragged along on one-too-many birding expeditions, she abandoned the birds for fungi. She was an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, and then completed a Ph.D. in Botany and Genetics at Duke University. After completing a Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, she joined the faculty at Harvard University. She next moved to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she is now Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Departments of Botany and Bacteriology.
She has been awarded the Alexopoulos Prize for a Distinguished Early Career Mycologist (2010), the Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Harvard University Graduate Student Council (2011), the Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching from Harvard University (2013), and a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship (2011-2012).
IllinoisMyco.org
Recorded via Zoom on April 5, 2021
How the Frugality of Rural Foodways Reshaped this Nationally Acclaimed Chef
Presented by Vivian Howard Chef, Author, PBS Host
Vivian Howard moved from New York back to her rural hometown to open a fine-dining restaurant that she hoped would reshape the palates of eastern North Carolina. But an encounter with collard kraut and a trip to “America’s largest pork display” ignited her interest in the traditional foods and culinary techniques unique to the Carolina coastal plain she calls home. So instead of changing the way her friends and neighbors eat, her community transformed Vivian’s culinary point of view and gave her cooking a singular voice. In this discussion Vivian talks about the food of the frugal farmer and how that approach to the kitchen reshaped the way she cooks in her restaurants and at home. “
Vivian Howard is an award-winning cookbook author, tv personality, chef and restaurateur. Her first cookbook, Deep Run Roots: Stories & Recipes from My Corner of the South (2016), is a New York Times bestseller and was named “Cookbook of the Year” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She created and stars in public television shows Somewhere South and A Chef’s Life, for which she has won Peabody, Emmy and James Beard awards. Vivian runs the restaurants Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, NC; Benny’s Big Time in Wilmington, NC; Handy & Hot and Lenoir in Charleston, SC. In October 2020, Vivian released her second cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking.
Recorded via Zoom on March 24, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Illuminating Fungi: the Science of Fungal Bioluminescence with Brian Perry PhD
Fungal bioluminescence was first described by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.), and continues to fascinate and puzzle scientists today. While over 100 species of fungi are known to produce luminescent mushrooms or mycelium, the chemical and genetic basis of the light-producing reaction was only recently discovered, and the reason these fungi glow remains somewhat of a mystery. Come learn about our current understanding of the evolution, ecology and biochemistry of this phenomenon. And yes, there will be lots of pictures of glowing mushrooms!
Bio: "Brian Perry is an Associate Professor of Biology at California State University, East Bay. He received his Master's Degree from San Francisco State University under the guidance of Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University where he studied with Dr. Donald H. Pfister. Brian has been studying fungi since 1995, and has published over 45 papers in scientific journals. In addition to studying the evolution of fungal bioluminescence, he also conducts research on mushrooms and other fungi of Vanuatu, the assembly and biogeography of island fungal communities, endophytic fungi of Hawaiian plants, and the systematics of Mycena and allied genera. Brian teaches several mycology courses at Cal State East Bay and the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, and recently launched a Sierra Nevada Mycoflora project.”
Recorded via zoom on March 1, 2021.
IllinoisMyco.org
Swedish Pancakes for Breakfast?
Presented by B. Marcus L. Cederström Folklorist
Why do we eat the things we eat? And how do those things change due to migration?
This talk explores what the foods we eat can tell us about immigration, identity, and Nordic-American life in the Upper Midwest, by focusing on coffee, lutefisk, and, of course, Swedish pancakes.
Marcus Cederström earned his B.A. from the University of Oregon in Sports, Business, History, and Scandinavian Studies, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It is there that he works in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic Studies as the community curator of Nordic-American folklore for the ‘Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest’ project.
Recorded via Zoom on March 4, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food
An interview with Chef Marcus Samuelsson
Conducted by culinary historian and food writer Donna Pierce
Black cooking has always been more than “soul food,” with flavors tracing to the African continent, to the Caribbean, all over the United States, and beyond.
Join us as internationally acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson highlights the diverse deliciousness of Black cooking today. Driven by a desire to fight against bias, reclaim Black culinary traditions, and energize a new generation of cooks, Chef Samuellson will share his own journey and that of other top chefs, writers, and activists.
The Ethiopian-born, Swedish raised, Marcus Samuelsson is one of the most famous chefs in the world. He’s an entrepreneur, philanthropist and culinary star with a long list of TV and book credits as well as ownership of a namesake global hospitality group that includes more than a dozen restaurants. His most famous eatery, Red Rooster is in New York’s Harlem, where he lives. Chef Samuelsson’s latest book, The Rise, begins with a look to the future, exploring where Black food is heading, and then pays homage to cooks on whose shoulders Black chefs stand, and the migration stories that make the cuisine so diverse and rich.
A fixture in Chicago’s culinary scene, Donna Pierce has worked as a test kitchen director and assistant food editor for the Chicago Tribune, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and contributing editor for Upscale Magazine. Her syndicated column “Black America Cooks” has appeared in the Chicago Defender and other national Black publications. With a Nieman Foundation Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University, she researched black cookbooks and forgotten cooks at The Schlesinger Library for her upcoming book about Freda Deknight.
http://www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Thoughts on the Origins of Pizzerias in America and Chicago
with Peter Regas PizzaHistoryBook.com
In the past, the historical consensus was the first licensed pizzeria in America was opened in 1905 at 53 Spring St. in New York City by a young Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi. However, in 2019 at the U.S. Pizza Museum in Chicago, Peter Regas challenged that consensus with a talk titled “Filippo Milone and the Forgotten Pizza Makers of New York City.”
Based on more than ten years of archival research, Regas makes the following claims. There’s no primary source evidence a then eighteen-year-old Gennaro Lombardi owned a pizzeria in 1905. Instead, sources show Lombardi briefly owned the 53 Spring St. pizzeria in 1908, re-purchased it from a relative in 1918, and continued to own it until his death in 1958. More significantly, when Lombardi bought the pizzeria in 1908 it had already been a pizzeria for several years. The now-famous pizzeria was probably established in 1898 by a previously forgotten but extremely significant pizza maker named Filippo Milone. It turns out, the Spring Street pizzeria was probably just one of at least six different New York City pizzerias established by Milone between the years 1894-1922. Born in Piano di Sorrento in 1862, Milone is one of several previously unknown New York City pizza makers of an earlier generation who decided to emigrate around the turn of the century from Italy’s Campania region. Which pizza maker of that earlier generation opened up the first pizzeria in America? Regas discovered Giovanni Albano, a former pizzeria owner from Naples, established the first currently verified pizzeria in 1894 at 59 ½ Mulberry St. in New York City. While there is evidence of earlier pizzerias the farther back in time one searches the more circumstantial the evidence becomes and the more one is forced to confront the distinction between a peddler, a bakery, and a dedicated pizzeria.
In the upcoming presentation, Regas will also be presenting evidence of the first known pizzerias in Chicago. Tom Granato’s Pizzeria Napolitana established in 1924 at 907 W. Taylor St will be discussed along with many never-before-published Granato pizzeria photos. Long forgotten Chicago pizzerias in the 1930s and early 1940s will also be presented. Questions naturally flow when the historical record is revealed. Was there anyone before Granato? When did pizza become popular in Chicago? How and why was Chicago’s pizza history different than New York’s? Why were the taverns so dominant in Chicago’s pizza history? And finally what’s the deal with the tavern cut?
Note, Regas will not be presenting his discoveries on the origins of Pizzeria Uno and Chicago deep-dish pizza in this talk. That subject is complicated enough to need a presentation dedicated exclusively to deep-dish pizza which is currently scheduled with the Chicago Foodways Roundtable for Thursday, May 13, 2021.
Recorded on February 11, 2021 via ZOOM.
CulinaryHistorians.com
Mushroom Preservation: How to preserve, store and enjoy your foraged bounty for year-round use
with Trent and Kristen Blizzard
When the rains come the mushrooms often come out in abundance. If you do not want all those fresh mushrooms to go to waste, what can you do with them? Learn tips & techniques to preserve your fresh mushrooms from Trent and Kristen. Once preserved, you can enjoy them in the coming year, or give them as gifts to friends and family.
Self proclaimed “modern foragers” Trent and Kristen Blizzard reside in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. They have been trekking the forests of Colorado, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest for years mostly with wild, edible mushrooms in mind. At first a hobby, the hunt for mushrooms quickly became nothing short of an obsession for these two mycophiles, both of whom are certified Wild Mushroom Identification Experts in their home state of Colorado.
They are the authors of Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide. Whether you are a seasoned forager or new to the wild and wonderful word of edible forest fungi, this book has something for you! You will find a wealth of tips and tricks for harvesting each mushroom, along with general cooking techniques and preservation methods. They endeavor to explore not only a selection of delicious cuisine and new methods of cooking these wild edibles, but the question of how to preserve and enjoy your harvests all year long. The book is also a celebration of people they have met over the years.
Regardless of what mushroom they are after or where they are searching, Trent and Kristen often have their two crazy doodles (Benzie and Lulu) helping out. They also employ a wide range of technologies that bring a modern twist to an ancient practice. As modern foragers, they utilize digital mapping, social media, GPS, phone apps, and even satellite internet while on the road. You will find them blogging about their adventures
Recorded via Zoom on February 1, 2021
IllinoisMyco.org
What's in a Name? Understanding nomenclature and name changes Presented by Patrick Leacock, PhD
Our current system of naming started 267 years ago with Carl Linnaeus. He gave us Agaricus (gilled fungi) and Boletus (pored fungi) and nine other genus names for 89 species of fungi. Later Fries and Persoon and others published lots more scientific names. The proliferation of names got messy. So 177 years ago folks started developing rules for using names that became a code for nomenclature. Today we have about 100,000 species with more named every year. We will look at scientific names and the basic requirements for their publication. Examples will show the various reasons for names to change; splitting and lumping and splitting is common for genera and species.
Patrick is a mycologist documenting the mushrooms of the Chicago Region. He teaches botany and mycology at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He assists with forays and programs for the Illinois Mycological Association. He started his mushroom activities with the Minnesota Mycological Society before moving to Chicago. Patrick ran the Voucher Program for 20 years with the North American Mycological Association. Visit Patrick's website at www.mycoguide.com where he is trying to keep up with some of the name changes.
Recorded via Zoom on January 18, 2021
IllinoisMyco.org
Gordon Sinclair, Live!
An interview with the Chicago culinary icon conducted by award-winning food writer and publisher Michael Gebert
The following information appeared in The Chicago Food Encyclopedia, University of Illinois Press, 2017, and was authored by Barbara Revsine.
Gordon Sinclair was working in public relations when a psychic predicted he would become a famous restaurateur. After working part-time as a maître d’ to see whether he liked it, he opened his flagship restaurant Gordon in 1976. While Sinclair’s forte was the front of the house, he was a keen judge of culinary talent. Every chef who ever worked for him, beginning with Norman Van Aken and including Michael Kornick, Michael Foley, Carrie Nahabedian, and Charlie Trotter, turned in a bravura performance. His restaurant raised the standard for Chicago dining and became a showcase of contemporary American cuisine.
Sinclair also was an urban pioneer. Choosing to open his first restaurant on the 500 block of North Clark Street when the area was littered with derelicts and seedy bars helped to jump-start the trend-setting neighborhood’s gentrification.
Gordon’s clientele was a worldly as they were food savvy. They smiled at the salacious artwork in the restrooms, appreciated the avant-garde option of ordering half portions of select dishes, cheered the groundbreaking ban on cell phones, and displayed an endless appetite for the restaurant’s flourless chocolate cake and artichoke fritters. He closed the restaurant and retired in 1999.
Michael Gebert is one of Chicago’s leading food writers and food media professionals. He is editor and publisher of Fooditor, which won a Peter Lisagor Award for Best Independent Blog in 2019, and has written for the Chicago Reader, Chicago magazine, Plate, First We Feast, and other publications. As video producer for the Reader’s Key Ingredient chef challenge series, he won a James Beard Award in 2011 and has been nominated two other times for his video work. He is currently working on an oral history of Chicago restaurants for Agate Publishing.
Recorded via Zoom on January 13, 2021
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
An Onion in My Pocket, My Life with Vegetables Presented by Deborah Madison
Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country’s leading authority on vegetables. She profoundly changed the way generations of Americans think about cooking with vegetables, helping to transform “vegetarian” from a dirty word into a mainstream way of eating. But before she became a household name, Madison spent almost twenty years as an ordained Buddhist priest, coming of age in the midst of counterculture San Francisco. In this charmingly intimate and refreshingly frank memoir, she tells her story–and with it the story of the vegetarian movement–for the very first time. From her childhood in Big Ag Northern California to working in the kitchen of the then-new Chez Panisse, and from the birth of food TV to the age of green markets everywhere, An Onion in My Pocket is as much the story of the evolution of American foodways as it is the memoir of the woman at the forefront. It is a deeply personal look at the rise of vegetable-forward cooking, and a manifesto for how to eat well.
Recorded via Zoom on December 9, 2020.
http://www.CulinaryHistorians.org
How Trader Joe’s Changed the Way America Eats Presented by Susie Wyshak
Discover Trader Joe’s key role in introducing fun and unusual foods into the American diet decades ago, when the company was already encouraging the non-health food store shopper to try “better for you” versions of already-popular foods. Wyshak compares items featured in a 1982 flyer to how we eat now to show TJ’s importance in creating a nation of adventurous food lovers. This is not a “history of Trader Joe’s” but rather a fascinating snapshot of a turning point in American food history. At her interactive talk, we will be encouraged to share their own memories of TJ’s early days and food shopping today.
Author Susie Wyshak has lived life seeking out, selling, promoting, and enjoying good food around the world. She wrote, Good Food, Great Business: How to Take Your Artisan Food Idea From Concept to Marketplace (Chronicle Books). Her self-published book, Chocolate Chip Cookie School helps kids learn critical thinking through cookies by deconstructing the history of the cookie and its ingredients, and then learning how to plan a cookie business or bake sale. Her latest book is, TJ’s Then & Now. Wyshak grew up in L.A. and now lives in Oakland, California where she consults with specialty food companies and recently did a stint as a concierge at a prominent specialty food store. She has happily shopped at more than fifty Trader Joe’s stores around the country.
If you would like to obtain a copy of Susie's book TJ’s Then & Now, it is $15 including delivery. http://foodstarter.com/product/signed-tjs-then-now-book-by-susie-wyshak/
Recorded via Zoom on December 3, 2020.
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Women in the Kitchen, 12 Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Way We Eat
Anne Willan
Women cookbook writers have had an enormous influence on the way we eat today. In her latest book, Women in the Kitchen: Twelve Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today, Anne Willan profiles twelve of these women–from Hannah Woolley in the mid-1600s to Fannie Farmer, Edna Lewis, Alice Waters, and her dear friend, Julia Child. From her home in London, via Zoom, Anne will discuss the lives and works of these women, whose landmark books have defined cooking over the past three hundred years. Highlighting their historical contributions and most representative recipes, Anne shows how they created the foundation of the American table. Anne will discuss these topics in a conversation with CHC President Scott Warner, and will gladly take your questions at the end of her program.. Biography: Anne Willan has more than 50 years of experience as a cooking teacher, author, and culinary historian. The founder of renowned French cooking school La Varenne, Anne was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Hall of Fame for her “body of work” in May, 2013. She has also received the International Association of Culinary Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award, multiple James Beard Foundation Awards for her cookbooks, and was named Bon Appétit magazine’s Cooking Teacher of the Year in 2000. In July 2014, Anne was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the French the Légion d’Honneur for her accomplishments in promoting the gastronomy of France. Her more than 30 books include La Varenne Pratique, (1989); The Country Cooking of France, (2007); and The Cookbook Library, (2012).
Recorded on November 28, 2020 via Zoom
www,CulinaryHistorians.org
Sweet Greeks: First Generation Immigrant Confectioners in the Heartland Presented by Ann Flesor Beck
Gus Flesor came to the United States from Greece in 1901. His journey led him to Tuscola, Illinois, where he learned the confectioner's trade and opened a business that still stands on Main Street. Sweet Greeks sets the story of Gus Flesor's life as an immigrant in a small town within the larger history of Greek migration to the Midwest.
Ann re-creates the atmosphere of her grandfather's candy kitchen with its odors of chocolate and popcorn and the comings-and-goings of family members. "The Store" represented success while anchoring the business district of Gus's chosen home. It also embodied the Midwest émigré experience of chain migration, immigrant networking, resistance and outright threats by local townspeople, food-related entrepreneurship, and tensions over whether later generations would take over the business.
Ann Flesor Beck is a third-generation Greek confectioner and independent scholar. With her sister, she co-owns and operates Flesor's Candy Kitchen in Tuscola, Illinois.
https://www.flesorskitchen.com/index.html
CulinaryHistorians.com
Recorded on November 10, 2020 via Zoom.
Commercial Cordyceps Breeding Presented by William Padilla-Brown
Over the past 2 years a select handful of individuals have been developing breeding techniques for commercial Cordyceps militaris strains. Follow each step from the forest to the lab and cultivate an understanding of the breeding process for this beloved fungi.
WILLIAM PADILLA-BROWN
Founder of MycoSymbiotics, William Padilla-Brown is a social entrepreneur, citizen scientist, mycologist, amateur 'phychologist', urban shaman, writer, you-tube vlogger, contributing editor for Fungi mag, researcher, poet, and father. William holds Permaculture Design Certificates acquired through Susquehanna Permaculture and NGOZI. William is leading the country in the field of Cordyceps cultivation. William regularly teaches at mushrooms clubs around the country, festivals, Agricultural conferences, and more. https://www.mycosymbiotics.net/
IllinoisMyco.org
Recorded on November 9, 2020 via Zoom.
No Ketchup! Why Dennis Foley Ate 50 Hot Dogs in 50 Days
Presented by Dennis Foley
“The basic Chicago dog has its own ingredients,” said Dennis Foley about the “Magnificent Seven” of mustard, onions, relish, tomatoes, pickle (or cucumber), sport peppers and celery salt that should top a dog with snap in a steamed bun.
The Chicago-style Hot Dog is fit for kings and commoners alike. In Dennis Foley’s No Ketchup, you'll find Chicago's Top 50 hot dogs along with stories about the mom and pop entrepreneurs who slap the mustard on your wiener. No matter where you're at in the Chicago area, Foley will direct you to the nearest location for that tasty dog with plenty of snap. Get yours with everything or hold the relish. Whatever the case, stop in to one of these joints, grab a dog, and share a few words with the folks behind the counter as you knock down one of the greatest treats known to mankind.
Dennis Foley holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College-Chicago and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. His first book, The Streets and San Man's Guide To Chicago Eats, won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Awards--1st Place for Humor. Happily married to Susan, Dennis is also the proud father of Matt, Pat, and Mike. The Foley clan resides in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood.
Recorded on October 22, 2020 via Zoom.
http://www.CulinaryHistorians.com
What a Waste! Here’s what the world is doing to recover, reduce and recycle food waste
Presented by Andrew Smith Culinary Historians, Author, Editor
Don’t hold your nose! We’re not going to trash-talk you. Instead we’re going to offer you some savory food for thought when Andy Smith, one of our nation’s most esteemed culinary historians lifts the lid on a vital issue: food waste. Join us as Andy shows us how saving food and preventing waste are crucial matters that have confronted humankind for millennia. During the twentieth century, lower food prices and societal changes encouraged food waste in well-to-do countries. During the latter part of the century, concern with food waste was raised by two major groups: environmentalists and anti-hunger advocates. Environmentalists were concerned with the impact of food waste issues in rapidly expanding landfills. They also identified it as a major contributor to global warming. Those concerned with food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger wanted to recover as much edible food as possible to help feed to the needy. When food prices skyrocketed in the early 2000s due to rapidly increasing food prices, bad weather, and the financial crisis known as the “Great Recession,” millions of people around the world were facing hunger and malnutrition. War was declared on food waste in many countries. Books, articles, films, conferences and television programs alerted businesses and consumers to issues associated with food waste. Governmental programs, organizations and businesses were launched to help recover, reduce, and recycle food waste.
BIOGRAPHY: Andrew F. Smith has taught food studies courses at the New School University since 1996. He is currently teaching an undergraduate course online “Zero Food Waste.” Andrew is the editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, and is the author or editor of 33 books. His most recent works include the three-volume Food in America (2017), Fast Food: The Good, the Bad and the Hungry (2016), and Why Waste Food? (2020). He serves as the series editor for both the “Edible Series” and the “Food Controversies Series” at Reaktion Books in the United Kingdom.
Recorded via Zoom on October 21, 2020
http://www.culinaryHistorians.org
Western Burn Morels Trent and Kristen Blizzard
Morel mushrooms are famous for thriving in Western forests the year after a wild fire. Join us and learn how to locate and collect these edible fungi. Locating ideal burn morel terrain starts online with topographic and satellite maps. Other factors that affect your likelihood of hunting success include weather, forest type, elevation, aspect, season and terrain. We will also be sure to discuss the various Morchella species that thrive in the burn as well as proper etiquette and the Leave No Trace practices.
Self proclaimed “modern foragers” Trent and Kristen Blizzard reside in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. They have been trekking the forests of Colorado, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest for years mostly with wild, edible mushrooms in mind. At first a hobby, the hunt for mushrooms quickly became nothing short of an obsession for these two mycophiles, both of whom are certified Wild Mushroom Identification Experts in their home state of Colorado. They are the authors of the soon to be released, Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide. Whether you are a seasoned forager or new to the wild and wonderful word of edible forest fungi, this book has something for you! You will find a wealth of tips and tricks for harvesting each mushroom, along with general cooking techniques and preservation methods. They endeavor to explore not only a selection of delicious cuisine and new methods of cooking these wild edibles, but the question of how to preserve and enjoy your harvests all year long. The book is also a celebration of people they have met over the years.
Regardless of what mushroom they are after or where they are searching, Trent and Kristen often have their two crazy doodles (Benzie and Lulu) helping out. They also employ a wide range of technologies that bring a modern twist to an ancient practice. As modern foragers, they utilize digital mapping, social media, GPS, phone apps, and even satellite internet while on the road. You will find them blogging about their adventures at modernforager.com.
Detangling the Wood Wide Web: Assessing Functionality of Common Mycelial Networks
Willow AbshireSims
What lies beneath our feet when we walk through a forest? A massive web of mycelium runs underground, connecting trees by the roots in a network commonly referred to as the “Wood Wide Web”. But what do we know about this “Wood Wide Web”? Perhaps more importantly: what don’t we know, and where might future research take us in our understanding of these interactions?
Bio: Willow AbshireSims is a Masters student at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. She graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2019 with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Biology. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, foraging, and collecting rocks. Her favorite fungus is Marasmius oreades (Fairy Ring Mushrooms).
Image: Attached image sourced from: http://www.envision-dtp.org/2017/investigating-the-transfer-of-carbon-between-trees-via-common-mycorrhizal-networks/
Recorded via Zoom on October 5, 2020
IllinoisMyco.org
An Invasion of Gastronomic Proportions: My Adventures with Chicago Animals, Human and Otherwise
Presented by Mike Sula, Senior Writer, The Chicago Reader
Mike’s favorite stories were about the people on the edges of the city’s food system; the oddballs, the uncelebrated, the immigrants cooking for their own—and especially the people willing to break the law to put food on the table. There was Shirley the Muffin Lady, making the rounds of the bars with baskets full of weed-spiked treats. There were the househusbands running an outlaw charcuterie operation out of a Skokie home kitchen. And then there was Chef Albert D’Angelo, the insufferable, arrogant jerk, who’d opened a secret restaurant out in the lake, two miles off Oak Street Beach.
Going over the quarter century of pieces Mike’s written for The Reader: there have been lots of tales of human animals doing strange things with other species—and not just eating them. There was the dastardly catnapping orchestrated by a stay-at-home mom; the colony of cemetery-dwelling, hot dog-gorging racoons and their human enablers; the farmer who cloned his prizewinning dairy cow; and the obsessive fossil collectors scouring slag piles filled with 300-million-year-old invertebrates. An invasion of Louisiana crawfish in the surging Chicago River, and the neighbors that waded in after them for dinner. Not every story will be covered, so you may want to get the book! All proceeds benefit the fifty-year-old Chicago Reader.
Mike Sula is a senior writer at The Chicago Reader. He’s the paper’s resident food writer and has been a contributor since 1995. He’s written about politics, crime, film, health care, and paleontology, and have profiled a rainbow of urban eccentrics. His work has been published in Harper’s, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, NPR’s The Salt, Plate, Eater, and more and his story about outlaw charcuterie appeared in Best Food Writing 2010. His story “Chicken of the Trees,” about eating city squirrels, won the James Beard Foundation’s 2013 M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award. Mike is also the senior editor for Kitchen Toke, the magazine of culinary cannabis.
https://store.chicagoreader.com/product/best-of-mike-sula/ https://store.chicagoreader.com/product/reader-recipes/
Recorded via Zoom on September 24, 2020.
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Fat Rascals: Dining at Shakespeare’s Table
Presented by John Tufts Actor, Author
If you ever wanted to see Shakespeare sizzle, now”s your chance. Join our “Zoominar” as actor/cook John Tufts dishes up an historically savory stew of Elizabethan and Tudor Culinary delights that the Bard himself whetted our appetites for in his iconic plays.
A nationally acclaimed Shakespearean actor (you may have seen him perform at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater), and a professional cook, John has written and photographed a book about his love of theater and food: “Fat Rascals: Dining at Shakespeare’s Table.”
Here’s how one reviewer sums it up: “As an actor, John has the uncanny ability to make Shakespeare’s verse feel both authentic, modern and profound. His indispensable cookbook is steeped in that same zest for language. But this is more than a cookbook: it’s a time-machine, spiriting us back 400 years to a world of seasonal rhythms and communal revelry. Plus, it’s ridiculously entertaining—far more fun than any guide this substantial has a right to be. Imagine Alton Brown, Kenneth Branagh, and David Sedaris stirred into pate a choux, and you’ll have John Tufts.” —Prof. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, contributing writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker
John will take us on his time machine and help us taste our way through the past as he reveals how he researched and followed up on Shakespeare’s many food references, coming up with 150 recipes for the home cook. Recipes include pasties, salads, soups, meat, poultry, game and fish, pastries, sauces and drink. John will also put on his chef’s toque for us and demonstrate how to make “Chewets,” a mini meat pie, that he uses as his first recipe to introduce us to the food of Shakespeare.
Biography: John Tufts is an actor and cook. He has cooked professionally in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Oregon. As an actor, John works on stage internationally, having played Romeo, Puck, Macbeth, Henry V and many other characters in 22 of Shakespeare’s 37 plays. For 12 years he was company member with the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also worked in Chicago at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and The Goodman. Among his television work was his role on Fashions for Men on PBS Great Performances.
For more information on John, and to order his book, go to his website:
http://www.john-tufts.com/fatrascalsbook/fat-rascals-dining-at-shakespeares-table
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Illinois Mycological on iNaturalist
Patrick Leacock, PhD
Join us for a Zoom session with local mycologist Patrick Leacock. We will be looking through and discussing recent observations posted to the popular app and website: iNaturalist.org. Mushrooms, polypores, boletes, and chanterelles are some of the fungi being found this summer.
The club project is here: Mycoflora of Chicago IMA member observations https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mycoflora-of-chicago-ima-member-observations
We have 22 members participating so far. If you want to join us, you can create your account on iNaturalist and send your User Name to Patrick at mycoguide@gmail.com.
For more information on using iNaturalist and the Mycoflora project see links here: http://www.mycoguide.com/mycoflora/
IllinoisMyco.org
A Path to Knowing All the Mushrooms of Illinois
with Stephen Russell
Stephen will discuss his efforts to create a statewide biodiversity survey of macrofungi from Indiana and how these efforts can be applied to neighbors in Illinois. Primary topics will include integrating citizen scientists, online forays, specimen collection, and how anyone in Illinois can get important specimens DNA sequenced for free.
Stephen Russell is a mycologist from Indiana working on a biodiversity survey of all of the macrofungi (mushrooms) that occur in the state. He founded The Hoosier Mushroom Society in 2009 and is currently the President of the organization. His initial interest in mushrooms began with cultivation, which led to writing a book titled The Essential Guide to Cultivating Mushrooms (Storey Publishing, 2014). Stephen’s current project is a citizen science and DNA based exploration of local fungal biodiversity, which has now generated thousands of new DNA-sequenced collections of fungal fruitbodies from across the state. Stephen is currently a Ph.D. candidate in mycology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He also holds a Masters of Public Affairs (MPA) and a Masters of Environmental Science (MS) from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Communications from Purdue University. When not working with fungi, Stephen works as the CTO for a private equity firm.
Visit Mycoflora's website at https://mycoflora.org/
Recorded via Zoom on August 3, 2020.
IllinoisMyco.com
The Rule of Rum
Presented by Cynthia Clampitt
Food historian Cynthia Clampitt shares the reason rum arose where it did and when it did, as well as how pirates got involved and who really said “yo, ho, ho” (not the pirates), but also explains how rum was involved in uniting the 13 Colonies, why it was one of the issues that led to the American Revolution, how it also led to a revolt in its next home after the Caribbean: Australia, and how it affected culture and history around the world after that.
Speaker Bio: Cynthia Clampitt is a writer, geographer, and food historian. She has written textbooks for every major educational publisher in the U.S., including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and National Geographic Learning. She is the author of Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland and Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs: Wild Boar to Baconfest, as well as of the award-winning travel narrative, Waltzing Australia—and it was in Australia that she first became aware of the international impact of the rum trade. Clampitt is a member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, the Society of Women Geographers, the Society of Midland Authors, the Agricultural History Society, and the Association of Food Journalist.
www.worldplate.com www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Recorded on June 18, 2020 via Zoom.
Chicago's Live Poultry Shops, FoodCultura - University of Chicago, Fall, 2019
Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken.
There was a technical error in audio recording affecting its quality. It is posted to maintain the historical record of this event.
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on February 15, 2020
Comparative Food Choices, FoodCultura - University of Chicago, Fall, 2019
Cleo Schoeplein and Liz Rice present their work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods.
There was a technical error in audio recording affecting its quality. It is posted to maintain the historical record of this event.
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on February 15, 2020
16,000 years of Global Potato History
Presented by Raghavan Iyer Author, Teacher
Our speaker, Raghavan Iyer, is the author of “Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked–and Fried, Too!: A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes.” And he’s going to have one heck of a spudworthy program for us. Here’s his tater-tot preview:
“The fourth largest crop in the world, next to wheat, rice, and maize, this member of the nightshade family Solanaceae (which includes eggplant, peppers, and the tomato), with the botanical name Solanum tuberosum, is rooted in the Andean civilization that cultivated it around 10,000 CE. But it wasn’t until the Inca civilization (around 1500 CE) that the potato’s true agricultural impact was unleashed. Their intricate and sophisticated agricultural planning and tools, along with the ability of the potato to survive severe shifts in climate within short time periods, made this is a winsome partnership. Now it is an essential ingredient in billions of kitchens in over 100 countries across the globe
No other crop in the world has had such an impact on every aspect of life, as we know it. It seems I’m being overly dramatic, but don’t just take my word for it. The history of the potato speaks for itself as you trace its social, economical, political, and societal implications in every nook and corner of the globe across all continents. I will be discussing the significance of this tuber through a timeline dating back 16,000 years and bringing it into the 21st century. I have culled information from various sources, crafting the story of the potato to experience the depth of its influences over the years.”
Biography: Named by Epicurious.com as one of the top 100 influencers ever for home cooks in 2017 (alongside names like Julia Child and James Beard), Raghavan Iyer is the author of six critically acclaimed books, and has three James Beard Awards (one win and two finalists), one Emmy, and two IACP (formerly the Julia Child Awards) awards for cooking teacher of the year and a cookbook award. A past president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Raghavan is a spokesperson for many international clients and is a consultant for innumerable restaurants across the country. He has been featured numerous times in the New York Times and is a frequent guest on Public Radio’s The Splendid Table. He leads culinary tours yearly to the Indian subcontinent. His website is www.raghavaniyer.com
Recorded May 27, 2020 via Zoom
https://culinaryhistorians.org/16000-years-of-global-potato-history/
Día de Muertos - Day of the Dead, FoodCultura, Fall, 2019
Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on January 25, 2020
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Roeser's Bakery, FoodCultura - University of Chicago, Fall, 2019
Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian.
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on January 25, 2020
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Cotton Candy as Art, FoodCultura, Fall, 2019
Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form.
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on January 25, 2020
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Public and Private Dining Experiences, FoodCultura, Fall, 2019
Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
The collaboration included Foodcultura: The Art and Anthropology of Cuisine, a team-taught course offered during the autumn of 2019 at the University of Chicago. The students, individually or in groups, proposed projects using approaches of anthropology and/or art and carried out extensive fieldwork using the city’s diverse alimentary and gustatory resources. Their final presentations took place during a marathon session in December at UChicago’s Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry.
On January 25 four students presented their work to Chicago Foodways Roundtable. Three presentations centered on the theme of sugar: Yoon-Jee Choi’s analysis of cakes from Roeser’s Bakery through the eyes of a Bauhaus historian; Alana Ferguson’s musings on cotton candy as an art form; and Eli Bec’s discussion of ofrendas prepared for Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead altars) and her own personal ofrenda. Maisie Watson and Daniel Simantob explored the intersection of public and private dining experiences at Sinhá, a Brazilian home-restaurant in Chicago and in their own apartment.
Part 2 of A Taste of FoodCultura, on February 15, will feature Paige Resnick exploring Chicago’s live poultry shops and the many issues associated with selecting and preparing one’s own chicken. Liz Rice will present her work comparing food choices in South Shore and Albany Park, two very different Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, although the student group responsible is unable to attend, we will show The Camera Eats First, a slide presentation commenting on today’s Instagram culture.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on January 25, 2020
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Understanding rot: from present day ecology, to fossil fungi and ancient geology
True woody trees evolved approximately 360 million years ago, and since that time wood has become an important part of forests, influencing soil formation, carbon cycling and many aspects of our current economy. Fungi are the only organisms that have evolved the ability to break down woody material. The decay of wood usually happens in one of two ways: through white rot, which typically returns most of the carbon to the atmosphere, or through brown rot, which binds a significant amount of carbon in the soil for long periods of time. This talk will cover white rot and brown rot fungi, and all rot types in between. In addition, it will cover the range of fossil fungi that have been discovered, and will highlight how the evolution of decay fungi may have shaped the earth’s geological processes, from the Carboniferous period to the present day.
Daniel Lindner has been a research mycologist at the US Forest Service’s Center for Forest Mycology Research since 2003. His research aims to understand how humans affect fungal communities, and how these changes can in turn affect larger ecosystem processes. Daniel’s research has focused on forest management techniques and their influenes on fungal communities and carbon sequestration, as well as the interactions between fungi (both pathogenic and beneficial) and wildlife. Daniel has studied the relationships between fungi and the federally endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker, as well the interactions between insectivorous bats and the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes the devastating disease known as White-Nose Syndrome of bats. Daniel received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Plant Pathology in 2001. His Ph.D. research examined the effects of forest management on wood-inhabiting fungal communities in the upper Midwest. Following his Ph.D., Daniel lived in Uppsala, Sweden where he conducted post-doctoral work investigating DNA-based methods for identifying fungi associated with complex environmental substrates.
Recorded on April 6, 2020 on Zoom
www.IllinoisMyco.org
During World War II, some farmers in Marengo, Illinois negotiated with a large food corporation and federal agencies to make local farm fields into restricted, prison-like spaces. When the Curtiss Candy Company brought Japanese-Americans from the Tule Lake Internment Camp in California to cultivate and pick potatoes in 1943, the Marengo community struggled with the federal government and the candy company to eliminate the outsiders’ presence.
Weighing civic commitments, religious principles, and environmental necessities against racial fears, Marengo ultimately allowed Japanese-Americans to remain and work under surveillance and restriction. Later in 1943, they were joined by German prisoners of war who were formally incarcerated under military guard at nearby Camp Grant. Marengo’s wartime food system remained carceral, or prison-like, for the war’s duration.
Prison farms in a war for freedom may seem ironic, but agricultural communities across the country shared Marengo’s experience. In the Midwest, fields, packing sheds, and canneries received and used several unfree labor groups, including Japanese-Americans, German and Italian prisoners of war. While using federal programs, each receiving community negotiated their own forms of unfreedom on the land. Local and national newspapers, federal archives and published oral history interviews provided the basis for this presentation.
Samuel Klee is a Ph.D. candidate in American History at Saint Louis University. His dissertation, “Caging Cultivators: Carceral Labor Landscapes in American Agriculture during World War II,” examines farms that functioned like prisons for Japanese-Americans and European prisoners of war in the American Midwest. His teaching and research interests range from environmental world history and carceral state studies to education policy.
Presented on April 5, 2020 via Zoom
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO:
Chicago’s evolving restaurant scene: How can the cherished small guy survive?
Presented by Master Chef Michael Lachowicz Owner, George Trois, Aboyer, Silencieux, in Winnetka Image
Remember when you could get a great meal at an independently owned restaurant where the chef was often the owner, dishing out their unique culinary perspective? Well, as large restaurant groups continue to take over our dining scene, more independents are finding it difficult to compete. Will independents lose their voice? Will lovers of great food be impacted? Please join us as master chef Michael Lachowicz gives us his take on Chicago’s evolving restaurant scene, and tells us how cherished independents, like him, can still thrive.
Chef Michael Lachowicz went from helping in his family’s Chicago restaurant to cooking in kitchens spanning from New York to France. With many successful restaurants under his toque, he embodies classic French cuisine and has created a culinary destination in the North suburbs of Chicago. Michael has also gained widespread attention for a weight-loss regimen that saw him fall from more than 400 pounds to not much more than 200 in less than two years.
Michael is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. It was while attending the CIA that he was introduced to the kitchen of Maxime Ribera, a member of the Maitre Cusinier de France. Michael studied under Chef Ribera for two years in New York, before returning to the Chicago area in the late 1980s. He began a three-year stint at Le Francais in Wheeling, where he worked as an assistant to the legendary Chef Jean Banchet.
Michael then left for France to stage at the renowned restaurant Pierre Orsi in Lyon. He also traveled to each region of France, dining in as many highly rated restaurants as he could afford. He returned to the Chicago area in the 1990s and opened Les Deux Gros in Glen Ellyn with his brother. They earned a four-star rating. When Chef Banchet retired, Michael succeeded him at the stoves of Le Francais before starting up his own place, Restaurant Michael, at 64 Green Bay Rd. in Winnetka. That location has now evolved into three distinct French-themed-restaurants, George Trois, Aboyer and Silencieux. In 2019 George Trois became the first suburban restaurant to be named Restaurant of the Year by the Jean Banchet Awards.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on February 22, 2020
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Culinary Historians of Chicago
The Legitimacy and Legacy of Chinese Food in America
"Chewing" podcast hosts Monica Eng, left, and Louisa Chu (Picture by Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) Subscribe at https://chewing.xyz/
Chicago Tribune food reporter Louisa Chu and WBEZ reporter Monica Eng talk about 150 years of Chinese food in America, how it was shaped by social, political, and legal circumstances plus how it shaped their own families and lives. The co-hosts of the Chewing podcast will document the Eng family restaurant dynasty in Chicago and how it reflected the food and culture of the times. They’ll explain how the Chinese restaurant business led to a West Side murder in Monica’s family and how the egg roll evolved over the years. Louisa will talk about what it’s actually like to work at a family Chinese restaurant—when you’re seven years old. And finally, they will discuss their differing views on the legitimacy and legacy of Chinese-American food.
Louisa Chu is a Chicago Tribune Food & Dining reporter. Born in Hong Kong, raised in Chicago, she lived in Los Angeles, and Paris where she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. She staged at El Bulli in Spain and cooked in Alaska. Previously she was a correspondent for Gourmet magazine and a fixer for Anthony Bourdain.
Monica Eng is a reporter and producer for WBEZ Public Radio. Before joining WBEZ, Monica was a food, culture and watchdog-investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune
http://www.culinaryHistorians.org
By Popular Vote: Highland Park was Dry for 104 Years
Presented by Nancy Webster, Archivist
When Highland Park’s first City officials met as a city government on March 11, 1869, the new City´s leaders articulated clearly their objection to permitting ¨intoxicating beverages¨ in the new municipality. Records show repeated discussions and changes to liquor ordinances. Flash forward to November 1, 1972, Historical Society President Bob Robinson made the first legal purchase of an alcoholic beverage since 1869. A unanimous vote of the City Council allowed the issuance of liquor licenses to retail establishments and clubs, thereby repealing local prohibition. Join us to learn what unfolded between 1869 to 1972, because there is where the real story lies.
Nancy Webster is concurrently archives director and archivist at the Highland Park Historical Society and Highland Park Public Library. She has also taught the Introduction to Archives Course at Dominican University as an adjunct instructor. Previously, she worked at the Bentley Library, the Chicago History Museum and Molex Connector Corporation. She received her MILS and BA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Recorded at the Highland Park Public Library, January 16, 2020
HighlandParkHistory.com
The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Family
Presented by Adrian Miller Food writer, attorney and certified barbecue judge
It’s a return trip to the Culinary Historians for James Beard award–winning author Adrian Miller, who first spoke to us in 2014 on soul food. Today he’s back to tell us about his just-released second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas. Mr. Miller will share the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. We will learn how these remarkable men and women were simultaneously marvelous cooks, family confidantes, and civil rights advocates.
Surveying the labor of enslaved people during the antebellum period and the gradual opening of employment after Emancipation, Mr. Miller will highlight how food-related work slowly became professionalized and the important part African Americans played in that process. His chronicle of the daily table in the White House proclaims a heartfelt American story.
Biography: Adrian Miller is a food writer, attorney and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, CO. He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches and, as such, is the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position. Mr. Miller previously served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton and a senior policy analyst for Colorado governor Bill Ritter Jr. He has also been a board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. His first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014.
Recorded at Kendall College on February 11, 2017.
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
How the Instant Pot Helped This Indian-American Forge Her Ethnic Identity
Chandra Ram
To be Indian-American means you have a foot in two cultures. For Chandra Ram, author of The Complete Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, America is home, but some part of her identifies as Indian as well. She didn’t want to let go of Indian culture as her parents were encouraged to do when they immigrated a generation ago, but she didn’t always know how to claim it for herself.
Although she was always interested in food and cooking and went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America and cook at restaurants including Blackbird, it was hard to find her footing with Indian dishes that required hours in the kitchen, simmering lentils, curing pickles and fermenting dosa batter. She didn’t have as strong a background in Indian food as she would have liked, and felt a barrier to really explore the cuisine.
Weirdly, it took buying an Instant Pot to bring generations of family meals back into her kitchen. The Instant Pot opened a door to making her feel connected to her family and their food traditions, even while living a whiplash-fast American life. She could cook chana masala on a weeknight (starting with dried chickpeas!); make rasam at the first sign of a cold; and look her visiting auntie in the eye and tell her that she was making — not buying — her lime pickle.
Do join us as Chandra recounts Indian food culture and reveals how she found her ethnic identity while creating both traditional and modern Indian recipes for the Instant Pot. Copies of her book will be available for purchase.
Chandra Ram spent 15 years working as a cook, bartender, server and consulting chef before turning to food writing and editing Plate, an award-winning food magazine that challenges chefs to take food further. She is a James Beard- and IACP-nominated cookbook author and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Loyola University Chicago, an associate's degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America, and has passed the certificate level of the Court of Master Sommeliers exam. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Les Dames d’Escoffier, and the James Beard Foundation award committee. Chandra has won multiple awards for her writing and editing, including the Jesse H. Neal awards, the Folio awards, the Association of Food Journalists award, and the McAllister Editorial Fellowship
http://www.culinaryHistorians.org
A Culinary History of Downeast Maine
Presented by Sharon L. Joyce
Maine's Downeast culinary history begins well before explorers arrived in the 1500s. Some of the food preparation and preservation techniques used by the Wabanakis and early colonists are still in use today. Lobster and other seafood from the Gulf of Maine and the area now known as Acadia National Park paved the way for a vibrant tourist food scene. The "rusticators" like the Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Astors, Vanderbilts and other wealthy families created a mixed environment of fashionable food trends and simple foods like fish chowder. Locals like the 40 Hayseeders used food as a statement to make fun of the "summer people." Author Sharon Joyce details the rich and delicious history of food in Downeast Maine.
Sharon Joyce is a trainer/educator/chef and author who graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago. She studied Advanced French Cooking and Pastry at Cordon Bleu in Paris in 1981 and operated a catering business and cooking school in Chicago and in the Virgin Islands. She has taught various types of cooking classes, including French, International, Regional American, Downeast Maine Cooking and Cruzan cooking in such locations as Chicago, Bar Harbor, California and Christiansted, St. Croix USVI. She was fascinated by the abundance of local foods when she moved to Bar Harbor more than thirty years ago. She operates Ambrosia Cooking School in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on December 7, 2019
www.CulinaryHistorians.org
Maggi Galaxy
Presented by Stephan Palmié, Anthropology Dept. at University of Chicago Antoni Miralda, Artist and founder of Food Cultura, Foodcultura*
As part of the Living Together Performance Series which took place in Little Haiti, the Haitian neighborhood of Miami, 2018, The Maggic Banquet, a participatory food-performance by the internationally acclaimed Miami- and Barcelona-based artist Miralda, celebrated Miami’s diverse cultural heritage by tracing the culinary history of Maggi, the ubiquitous and universal seasoning brand. Presenting dishes from the kitchens of Miami's various ethnic groups — all made with Maggi — in an altar-like buffet, Miralda explored the commodification and globalization of food and tradition.
"The Maggic Banquet", a pun on the surname of the Swiss Julius Maggi, who was the first to market these dehydrated broth cubes that have given flavor to an incalculable number of soups and other dishes since the first decade of the 20th century.
And unlike those manufactured at the beginning of the 20th century by Julius Maggi, who was a philanthropist who wanted to help alleviate the hunger of humanity with something cheap and easy to prepare, they all have a lot of sodium and chemical components as its ingredients. Maggi offers cubes for all tastes (chicken, beef, vegetables or others) and country of origin: Nigeria, China, Haiti, United States and Egypt, where it is made to Islam halal standards.
What Miralda explores in his "buffet" is the commercialization and globalization of food, as well as tradition, identity, "memory of taste" and eating habits. Stephan Palmié contributed an essay on the history to this project’s fanzine.
Miralda is interested in materials and information about Maggi from anywhere in the world and in any language, images of product packaging, posters, advertisements and billboards, as well as published articles and recipes and images of dishes from cookbooks that include cubes of Maggi as an ingredient.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on November 9, 2019
After fall from Grace, Chef and Business Partner plan the best Ever
An interview with Chef Curtis Duffy and Business Partner Michael Muser, conducted by Monica Eng, WBEZ radio
When Grace restaurant abruptly closed in 2017, the shutdown made national news. How could an eatery that had earned three Michelin stars, (one of only 14 restaurants in America to earn such status) so quickly cease to exist? Conflict with the restaurant’s chief funder apparently was the cause, and one of our country’s top chefs, Curtis Duffy, along with the restaurant’s gifted business partner, Michael Muser, were devastated.
A small-town kid from Ohio, Duffy overcame unspeakable family tragedy when he was 19 years old. He found solace through cooking, showing exceptional talent and drive while working his way to the top of Chicago’s food chain at Charlie Trotter’s, Alinea, and Avenues.
The Michelin acclaim and James Beard Award he garnered while heading the kitchen at Grace created a long wait to get reservations. Working side-by-side with Chef Duffy during his Grace period was Michael Muser, a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry, and an accomplished sommelier. The two were said to painstakingly engineer every detail to showcase their skills and provide exceptionally delicious food along with the epitome of hospitality.
The duo say they intend to stay at the top of their field when they open their new restaurant, Ever, next year.
Do join us to find out how the minds of creative souls like Messrs. Duffy and Muser work. What goes into conceiving a groundbreaking restaurant and its menu? What is their creative process like? What does hospitality mean to them?
And who better to ask these questions than Monica Eng, a reporter and producer for WBEZ Public Radio. Before joining WBEZ, Monica was a food, culture and watchdog- investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune. She will happily pick our speakers’ brains to the bone. And our members will have their own chance to grill the partners during the Q&A at the end of the program.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on November 2, 2019
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
The Last Night on the Titanic, Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style
Presented by Veronica Hinke, Food Historian, Author With Chef Gale Gand
All hands on deck! Come join us and drift back in time as author Veronica Hinke delves into the drinking and elegant Edwardian dining that set the Titanic experience apart from any other. Ms. Hinke will share little-known stories about the people, places and dining connecting Chicago to the ill-fated ship. She will also give us a look at the Titanic’s actual menus and recipes, which appear in her newly released book, “The Last Night on the Titanic/Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style.” Several renowned Chicago-area chefs contributed historic recipes to the book, including Gale Gand, who will join Veronica in the discussion.
BIOGRAPHIES
Veronica Hinke has been researching the Titanic for as long as she can remember. She has interviewed hundreds of experts on lifestyles, foods and drinks for Tribune Media and maintains close working relationships with leading chefs and mixologists around the world.
Gale Gand is a Chicago-based pastry chef, cookbook author, television personality, and winner of the 2001 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. She was host of the Food Network show Sweet Dreams. Chef Gand was a partner at the acclaimed Tru Restaurant. She currently teaches cooking classes all over the country, including at King Arthur Flour in Vermont, Zingerman's in Ann Arbor and she teaches monthly at Elawa Farm in Lake Forest.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on October 19, 2019
Ballots, Babes and Beer Fifth Annual Lake County Symposium
Debbie Fandrei, Museum Curator, The Raupp Museum
Explore the relationship between women' suffrage and Prohibition in Illinois - hoe the desire for Prohibition sparked women's interest in voting, and also fueled the drinking opposition.
Recorded at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum on November 2, 2019
www.LCFPD.org
www.HighlandParkHistory.org
Going Dry: Pre-Prohibition Lake County
Diana Dretske, Curator, Bess Bower Dunn Museum Al Westerman, Independent Scholar
Prior to Prohibition, there was a united effort to impose temperance at the local level. This presntation discussed the history of pre-Prohibition efforts to elinimate saloons and prevent consumption of alcoholic beverages in Lake County from the 1840s to 1910s.
Recorded November 2, 2019 at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum
www.LCFD.org
www.HighlandParkHistory.com
Apples in the Midwestern Imagination
Presented Lucy Long, PhD
Like many Americans, Midwesterners have fond memories of apples: family apple orchards are commonplace; cider mills used to be and are returning; apple butter is a traditional way of preserving the fruit; apple pies and pastries frequent many homemade and commercial tables; Johnny Appleseed is embraced as a hometown hero; and festivals frequently celebrate the fruit. These memories make the fruit a significant part of personal histories and local food cultures.
Are apples special in the Midwest? They are thought of as a national, even patriotic, though somewhat unexciting, fruit, and other regions are actually better known as producers of the fruit. This talk looks at how apples have contributed to a sense of place in the Midwest and to a collective memory that characterizes this region.
Lucy M. Long directs the non-profit Center for Food and Culture (www.foodandculture.org) and teaches adjunct in American studies, ethnic studies, folklore, nutrition, and tourism at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. With a PhD in Folklore and Folklife (University of Pennsylvania), she has been involved in humanities-based research on food as a medium for creating meaning, identity, and community since the 1980s. She has published extensively on food topics, including Culinary Tourism (2004), Regional American Food Culture (2009), The Food and Folklore Reader ( 2015), Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia (2015, 2016), Honey: A Global History (2017) and Comfort Food Meals and Meanings (2017) and has produced numerous documentaries and community programs on a variety of food-related subjects and issues.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on April 6, 2019.
www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com
Fetid Russulas in North America: What we know, What we don't
Presented by Peter Avis, PhD
Niles Historical and Cultural Center, 8970 N. Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL 60714
Russula is a highly diverse genus of ectomycorrhizal fungus. Over 700 species of this genus are known making up about 10% of the known ECM fungi in world. One especially intriguing group of Russula are the members of subsection Foetentineae, commonly referred by some as the fetid Russula since their brown to light yellow capped sporocarps regularly have unpleasant smells and tastes. Their ecological attributes include the ability to be “dominant” (i.e. numerically abundant) in temperate, boreal and tropical ecosystems worldwide, to persist in high nitrogen environments, and to associate with mycoheterotrophic plants. Despite these ecological attributes, much of the diversity of this group remains unknown and/or fully documented. In this presentation, I will provide a thorough overview of the molecular diversity of fetid Russula in North America and place this overview within a context of the current understanding of subsection Foetentineae globally.
Peter Avis, PhD has been at Indiana University orthwest since 2007 and prior to that he did a post-doc with Greg Mueller at the Field Museum. His PhD is from Minnesota where he worked with Dave McLauglin, Ris Charvat and Trice Morrow. Currently, Avis is chair of the biology department and teaches intro bio, mycology, evolution, molecular biology among other courses. His research falls into three general categories: Fungal ecology and evolution, molecular methodology for the study of fungi, and ecological restoration monitoring. The project he will discuss at the program grew out of the following project.
Nitrophilic Russula, iconoclastic ectomycorrhizal fungi
I found a surprising nitrophilic response to increased nitrogen pollution by a certain group of mycorrhizal fungi, the foetid Russula (Avis 2012). This is unexpected but exciting, because most mycorrhizal fungi are intolerant of such pollution. This study (Avis 2012) is the first to use modern DNA based methods to sort out the diversity of this common, typically dominant and usually misnamed group of fungi and to understand how common the nitrophilic tendencies are in the group. This project and Avis's efforts were supported and recognized by the Mycological Society of America which awarded him the Martin Baker Award, an early career research award, in 2008 (http://msafungi.org/msa-awards/martin-baker-award/). How foetid Russula tolerate this pollution remains unknown (Parrent et al 2010), but will be a focus of his future investigations as will a broader phylogenetic analysis of this intriguing group of fungi.
Recorded at the Niles Historical and Cultural Center on October 7, 2019.
IllinoisMyco.org
The Dark Side of Peach History Presented by Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan, Author, Just Peachy
Who among us does not like peaches? In fact, most will proclaim that they “love” the stone fruit. Peaches are the most cherished fruit of the South; and the third most popular fruit in our country.
Join us as Chef Belinda takes us along on her journey to writing her new book, Just Peachy, starting with her childhood summers spent on her grandparents' Mississippi Delta farm.
Chef Belinda will share what she calls “the dark side of peach history,” revealing:
· Why peaches were a wild and unwanted crop for farmers and producers.
· How the peach industry was born out of a marketing makeover for the South after slavery ended.
· How and why the peach industry still strives because of its segregated labor model.
· Why Georgia is still regarded as “the peach state,” despite the fact that South Carolina production is more than twice the size of Georgia’s.
And of course there will be some peachy samplings prepared by our volunteers.
BIOGRAPHY: Belinda Smith-Sullivan is a chef, food writer, spice blends entrepreneur, a commercially-rated pilot and author of the newly-released cookbook, Just Peachy published by Gibbs Smith. She received a culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales University and writes a monthly food column for South Carolina Living magazine. Chef Belinda is an active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), the American Culinary Federation, and Les Dames d’Escoffier. A native Chicagoan, she lives in Edgefield County, South Carolina, the peach capital of the South.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on August 10, 2019
https://culinaryhistorians.org/the-dark-side-of-peach-history/
Bread Guru’s Never-Ending Quest for the Perfect Pizza
Presented by Peter Reinhart Chef, Author, Teacher
Peter Reinhart has been writing, blogging, and video chronicling his ongoing search for pizza excellence for many years. His quest reveals more than just pizza tips and tricks but also valuable life lessons that this former monk continually shares with his readers and students. Pizza has become, along with bread, among Peter’s primary metaphors in his exploration of a much deeper subject: how to live a meaningful, fulfilling life.
Come join us as Peter shares stories and pizza lore. He will also speak about his newest book, Perfect Pan Pizza. “The new techniques that I developed for this book have totally changed my approach to pizza,” he says. “They have raised the bar for a method that allows home cooks to make delicious pan-baked pizzas in home ovens that are as good, or better than anything you can find at any pizzeria,” he says. “Crust is key!”
Peter, along with the Culinary Historians cooking team, will prepare samples to back up his claim.
BIOGRAPHY: Peter Reinhart is the author of 12 books on bread, food & culture and, of course, pizza. His books have won four James Beard and IACP Awards, including Cookbook of the Year for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (2002). He is a faculty member at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC, and the Executive Director of the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread, as well as the host and founder of the video website, PizzaQuest.com, where he continues to chronicle his never-ending quest for the perfect pizza.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on September 7, 2019.
www,CulinaryHistorians.com
Mushrooms and Poisoning "Why There Are No Old, Bold Mushroom Pickers"
Presented by Dr. Elizabeth Black, Connie Fishbein and Greg Mueller, PhD
Mushroom poisoning refers to harmful effects from ingestion of toxic substances present in a mushroom. These symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. The toxins present are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus. Mushroom poisoning is usually the result of ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species.
Dr. Elizabeth Black is a senior fellow in Toxicology at the Toxikon Consortium. Connie Fischbein, Poison Specialist, Illinois Poison Center at Mchc Chicago Hospital Council. Greg Mueller. PhD Vice President of Science at the Chicago Botanic Garden and formerly mycologist at the Field Museum.
Recorded at Niles History Center on August 5, 2019
http://www.illinoismyco.org/
Spicy Chicago Couple to Give Well-Seasoned Talk
Presented by Patty and Tom Erd, Spice Merchants and Proprietors of The Spice House
Throughout time, man’s destiny has been shaped by the search for the elusive spices coveted by nobility and royalty. The history of the spice trade reveals titillating tales of piracy, astounding adventures and fierce wars battled to control the spice trade. Exotic myths arose in explaining the astronomical costs of spice treasures. Our speakers, Patty and Tom Erd, have spent their lives in pursuit of the highest quality spices from across the globe. They will share savory facts, anecdotes and spicy tales of daring do.
BIOGRAPHY: Tom and Patty Erd, are second generation “spiceperts.” They began their savory ascent when Patty's parents, Ruth and Bill Penzey, Sr., retired from their nationally acclaimed Spice House in 1992. The city of Milwaukee was the original home of The Spice House, which just celebrated its 62nd anniversary. Patty and Tom opened their second shop in Evanston, followed by Old Town and their most recent opening came this June at Navy Pier. Food and Wine Magazine honored The Spice House by including them in their list of Top Spice Shops in The World .
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on July 27, 2019.
http://www.culinaryHistorians.org
Civil War Camp Cooking 2019 Armchair Tour
Presented Erik Schultz, Long time reenactor
While Lake County’s Civil War Days may be cancelled this year, it is our opportunity for Erik Schultz to offer his experiences as reenactor and experienced camp cook’s guide. Instead of sweating and trying desperately to keep up with his long strides, we will be in air-conditioned comfort.
Schulz has been a re-enactor for over 30 years and has lead camp cooking tours for Lake County’s Civil War Days. As we walked between encampments, Erik would regale us with his experiences. Often the conversation during the journey was just as educational as the encampments we visited.
We will miss the impressions reenactors would have created for our education on life as a Civil War soldier. This has been an annual event for us, because the tour has always been fresh and dynamic. By design the cooks tour not just tests the culinary skills of the reenactors, they emphasize authenticity. Each camp has been responsible for their menu and bring whatever material they deemed correct to their impression. Emphasis is placed on the accuracy of the meal to the overall camp impression.
Those on the tour acted as judges noting how the food was obtained, what implements were used in the preparation, what the camp represents and the consistency of the meal to that impression. Each camp explains what their impression represents, where they are camping, and any other information consistent with their impression.
These tours have provided another aspect of life during the Civil War. Contemporary people take for granted the ability to walk into a grocery store and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables regardless of season. This was not how life was lived 150 years ago. When reenactors prepare their meal, they consider what could reasonably be available to their impression. The reenactors desire is to help educate guests on a soldier’s everyday life during the Civil War.
INformation mentioned during the talk:
A Taste for War: The Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray Paperback – May 1, 2011 by William C. Davis (Author)
A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts.[1] Sutler wagons were associated with the military, while chuck wagons served a similar purpose for civilian wagon trains and outposts.[2] (from Wikipedia)
Morel Mania: All About Morels
Presented by Tom Nauman
Tom Nauman's first mushroom hunt was while he was still "in the womb" and he has continued his passion for finding the elusive morel for more than 68 years. He has taken 697 people morel hunting in one event. So much for morel hunters not sharing their honey-holes!
Mr. Nauman is the founder of The Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship, which is now evolving into Morel University. He also founded Morel Mania Inc, a provider of mushroom books, collecting bags, walking staffs, and other merchandise to mushroom enthusiasts throughout the world.
Morel growth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvTZUxLVpFk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JurrfK_wQI
spore release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZeTLf1y2VE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTxmDnvueJQ Recorded at Niles History Center on June 3, 2019.
http://www.illinoismyco.org/
http://www.morelmania.com/
https://pickusottawail.com/test-another/midwest-morel-fest/
Well of the Sea
Presented by Margaret Carney, PhD
Margaret Carney, director and curator of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design will present Well of the Sea, all about the acclaimed seafood restaurant located in Chicago’s Hotel Sherman between 1948-1972. Why was dining there so memorable? Culinary historians may be captivated by the menu — bouillabaisse, rijstafel of seafood, cafe disable, and flaming rum punch.; Mid-Century Modern art connoisseurs have fixated on the abstract undersea murals designed by Richard Koppe; while dinnerware collectors cannot own too many place settings of the sturdy Shenango China restaurant quality dishes with abstract fish motifs. Cuisine, recipes, restaurant reviews, menus, distinct dinnerware, architecture and interior design will all be presented. Why did Bogey and Bacall attend the funeral of the hotelier and restaurateur who made his idea of the Well of the Sea a reality? Were the ultraviolet lights, which enhanced the sensation of dining under water, really beneficial to one’s health? It’s your best opportunity to get the true flavor of the Well of the Sea and then wish you could go back in time and dine there.
Margaret Carney is a ceramic historian with Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Asian art history, and a B.A. in anthropology/archaeology. Dr. Carney is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Switzerland. Grants received include Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art and the Renwick Gallery, as well as from the Tile Heritage Foundation and the Cumming Ceramic Research Foundation.
She served as the founding director of the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, in Alfred, New York. She has curated 50 exhibitions, presented over 100 public lectures, and authored 80 books, catalogues, and journal articles. She has taught ceramic world history, as well as other courses, at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, the Ohio State University, and elsewhere. She was director and curator of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in Toledo, Ohio, for nine years, writing the first book on the topic in 180 years. She currently serves as founding director and curator of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design (IMoDD), Ann Arbor, Michicago, which was established in 2012.
Recorded on June 9, 2019 at Bethany Retirement Community.
www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com
Culinary Historians of Chicago presents:
Midwestern Food—What is it?
Presented by Abra Berens, chef, farmer, author
It is true that we are a region known for steak houses, pizzas and pot roast, but what exactly is Midwestern food? Could it also be a dinner at Alinea? Is it the German chocolate cake made by Stephanie Hart’s Brown Sugar Bakery on 75th St? Is it the melting pot that gives us Cornish pasties from Michigan’s upper peninsula, as well as the roast duck from Chef Kelly Cheng Sun Wah?
Abra Berens, author of Ruffage: a practical guide to vegetables, believes Midwestern food is more than meat and potatoes. As a former farmer and current chef at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, MI, she knows that the Midwest has deep and diverse food traditions.
Join Abra as she argues that the Midwest has deep-rooted food traditions while simultaneously being open to an ever growing and evolving food scene. Copies of her just-published book, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables will be available for purchase and signing.
BIOGRAPHY: Abra Berens started cooking at the storied Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, MI. She then went on to train in the garden-focused kitchen at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork, Ireland. In 2009 she co-founded Bare Knuckle Farm in Northport, MI, where she farmed and cooked for 8 years. She then left for Chicago to open the café at Local Foods. In 2017, she returned to Michigan to join the team at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, where she combines her love of farms and restaurants to create one-of-a-kind dinners celebrating the best of Southwest Michigan’s diverse agriculture.
Recorded on June 8, 2019 at Weiss Memorial Hospital.
http://www.culinaryHistorians.org
Mycophagy 101: Continuing On! Preparation, preservation, pickling and eating wild, and not so wild, mushrooms!
Presented by Stephanie Kowalyk and Catherine Lambrecht
A dictionary definition of mycophagy: Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals (that’s us!), insects, plants, amoeba, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and other fungi. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungivore)
Stephanie and Cathy, aka mammals, will share their ideas, methods and best practices on preparing mushrooms. Any wild edibles brought to this meeting may find their way into the pot. Some domesticated mushrooms will be cooked, though the techniques will work well with their wild cousins.
We welcome members to bring their favorite mushroom dish to share or at least the recipe.
Stephanie Kowalyk and Cathy Lambrecht are members of the Illinois Mycological Association.
Stephanie Kowalyk is a gourmande whose love of preparing tasty dishes along with her French and Eastern European heritage led her to the woods to forage for wild mushrooms.
Cathy Lambrecht is a long, long, long time member of IMA. Cathy is a founder of Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance and LTHforum.com as well as active at the Highland Park Historical Society.
Recorded Monday, May 6th, 2019 at Niles Historical and Cultural Center
http://www.illinoismyco.org/
Overrated Tradition? Why Fresh Perspective Will Save the Jewish Deli
Presented by Aaron Steingold
Who doesn’t love Deli food? From the cornucopia of Jewish food delights that include corned beef on rye, chopped liver, chicken matzo ball soup, and lox and cream cheese on a bagel, Chicagoans have been relishing Deli food for generations. While there were hundreds of delis in the first part of the 20th century, today, not so many. (Ashkenaz, you are missed.) Yet the Deli still survives, with traditional food being served at stalwarts like Manny’s and the Bagel on Broadway, and “newish Jewish food” generously doled out at the likes of Steingold’s on West Irving Park.
Please join us as proprietor Aaron Steingold takes us on a nostalgic memory nosh of Chicago’s deli history and talks about the Renaissance of the Jewish Deli in our city. (Corned beef on rye with a twist, you could say.) Samples? What, you think we’d leave you hungry? Oy!
BIO: Raised in Charlottesville, Virginia to Brooklyn-bred parents, Aaron Steingold grew up in a kosher household, and visited New York’s delis often. A self-described “restaurant lifer,”Steingold came to Chicago 12 years ago and worked at Charlie Trotter’s, Art Smith’s Table 52 and several other key eateries here before opening his namesake Steingold’s with his wife, Elizabeth Abowd, in 2017. The deli is located at 1840 W. Irving Park.
Recorded May 4, 2019 at Weiss Memorial Hospital
https://culinaryhistorians.org/overrated-tradition-why-fresh-perspective-will-save-the-jewish-deli/
Paris à Table, circa 1846
Presented by Joe Weintraub, PhD
Paris à Table: 1846 is the first English translation of an essential text in the literature of gastronomy. Written by the journalist and critic, Eugène Briffault, the book takes readers from the opulence of a meal at the Rothschilds' through every social stratum down to the student on the Left Bank and the laborer eating on the streets. The author surveys the restaurants of the previous generation and his own--from the most elegant to the lowest dive--along with the eating habits of the bourgeoisie, the importance and variety of banquets, and even the plight of "people who do not dine," offering the reader, according to Le Monde, “the richest view of Balzac’s time seen from the table.”
Its editor and translator, Joe Weintraub, is a writer, playwright, poet, and translator based in Chicago. He holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
“An eye-opening chronicle . . . . The book is filled with observations that still apply, like how the newly affluent display money but no taste, how female cooks are undervalued, how off-season vegetables please the eye but not the palate.”--New York Times
“Briffault . . . describes not only what Parisians of varying social classes ate but also the circumstances and artifices that made dinner appealing. This is a must-read for social- and cultural-history buffs, especially those with a keen interest in food and eating habits.”--Booklist
“Briffault has (very funny) strong opinions about how his countrymen dine, especially those who take part in the “impudent custom” of déjeuner dînatoire, now known as brunch.”—Buzzography
Chosen by BookRiot as a “2018 Best of Food Books” selection and by Bon Appétit as one of 2018’s “Best of Noncookbooks Food Books.”
Recorded on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at Bethany Retirement Community.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/paris-a-table-circa-1846/
A Classic French Chef Confronts 21st Century Technology
Presented by Chef Dominique Tougne, Chez Moi
The importance of social media can’t be ignored. It is vital for a restaurant to constantly keep aware of both customers’ wants and culinary trends. While restaurateurs used to stay informed simply by keeping a physical presence with their clientele, today, the world has become “virtual.” And it’s not easy keeping up!
Please join us as one of Chicago’s most eminent French chefs, Dominique Tougne, reveals the technological transition that chefs of his generation are going through, and how they had to learn how to use 21st century tools that can be as good as they can be disastrous in the success or failure of a restaurant.
And Chef Tougne will also reveal his delicious and daunting history as a classically trained French Chef.
BIO: Chef Dominque Tougne was born in Alsace, the northeast region of France. However, his family heritage is from Dordogne, in the southwest corner of the country. At age 14, he began his training at the culinary school in Blois outside of Paris. He continued his career under such French culinary icons as Jacques Senechal and Joel Robuchon.
In 1996, Chef Tougne was recruited by the Levy Restaurant Organization to be Chef de Cuisine at Bistro 110 across from the Water Tower in Chicago. He remained at this popular culinary mecca for 15 years. Then, in 2012, along with Cristobal Huet, the former Blackhawks player, he created Chez Moi, a French bistro in Lincoln Park.
Recorded on April 13, 2019 at Weiss Memorial Hospital.
Friends Dan Goldberg and Andrea Kuhn fell in love with Cuba at first sight, on their first visit three years ago. They decided to write a cookbook to celebrate the spirit of the country and visited Cuba three times during their journey to document a place they have grown to love so much. Their book, Cuba! Recipes and Stories from the Cuban Kitchen, details their adventures, the food they ate, and the recipes they were inspired to create back home. Join them as they chronicle their travels in Cuba and taste some of their favorite dishes like crispy- twice cooked lamb, to the Mojito Cake with Rum-Infused Whipped Cream. Their book is filled with colorful portraits of the home kitchens in Havana, that they were invited into with big smiles and open arms.
They also took to the road and visited Hershey, Cuba, where they met a wonderful woman who lives and cooks on a old train for the men that repair trains. Their next stop was Vinales, where they visited many organic farms, and shared many a mojito along the way. Please join them as they guide us through Cuba with a colorful slide show, stories,anecdotes and of course the delicious food.
Dan Goldberg is an award-winning commercial photographer specializing in food photography. His work has been recognized by the London International Advertising Awards and he has been listed as Archive's Best 200 Advertising Photographers. When not taking photographs, you can find him seeking out the best food and drink in town, fly-fishing and traveling the world with his wife Casey and daughter, Dylan. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois. Andrea Kuhn is a prop stylist and art director. Her work has appeared in national magazines and Ad campaigns, as well as numerous cookbooks. When not on set, you can find Andrea perusing flea markets near and far looking for that perfect prop, or enjoying a good cup of coffee and hanging at the dog park with her doodle Finley. She lives in Chicago. Recorded at Kendall College on March 11, 2017
Beholding a Grainy History: A Woman Named King is a Queen of Our Local Bread Scene
Presented by Ellen King, Hewn Bakery Historian/Baker/Author
“The future of food actually lies in the past,” says Ellen King, co-owner and head baker of the nationally acclaimed Hewn Bakery in Evanston, where she creates hand-forged artisan bread. (www.hewnbread.com).There’s more than a grain of truth to everything Ellen believes in. A historian by training, Ellen joins us to share the history of heirloom grains, and her company’s commitment to furthering the local grain economies in the Midwest. “Many small Midwest farms are creating a revolution in grain consumption and bakers and consumers need to support their noble cause," she says. In addition to giving us food for thought, Ellen will also serve samples from her bakery, and sign copies of her first cookbook "Heritage Baking: Recipes for Rustic Breads and Pastries with Artisanal Flour from Hewn Bakery.” (Chronicle).
A classically trained chef, Ellen also holds an MA in American History from the University of Maine. Before opening Hewn, Ellen worked in various restaurants in Seattle, served as the artisan cheese buyer for Whole Foods in Bellevue, WA, and spent time at Quillisascut Farm School, a sustainable farm school in Rice, WA, where she first learned to bake bread in a wood fired oven. She opened Hewn Bakery with her business partner Julie Matthei in 2013. The bakery has since been lauded by The New York Times, Saveur, Chicago magazine, Forbes, and many other notable publications.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/beholding-grainy-history-woman-named-king-queen-local-bread-scene/
Swedish American Museum Tour
Tour led by Don Ahlm, Docent
The Swedish American Museum has been active for 40 years in the heart of Andersonville, a traditionally Swedish area on the north side of Chicago. Andersonville, the “Little Sweden” of Chicago, is one of the most concentrated areas of Swedish heritage in the United States, with Swedish roots dating back to the 19th century. Tourists visit the area continually to sample Swedish food, buy gifts, visit the Museum, and partake in traditional Swedish holidays such as Midsommar and Julmiddag.
The Dream of America: Swedish Immigration to Chicago Permanent exhibit
This exhibit explores the struggles and triumphs of the Swedish immigrant experience and asks the question: would you leave home today in search of a better tomorrow?
The exhibit follows Swedish immigrants from the arduous journey to the new world to building a life and community in Chicago. It examines topics such as why so many Swedes left their homeland and what they packed for their voyage, as well as careers they chose in the Chicago area and the social lives within their immigrant communities. Visitors will encounter authentic artifacts that reflect the experiences and perspectives of immigrants – from household items they brought from Sweden and travel items such as passports and steamship tickets to memorabilia from Chicago-based Swedish-American organizations and Swedish folk crafts produced in the United States and abroad.
Visitors meet many characters within the exhibit, including, Stina Olofsdotter, who is helping her son prepare for his journey to America in 1868; Karl Karlson, whose family arrives in New York in 1893; and Elin Hedman and her daughter Birgitta who passed through Ellis Island in 1924.
Recorded on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at the Swedish Museum of America
https://culinaryhistorians.org/swedish-american-museum-tour/
Currying Interest in Indian Cuisine From its Arrival in America to its Rise in Chicago
Presented by Colleen Sen, PhD Author, Culinary Historian
“The history of Indian food in America has been largely neglected, even though it is much older than Chinese American cuisine,” says Colleen Sen, PhD, one of our nation’s foremost authorities on South Asian food.
Please join us as Colleen regales us with a buffet of flavorful facts about one of the world’s greatest cuisines, and its long-simmering impact on our nation and our city.
A few tidbits: · The first Indian cooks arrived a decade after the founding of the Jamestown Colony in 1607 as servants to British “Nawabs” who came to America after making their fortunes. · Curry recipes were featured in most 19th century cookbooks. · America’s very first ‘bad boy’ celebrity chef was an Indian, Ranjit Smile, who hit the New York culinary scene in 1899 and made front page headlines with his exotic dishes and his frequent run-ins with the law. · Faced with tightening immigration laws in the early 1900s, Indian farm workers in the Sacramento Valley married Mexican women and created a hybrid Indian-Mexican cuisine, including “Hindu pizza.” · In Chicago, the first Indian restaurant was the House of India (1963), followed by Bengal Lancers (1969) –15 years before the first restaurant on Devon Avenue.. · For a finale, Colleen will dish on Chicago’s current South Asian food scene.
BIOGRAPHY: Colleen Taylor Sen is a Chicago-based author and culinary historian focusing on the food of the Indian Subcontinent. She has written many articles and seven books, including Food Culture in India; Curry: A Global History; Menus; Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India (named one of the best food books of the year by Vogue and The Smithsonian Magazine); and, most recently, The Chicago Food Encyclopedia (with Carol Haddix and Bruce Kraig).
Currying Interest in Indian Cuisine From its Arrival in America to its Rise in Chicago
Presented by Colleen Sen, PhD Author, Culinary Historian
“The history of Indian food in America has been largely neglected, even though it is much older than Chinese American cuisine,” says Colleen Sen, PhD, one of our nation’s foremost authorities on South Asian food.
Please join us as Colleen regales us with a buffet of flavorful facts about one of the world’s greatest cuisines, and its long-simmering impact on our nation and our city.
A few tidbits: · The first Indian cooks arrived a decade after the founding of the Jamestown Colony in 1607 as servants to British “Nawabs” who came to America after making their fortunes. · Curry recipes were featured in most 19th century cookbooks. · America’s very first ‘bad boy’ celebrity chef was an Indian, Ranjit Smile, who hit the New York culinary scene in 1899 and made front page headlines with his exotic dishes and his frequent run-ins with the law. · Faced with tightening immigration laws in the early 1900s, Indian farm workers in the Sacramento Valley married Mexican women and created a hybrid Indian-Mexican cuisine, including “Hindu pizza.” · In Chicago, the first Indian restaurant was the House of India (1963), followed by Bengal Lancers (1969) –15 years before the first restaurant on Devon Avenue.. · For a finale, Colleen will dish on Chicago’s current South Asian food scene.
BIOGRAPHY: Colleen Taylor Sen is a Chicago-based author and culinary historian focusing on the food of the Indian Subcontinent. She has written many articles and seven books, including Food Culture in India; Curry: A Global History; Menus; Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India (named one of the best food books of the year by Vogue and The Smithsonian Magazine); and, most recently, The Chicago Food Encyclopedia (with Carol Haddix and Bruce Kraig).
75 Year Retrospective of French Restaurants in Chicago: 1924-1999
Alain Maes, French Virtual Cafe http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com
Since 2010, Alain Maes has published a five-part series on French restaurants in Chicago from 1924 until 1999.
Part 1. 1924-1959. A few glorious years and then a big gastronomic desert http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com/2010/03/
Part 2. 1960-1969. A new beginning for French restaurants in Chicago http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com/2010/12/french-restaurants-in-chicago-1924-1999.html
Part 3. 1970-1979. The Fantastic Decade http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com/2012/01/
Part 4. 1980-1989. A period of transition: Younger chefs in search of a new contemporary French-American style http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com/2014/09/
Part 5. 1990-1999. The end of the “haute cuisine” period, and the confirmation of the bistro supremacy http://frenchvirtualcafe.blogspot.com/2019/01/french-restaurants-in-chicago-75-year_27.html
Alain Maes was born and educated in France. In Chicago since 1970. American wife, a free-lance writer and journalist. Two sons and a grandson. Since my childhood during World War II in the Languedoc and Geneva, Switzerland, and especially since the late forties when my parents moved from Southern France to Reims, the capital of the Champagne producing region, where we started to eat a little more normally, I had lots of exposure to the secrets of good food and wines. My Swiss grandmother, aunts, and my mother were great ”cordons bleus” and taught me many of their cooking techniques and secrets. My father initiated me to the art of wine selecting and drinking when I was 17 and explained to me the various regional food specialties of the French provinces. And when I was old enough to accompany them to restaurants, my parents introduced me to the world, rules, and tricks of restaurant going. Since my student years in Aix-En-Provence and Paris, I never stopped trying to improve my culinary skills, to experiment with an ever-growing spectrum of new wines and different types of foods from all over the world, and to conduct a non-stop search for new exciting eateries.
Maes has been a wine consultant for the last 10 years, doing lots of French wine tastings at Binny’s, mostly in Highland Park and occasionally at some Whole Foods stores. He also helped a couple of French restaurants, such as Kiki’s Bistro to compose their special “themed” menus.
Recorded at Bethany Retirement Community on February 2, 2019.
www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com
Community Cookbooks: Inspiring Twain Restaurant's Midwestern Menu
Join husband and wife team Chef Tim Graham and Sommelier Rebekah Graham’s of Twain (2445 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Logan Square’s new Midwestern-inspired restaurant, as they discuss community cookbooks with Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance. Influenced by the couple’s extensive collection of spiral-bound women’s club cookbooks from the 1940s through the present as well as Tim’s central Missouri upbringing, Twain marks passage from the past to the present with family recipes passed down through generations focusing on delicious, approachable dishes with modern twists and fun presentations. Named after prolific author Samuel Clemens’ famous pen name, Mark Twain.
Married in 2010, Tim and Rebekah Graham are industry veterans. Tim’s eyes were first opened to his passion for the restaurant industry at Les Bourgouis, a small French istro attached to a winery located on the bluffs of the Missouri River near his hometown of Columbia, Missouri. He worked at Tru, where in five years he climbed the ranks to executive chef, earning a 2008 StarChefs Rising Stars Award. He then left Tru to work with renowned Chef J. Joho at Brasserie Jo and Paris Club before moving on to open Travelle in The Langham Chicago.
Rebekah, originally from Salt Lake City, moved to New York in her twenties where she took her first mesmerizing sip of wine. Relocating to Chicago in 1999, she continued her journey through the beverage landscape, focusing on beer, before travelling to wine country in the United States and Europe and working at a winery in Tuscany, Italy. She also became interested in spirits as well, working in Taos, New Mexico where she designed her first cocktail program. Upon returning to Chicago in 2006 she worked at the legendary Pump Room before joining One Off Hospitality and opening Publican in 2008. Eventually going on to manage the highly lauded beer and wine program at the restaurant, she left in 2016 to open Twain with Tim, which is their first restaurant that they are operating together.
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 January 12, 2019.
Image by Michael Gebert of Fooditor.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/community-cookbooks-inspiring-twain-restaurants-midwestern-menu/
Part One: Food and German Identity from the Third Reich to the Berlin Wall Alice Weinreb, PhD Associate Professor of History, Loyola University Chicago
Part Two: (starts at 46 minutes) Beyond repletion: Discovering functions of German food in Chicago Nadja Huthmann, M.A. Cultural Anthropologist
Part One: Food and German Identity from the Third Reich to the Berlin Wall
Alice Weinreb will be discussing research from her recently published book Modern Hungers: Food and Power in Twentieth-Century Germany (Oxford University Press: 2017). The book focuses on the relationship between Germany’s food system and the two World Wars and the Cold War. In this presentation, she will focus on two different yet iconic foods – rye bread and bananas – in order the understand the way in which food has been intertwined with German collective identity. Specifically, she will analyze the role of rye bread in constructing an “Aryan” racial identity during the Third Reich, and the importance of bananas for expressing capitalist and communist identity during the Cold War.
Alice Weinreb (PhD, University of Michigan, 2009; M.A., Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 2003; B.A., Columbia University, 1999) is Associate Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago where she teaches courses in twentieth-century Europe, the history and politics of food in Europe, the Holocaust, and European environmental history. Her book, Modern Hungers: Food, and Power in Twentieth Century Germany, was published with Oxford University Press in 2017. It brings together the history of state policies, famine and mass violence, and everyday food preparation and consumption, in order to trace the history and legacies of the two World Wars and the Cold War. Weinreb’s articles have appeared in Central European History, German Studies Review, and Zeitschrift für Körpergeschichte, as well as being included in several anthologies. Her second book will examine the postwar environmental movement in West Germany and the rise of a specifically German definition of a clean and healthy environment.
Part Two: Beyond repletion: Discovering functions of German food in Chicago
Nadja Huthmann will be talking about her fieldwork which she conducted in 2016 on German food and its meaning in Chicago. She was curious what role the preparation and consumption of German food plays in Chicago, mainly in terms of picturing oneself and others. Protagonists in this field study, often unconsciously, reflected on specific notions of heritage, identity, means of memories and discussed the role and reputation of German cuisine in American society. The researcher extracted seven functions of German food which she will represent in her talk.
Bio: Nadja Huthmann, a passionate traveler & food enthusiast from Germany, is interested in culture(s) and food from all over the world. She holds an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität (Goethe University), Frankfurt am Main and is a certified trainer for Cultural Communication Skills from BVV (Bayerischer Volkshochschulverband). Huthmann is co-author in the Kulturanthropologie Notizen series, Volume 69, published by the department of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology in Frankfurt am Main. Her strong connection towards humans and their stories made her volunteer as an interviewer for a neighborhood development project for VSM (Verein für Sozialpädagogische Modelle) in her hometown Frankfurt am Main. Her outstanding sense of taste and smell gave her the opportunity to work in a food tasting panel for a couple of years, further increasing her interest into food-studies.
Recorded at Kendall College on September 23, 2017.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/german-food-german-identity-sides-atlantic-20th-century-germany-contemporary-chicago/
Presented by Restaurateurs Amy Besa and Chef Romy Dorotan, of Purple Yam, Brooklyn, NY & Manila, Philippines
There are many indigenous ingredients in the Philippines which need to be recognized as the foundation of Philippine food traditions. These indigenous ingredients represent Filipino flavor profiles which should be categorized as FOOD THAT WAS ALWAYS OURS opposed to Food that was borrowed and made our own. This is a major premise discussed in two chapters of Amy Besa and Chef Romy Dorotan’s book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens.
Separating indigenous from non-indigenous ingredients, Besa feels is the best way to look at Philippine cuisine and helps people identify and organize the significance of each and every flavor encountered. These non-indigenous plants and ingredients arrived via Galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco from 1565-1815 or after.
These indigenous ingredients highlighted by Purple Yam Malate represent edible products from culinary plants grown in the Philippines which are (1) unknown; (2) ignored and (3) undervalued. These are artisanal products produced in small quantities and not available to the mass market. They represent flavors that come directly from Philippine soil, water and air. To sample Filipino food made with these ingredients will be a rare opportunity. Many commercially produced dishes in both the home country and abroad do not offer these rare and endangered flavor profiles. A renewed interest will prevent their disappearing and hopefully, their recognition and resurgence may lead to people using them and thereby preserving them.
Amy Besa and her husband, Chef Romy Dorotan, have been in the restaurant business in New York City for the past 22 years. They opened Cendrillon, a Filipino pan-Asian restaurant in SoHo in Manhattan in 1995 and closed it after 13 ½ years and re-opened Purple Yam in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn in November 2009. Purple Yam Malate, their first branch in the Philippines, opened on July 4, 2014 in Amy’s childhood home in one of the oldest historical districts of Manila. A kiosk at Estancia Mall in Pasig was set up in December 2015 as another venue to share homemade ice creams using local fruits, coffee and dairy products along with other Filipino delicacies such as buko pies and bibingka made with heirloom rice from the Cordillera rice terraces.
Amy and Chef Romy are co-authors of the award winning cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens (2006, Stewart, Tabori and Chang, NYC). The book received the Jane Grigson Award for distinguished scholarship and research and the quality of its writing by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in Chicago in 2007. A second edition of the book was released May 2012 with the last chapter revised to reflect the move from Cendrillon to Purple Yam and the authors’ purpose of showcasing Asian culinary values and re-discovering the Filipino palate.
Amy is the founder of the Ang Sariling Atin Culinary Heritage Institute (ASA) in the Philippines. The ASA has three primary goals: (1) to produce and publish a book on the Philippine palate based on scientific studies of the flavor regions of the Philippines; (2) build community kitchens to make healthy, nutritious and hygienic food available and accessible to poor communities in the Philippines and (3) to create livelihoods, impart skills and develop markets for artisanal products for the purpose of preserving our culinary heritage.
Recent activities: The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sponsored Food Tour of North America, September & October 2017
References during the talk: Culture Ingested, On the Indigenization of Philippine Food https://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/web/fernandez.pdf
Why We Eat What We Eat: How Columbus Changed the Way the World Eats, Ray Sokolov
Recorded at Kendall College on September 27, 2017.
Presented by Catherine Lambrecht Vice-President, Culinary Historians of Chicago
Come join us as the Culinary Historians’ own Catherine Lambrecht dishes on her upcoming book, Family Heirloom Recipes, an Illinois Bicentennial Project.. The book is based on Cathy’s work through the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, and was also inspired by her own family’s heirloom recipes.
Since 2009, Greater Midwest Foodways has sponsored and judged Family Heirloom Recipes contests in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Cathy has compiled many of the winning recipes from 1950 or earlier, along with their histories, in what many are already considering a landmark book.
“If nothing else, should this book inspire you to document a family favorite recipe to share with loved ones, then we have accomplished our mission,” Cathy says.
Catherine Lambrecht, vice president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, is the very definition of over-the-top busy. Cathy runs our sister organization, Chicago Foodways Roundtable, and also heads the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance on the Food and Culture of the American Midwest. In addition, she is a program director with the Highland Park Historical Society and Illinois Mycological Association.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on December 8, 2018.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/family-heirloom-recipes-illinois-state-fair-illinois-bicentennial-project/
A Patch of the Midwestern Quilt An occasional series about ethnic cultures who call the American Midwest home
Sun Wah BBQ has had a generational shift from its founder Mr. Cheng, a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong province in China, to his American born children: son Michael (BBQ Chef) and daughters Kelly and Chef Laura, who trained at Kendall College.
The children have one foot in Chinese culture and one foot in American, allowing them to convey Chinese BBQ processes expertly. They will explain traditional BBQ methods and some non-traditional variations, which sometimes were the results of errors with outstanding culinary results. While they offer whole roasted pigs, they are also able to roast suckling pigs by hand over coals. While Sun Wah BBQ offers traditional Chinese BBQ, they are also expanding their repertoire to BBQ not always commonly found commercially in America, such as turkeys for Thanksgiving and various other fowl customers bring in from hunting trips.
We will be touring their kitchens, thus comfortable clothing and closed toe shoes are expected. Please, no hanging sleeves, scarves, shirttails, jewelry, etc., since the kitchen will have open flames and marinade barrels.
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.
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
Presented by Dino Dean Producer, The Black Foodies
Most of us adore barbecue. We just can’t seem to get enough of it. And just about all of us have imbibed in such iconic barbecue styles as Memphis, Texas and Kansas City. But did you know that Chicago has its own zesty style? Come join us as one of our town’s most passionate foodies, Dino Dean, whets our appetite for Chicago-style barbecue. Dino will tell us about the Great Migration of African-Americans to Chicago, and how their arrival influenced cooking over an open flame. Furthermore, Dino will proclaim that “sauce is the boss,” which will be sure to ignite discussion among barbecue aficionados. Dino says he’s all set to be grilled when he speaks about regional sauces, how they have influenced Chicago’s bbq scene and how bbq sauce, or lack thereof, can reveal a bbq connoissuer’s palate.
Dino will also discuss the journey and travels of The Black Foodies, the name of his YouTube channel, where he showcases festival hopping, recipes, and African-American restaurants and chefs. And he will bring some sweet samples from one of his favorite eateries.
Biography: Dino Dean is a lifelong Chicagoland resident and a lover of all things food. He and his wife, Coretta, also write a column for the Chicago Defender, titled ‘Let’s Eat,’ where they review local African- American-owned restaurants.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on November 17, 2018.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/chicago-fire-windy-city-carved-niche-bbq-history/
Steve Dolinsky and Chef DeRuvo will prepare Davanti’s traditional Neapolitan pizzas for people to sample as they regale us with Chicago and Italian pizza lore.
In his new book, Pizza City, USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago is America’s Greatest Pizza Town, Chicago’s eminent food journalist and impartial pizza judge extraordinaire, Steve Dolinsky, embarked on a self-described “Pizza Quest,” methodically taste-testing 185 different pizzas all over Chicagoland before coming up with his 101 best. He’ll share the secrets unearthed during that quest, including the fact that the Windy City offers a stunning 10 distinctive categories of pizza.
Steve Dolinsky and Chef DeRuvo will also discuss: What makes Chicago Pizza City, USA? What are the essential ingredients to great pizza? What do locals prefer? How are the best pizzas made? What is true Neapolitan pizza? What is D.O.C.?
Join us to learn more about Chicago is “America’s Great Pizza Town.”
Steve Dolinsky has won 13 James Beard Awards for his TV and radio work. Currently, he is the Food Reporter for ABC 7 – Chicago. His “Hungry Hound” reports air on the ABC 7 News at 11 a.m. on Fridays and 10 p.m. on Saturdays, covering a range of food and drink-related topics. He is the Co-Creator/Host of The Feed Podcast with Chef Rick Bayless (which garnered a Beard award in 2015 for best podcast).
Before joining ABC 7, Steve was Executive Producer and Host of “Good Eating.” The weekly, half-hour show aired on CLTV, the 24-hour cable news channel owned by The Tribune Company. He produced and hosted 52 shows per year for 8 years, garnering six Beard Awards for his work there.
Chef Peter DeRuvo, current Corporate Executive Chef at Davanti Enoteca and the Francesca’s Restaurant Group, graduated from Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island where he studied the culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management. In 1993, DeRuvo began his culinary career as a Chef at Al Forno an Italian restaurant in Providence, where he obtained immense learning skills and philosophies about cooking that would sustain him throughout his entire career.
DeRuvo made his way to the Bay Area to cook under Chez Panisse alum Chef Paul Bertolli and Paul Canales at Oliveto in Oakland, where he was able to fine tune his cooking techniques. While living in the Bay Area, DeRuvo was introduced to olive oil producer, Albert Katz where a brilliant friendship formed. Katz sent DeRuvo to Tuscany, Italy where he spent a year gaining vast knowledge of the entire olive oil industry where he tended to the olive groves at Montecastelli, a well-known producer of Italian wines, olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Exploring the world of olive oil in the land of plenty, DeRuvo continued to cook at two star restaurant Casalta Ristorante with Chef Lazzaro Cimodoro. DeRuvo continued his studies of olives traveling throughout the South of France to cities such as Nice and Monte Carlo.
When he’s not bringing his unique approach to Italian dining as Francesca’s Restaurant’s Corporate Executive Chef, you can find him spending time traveling, golfing, reading and of course, eating.
Program was recorded at Davanti Enoteca, 1359 W. Taylor St, Chicago, IL on October 24, 2018.
Presented by Ramona Thomas, Chief Sweets Officer, My Chocolate Soul MyChocolateSoul.com
“I love candy. Always have. Now, I get to make chocolate that other people love” says Chocolatier Ramona Thomas of My Chocolate Soul. Join us as Chef Ramona shares her journey from mathematics and education to chocolate and why starting and running an all-natural sweets business is so important to her and to the dessert industry. She will also talk about chocolate’s luscious history, chocolate making, industry trends, and why artisan chocolate is so popular. Ramona will also share her experiences as an entrepreneur and what she does to stand out among her competitors. As a finale, Ramona will have samples of her delectable chocolates.
Biography: My Chocolate Soul grew out of Ramona Thomas’ love of baking and sweets, especially chocolate. Although she had baked for many years, the initial idea for starting the business came after taking an introduction to French pastries course at the French Pastry School in Chicago. Before transitioning to the dessert industry and founding the company, Ramona had an entrepreneurial career in education and philanthropy for 18 years. She holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania. But Ramona felt so at home in a commercial kitchen that she began thinking about how she could spend more time in one doing what she really loved. Ramona is a graduate (with honors) of Ecole Chocolat’s Professional School of Chocolate Arts Professional Chocolatier Program. She also completed Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy’s program for professional chocolatiers, and continuing education courses at the French Pastry School and Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Chicago. My Chocolate Soul is located at 4442 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on Saturday, October 6, 2018.
https://culinaryhistorians.org/cacao-catharsis-spreading-joy-chocolate/
When the 18th Amendment was enacted in 1919, the fifth-largest industry in the United States became illegal. While many parts of the country (including, famously, many north-of-Chicago suburbs) were already legally “Dry,” Prohibition changed the political and moral landscape of the nation, introducing intrusive federal law enforcement, a new kind of organized crime, and the “scofflaw.” In this talk, Bill Savage will discuss how the politics of Temperance, and the battle between Wets and Drys, exposes rifts in American identity (and American food-and-drink culture) that still resonate today. Using George Ade’s The Old-Time Saloon as a guide, he will explore Prohibition historian Daniel Okrent’s not-so-rhetorical question: “How the Hell Did that Happen?”
Bill Savage teaches American literature at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library of Chicago, with special emphasis on Chicago writers and the dynamics of urban spaces, including saloons then and now. He edited and annotated Ade’s The Old-Time Saloon (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and Chicago By Day and Night: a Pleasure Seeker’s Guide to the Paris of America (with Paul Durica, Northwestern University Press, 2013), a guide to night life during the 1893 World’s Fair. Books will be for sale, cash or check.
This program is hosted by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable with the Highland Park Historical Society and Highwood Historical Society.
Recorded at Santi's Garden on September 20, 2018.
By Russell Lewis Executive Vice President and Chief Historian, Chicago History Museum Founding Member, Culinary Historians of Chicago
Do join us as the Chicago History Museum’s Russell Lewis gives us a slaughtering presentation on Chicago’s legendary Union Stockyards and its impact on the city and the nation. (Think: “Hog butcher to the world.”) And how did the stockyards help put the sizzle in Chicago’s steakhouse reputation?
Here’s what Russell has to say:
“To watch an animal from the pen to the tin is an extraordinary experience. You see it killed; it falls; a conveyor carries it away. It is flayed while you wait…. Death is so swift, the evidence of tragedy so soon gone, that one feels no shock that flesh loses its character. Cattle are being handled like brass, so swiftly that life becomes merely a raw material. That is Chicago.” British journalist Walter Lionel George’s description of Chicago’s Union Stockyards, written in 1920, captures the essence of the city’s meatpacking industry—it was highly organized and brutally efficient, and it was synonymous with Chicago’s identity. Indeed, more than any other business, meatpacking reflected how industrialization became rooted in Chicago in the nineteenth century and transformed the city and the nation.
Situated at the center of the United States and linked to every corner of the continent by a vast rail and water network, Chicago was an ideal place for industry to grow. But location alone does not fully explain the formation of America’s quintessential industrial city. Three additional factors spurred Chicago industries, particularly meatpacking: innovation, scale, and new markets. Meatpackers developed a disassembly line that altered traditional labor and made the processing of meat a highly efficient operation. The Union Stockyards was itself a powerful innovation (competing companies sharing holding pens and rail facilities was unprecedented), and it also allowed operations to take place on an enormous scale never imagined. And lastly, meatpackers, particularly Gustavus Swift, realized it was not enough for industrialists to modernize their business ventures, they also had to create new markets for their products.
The fame of the Union Stockyards as a massive modern industrial enterprise spread, attracting tourist from around the world who yearned to see this harbinger of the future. Families carrying picnic lunches, convention delegates, school children, and honeymooners all came to see what was billed as one of the wonders of the world. Amid pig squeals and bellowing cattle, animal pens as far as one could see, buildings awash in blood, and a distinct smell of life and death, tourist were not disappointed, and the Union Stock Yards became etched into their memory.
Biography: As Executive Vice President and Chief Historian of the Chicago History Museum, Russell Lewis is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the museum’s mission to creatively explore and showcase Chicago’s history and culture, and to preserve, manage, build, and make accessible to the public, the Chicago History Museum’s collection of more than 22 million documents and objects. He has been a member of the Chicago History Museum’s staff since 1982. He is also a founding member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, and for many years graciously hosted our programs at his museum.
Mr. Lewis has a BA in historical archeology from the University of Florida and an MA in American culture from the University of Michigan.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on September 15, 2018.
Presented by Carrie Nahabedian
By Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of Chicago: It’s not too often that a James Beard Award-winning chef stops me on the street and says she’d like to speak to the Culinary Historians of Chicago. But that’s what happened when I was walking near Carrie Nahabedian’s acclaimed River North eatery Naha; the famed chef and I spotted each other and stopped to chat. Carrie, who had delivered a poignant talk to our group years before on her Armenian food background, told me she had another subject that she was passionate about: Chicago’s restaurant history. She said she’d been collecting books and articles on the subject for years, and wanted to share her story. What a tasty offer! We gladly booked her. Please join us as Carrie presents a cornucopia of Chicago food tidbits covering: · The history and evolution of Chicago’s restaurants. · The French influence and the proliferation of exceptional chefs. · Chicago’s luxury hotels and how they influenced the culinary scene in our city and abroad.
Biography: Growing up in Chicago, Carrie says she was most influenced in her cooking by her mother, and also by Julia Child. She later described watching Child as "like watching an artist painting". Carrie started her culinary career with a three-year apprenticeship at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago. She then moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to become assistant chef to the garde manger at the Resorts Casino Hotel when it first opened. She moved back to Chicago to work at Le Perroquet before moving on to a variety of restaurants in Europe. Carrie returned to the United States where she became the first woman to work at Chicago's Le Francais. In 1989, Carrie became sous chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and was soon promoted to executive chef. She stayed within the Four Seasons Hotels chain, eventually moving California to ultimately become executive chef at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, Carrie returned to Chicago in 2000 to open NAHA ultimately winning a James Beard Award and seven consecutive Michelin stars.
Mayor Richard M. Daley named September 22, 2009 in honor of Carrie, the same day that she was inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum's Chefs Hall of Fame. Carrie opened Brindille in 2013 along with partner and cousin Michael Nahabedian; while NAHA served to highlight her Armenian roots, Brindille's refined Parisian fare celebrates hers and Michael's favorite spots in Paris.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on August 18, 2018
http://culinaryhistorians.org/chicago-became-national-food-shrine-master-chef-dishes-delicious-history/
Although the French are known for croissants, they did not invent this globally appealing culinary pleasure. Come join us as one of Chicago’s most celebrated bakers, Sandra Holl, traces the origins of the croissant and other “laminated” pastries and touches on some of the colorful, although not necessarily true, origin stories But what exactly is laminated pastry, which sounds about as appetizing as a concoction made from layers of formica?
“It’s just a fancy name for a family of buttery layered doughs,.” Sandra explains. “While the classic most well known, and celebrated member of this family is the croissant, the family includes puff pastry, Danish and my personal favorite Kouign amann.” Sandra says that laminated pastries are created by rolling butter into dough, then making a series of folds and turns until the dough has numerous alternating layers of dough and butter. When these doughs are baked, the moisture in the butter turns to steam and forces the layers to separate and puff, leaving a light and airy product. Sounds simple, but when made by experts like Sandra, the result can only be described as culinary ecstasy. Warning: Sandra will be bringing tasting samples from her nationally acclaimed Lincoln Park bakery, Floriole. Adult discretion is advised!
Biography: Sandra was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, graduated with a BA in French literature from the University of Colorado, taught English to high school students in France and worked in marketing in San Francisco before discovering her love of food and cooking. After volunteering as a prep cook for a non-profit and staging at a few restaurants she decided to sign up at the California Culinary Academy. She spent her externship and the following years working at world renowned Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Sandra and her husband, Mathieu, left the Bay area for Chicago and started Floriole in a tent at the Chicago Green City Market. They have grown their business into a flourishing full service cafe and bakery specializing in French inspired pastries rooted in midwestern ingredients. The bakery has been named among the top 10 bakeries in the US, has received a Chicago Tribune Dining Award and is recognized as having some of the best bread in the country. Sandra has contributed to Bon Appetit and Sweet Paul magazines, appeared on Martha Stewart and Unique Sweets. In 2016 she was named Pastry Chef of the Year at the Jean Banchet Awards.
Recorded at Weiss Memorial Hospital on July 21, 2018.
www.CulinaryHistorians.com
Presented by Valerie Beck, Founder, Chocolate Uplift, and Valerie’s Original Chocolate Tours
Editors note: Podcast ends abruptly during question period due to technical issues.
Video clips shown at this event: Media montage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ1WiDl9OnQ&feature=youtu.be
CNN Cocoanomics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u4LFZ2TEIg
According to Chicago native Valerie Beck, “chocolate can change everything, from our mood, to the world.” So passionate is Valerie about chocolate, that after graduating from Harvard Law school, and practicing in the United States and Europe, she followed her heart and founded Chicago Chocolate Tours in 2005, to introduce chocolate lovers to small-batch chocolate shops and bakeries. Please join us as Valerie shows videos on how chocolate goes from bean to bar. She will also enlighten us on how chocolate went from artisan specialty to industrial commodity through history. In addition, she’ll tell us how the current artisan movement developed in chocolate. And, she’ll educate us in knowing if our chocolate is from a sustainable source. For a finale, Valerie will have us sample craft chocolate brands.
Biography: A pioneer in the business of chocolate tourism, Valerie Beck, is founder of Chocolate Uplift and of Valerie’s Original Chocolate Tours. She is a cheerful chocolate expert on TV and radio and in print, and has been profiled in multiple media outlets. Her chocolate consulting work ranges from helping brands create and launch new chocolate bars, to helping cacao growing nations promote their products. Valerie is also a popular judge at chocolate competitions such as the annual World of Chocolate event in Chicago. Valerie is currently exploring and creating projects such as her Chocolate Freedom Walk to help children forced into slave labor on the West African cacao farms. And she promotes fair trade and socially responsible chocolate.
Recorded at Kendall College on September 9, 2017.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/cacao-craft-chocolate-stories-past-sustainability-future/
Candy collage image by Valerie Beck
Presented by Meathead Barbecue Maven and New York Times Best-Selling Author, “Meathead, the Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling"
The barbecue world is rife with rules and concepts that modern food science has proven wrong, and our speaker, reverently known in BBQ-land as Meathead, will debunk a bunch of them and teach concepts and techniques that can be applied to cooking indoors as well. He will also serve up a side order of some delectable barbecue history, along with a small barbecue sampling. Join us for a program that will be info packed, and delicious.
Meathead is the author of the New York Times Best Seller “Meathead, the Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling”. His book made many Best Cookbooks of the Year lists including the Chicago Tribune, the BBC, Epicurious, Wired, Amazon, and Leite’s Culinaria. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing by the author. Meathead is also the founder of AmazingRibs.com, a popular outdoor cooking website. He is the former wine critic of the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post, and has been a lecturer at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Yale, and more. Meathead lives in Brookfield and is a longtime member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago.
Recorded at Kendall College on June 17, 2017
http://culinaryhistorians.org/old-husbands-tales-barbecue-myths-deserve-die/
Presented by Dana Cree Executive Pastry Chef, Publican Restaurants Author, Hello, My Name is Ice Cream
According to pastry chef and Ice Cream College-educated Dana Cree, if you ask anyone their favorite flavor of ice cream, it will undoubtedly bring a smile to their face. (Add some whipped cream, and you’re talking about ecstasy!) Dana, who is the author of the newly released book, Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop, will discuss her intimate history with ice cream and her creamy stint at the Ice Cream College at Penn State University. She will dip into ice cream’s transition from food of the elite to food of the masses, and pack us with information on how the advent of ice houses helped make ice cream an affordable luxury. Dana will then spoon into the science of ice cream, explaining how butterfat traps flavor and sugars affect texture. And finally, how one can massage all of these factors to dish up the ice cream of their dreams with the recipes and techniques in her book. Copies of the book will be for sale, and Dana will serve her signature ice creams for you to taste.
DANA CREE is the Executive pastry chef of The Publican restaurants in Chicago (The Publican, Publican Quality Meats, Publican Tavern, Publican Anker) and was a two-time finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef for her work at the acclaimed Blackbird. She is a graduate of Penn State University’s Ice Cream Short Course, otherwise known as Ice Cream College. Visit her at HelloIceCreamChicago.com or ThePastryDepartment.com.
Recorded at Kendall College on April 15, 2017.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/big-scoop-ice-cream-maven-gives-chilling-tale/
Does a discussion about dinnerware just include the work of either skilled potters or gifted designers? When beauty and function intersect with a certain type of (possibly twisted) visionary genius, anomalies and curiosities of dinnerware are created. Illustrative of the short list of 20th and 21st century artists who took standard plates, cups and saucers, place settings, and teapots, and elevated each to the level of an anomaly and curiosity and perhaps a masterpiece never to be forgotten, includes (but is not limited to), surrealist Meret Openheim, Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, modernist Constantin Brancusi, feminist artist Judy Chicago, conceptual artist Howard Kottler, photographer Cindy Sherman, noted artist and epicure Kitaoji Rosanjin, and contemporary artists such as Katie Parker, Guy Michael Davis, and Dirk Staschke. This wild and creative genius can also be seen when examining the works of well-known companies that produced basic dishes and then went one step further to produce memorable, even unforgettable tureens, teapots and sauce boats, such as Meissen, Minton, and Wedgwood. Through the imagery and stories shared in this presentation, the audience will witness inspirational makers, mentors and milestones.
Margaret Carney is a ceramic historian with Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Asian art history, and a B.A. in anthropology/archaeology. Dr. Carney is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Switzerland. Grants received include Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art and the Renwick Gallery, as well as from the Tile Heritage Foundation and the Cumming Ceramic Research Foundation.
She served as the founding director of the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, in Alfred, New York. She has curated 50 exhibitions, presented over 100 public lectures, and authored 80 books, catalogues, and journal articles. She has taught ceramic world history, as well as other courses, at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, the Ohio State University, and elsewhere. She was director and curator of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in Toledo, Ohio, for nine years, writing the first book on the topic in 180 years. She currently serves as founding director and curator of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design (IMoDD), Ann Arbor, Michicago, which was established in 2012.
Recorded at Kendall College on November 1, 2017
http://culinaryhistorians.org/anomalies-curiosities-dinnerware/
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
Presented by Nancie McDermott, Cookbook Author, Cooking Teacher, and confirmed Southern Belle
According to acclaimed cookbook author Nancie McDermott, there are a dozen iconic fruits which hold an historic and enduring place on the Southern table. A Southerner herself, Nancie is in Chicago to spread the gospel of these beloved fruits and share the delicious rituals that surround them so that we Northerners can bring them across the Mason-Dixon line to our tables. To further whet our appetites, Nancie has just published Fruit: A Savor The South Cookbook. With equal parts enthusiasm for history and gusto for easy-to-make recipes, the collection considers six wild and six cultivated fruits that thrive in the region’s long, hot growing season. They include: Blackberries, Cantaloupes, Damson Plums, Figs, Mayhaws, Muscadine and Scuppernong Grapes, Pawpaws, Peaches, Wild Persimmons, Quince, Strawberries, and Watermelon.
Nancie will provide a tasting of several recipes along with tips on making the most of fresh fruit all year long. Copies of Nancie’s book will be available for purchase and signing with profits used to fund the Culinary Historians of Chicago.
BIO: Nancie McDermott is a native North Carolinian who headed off to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer in the late 1970’s, where she taught English as a Second Language. She returned to North Carolina and taught middle school English and social studies. Marriage took her to Southern California where a notice for “Food Writing #101” in UCLA’s extension program catalog caught her eye. It’s been food and stories ever since, with free lancing for newspapers and magazines, teaching cooking classes, and writing cookbooks.
Fruit: A Savor the South Cookbook is book #14. Nancie’s early work, focusing on Thai cuisine, reflects her time as a Peace Corps volunteer. More recently, she has explored iconic Southern dishes, including critically acclaimed books on “Southern Soups and Stews, “Southern Pies” and “Southern Cakes.”
Her husband’s job brought her family home to North Carolina in 1999, where she continues doing all the above plus blogging about food, creating online cooking classes for Craftsy.com, and working on food and travel videos. Her website and blog are at nanciemcdermott.com
Recorded at Imperial Towers, Chicago, IL on November 4, 2017.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/souths-fruity-history/
Presented by Justin Diglia, Executive Chef Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, Chicago
It’s probably safe to say that all of us who attend the Culinary Historians of Chicago programs are ardent foodies. We enjoy discussing food and how it connects us to culture and to life itself. And we enjoy the magic that Chicago’s chefs put on our plates. Yet how many of us really know what motivates a person to go into a field where the work is grueling, the hours are daunting, and the pay can be puny?
Come join us as one of Lettuce Entertain You’s star chefs, Justin Diglia, bares his culinary soul and exposes the passion that propels people like him to toss themselves into the bubbling stew of a chef’s life. Chef Diglia will also highlight the history and success of “Lettuce,” one of the nation’s most respected and innovative restaurant groups founded by iconic restaurateur Richard Melman.
Here are a few “appeteasers” from Chef Justin’s talk: “Chefs work 50-60 hours a week, holidays, and eekends, and the pay sometimes isn’t that great. You never get in this industry for the income. You get in this industry for the love of food.” “The dining experience isn’t about the chef’s ego. It is about the guests enjoying themselves.” “Chefs in the 70’s/80 got away with screaming and throwing stuff and just being disrespectful to their staff. But chefs today are expected to be more professional and more educated. I always recommend if someone wants to go to culinary school that’s fine, but they should continue their education in business and get a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.” “Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) changed forever the way Chicago dines. With more than 100 locations, mostly in Chicago, LEYE is known for its great food and systems. At Joe’s, we host several consultants a year who come in and see how we operate.”
Biography: Growing up in a small Ohio town, Justin Diglia’s interest in hospitality didn’t stem from dining in splashy restaurants or eating the food of award-winning chefs. Rather, it was the time he spent in the kitchens of his Italian family that initially inspired his culinary ambitions. Justin attended Sullivan University In Louisville, Ky, where he graduated with a double major in Culinary Arts and Business Administration. Following graduation, he took a position as executive sous chef at Vincenzo’s, an old world Italian restaurant in Louisville. Justin moved to Chicago in 2011 where he joined Joe’s as a sous chef, rising to executive chef in 2016. Today, Justin oversees the daily operations of one the nation’s busiest steakhouse kitchens.
Recorded live at Kendall College on December 2, 2017.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/mind-chef-secret-lettuce/
Michael Gebert, Editor
The world of Chicago food media is rapidly changing. Michael Gebert is a Chicago based writer who has found new opportunities to tell stories of Chicago's rich culture. He'll talk about the changing media landscape, how to find opportunities to share your voice within it, and the role of lists and guidebooks, from Michelin to his own, in helping people discover what their local food scene is about.
As editor and publisher of his own online magazine, Fooditor, he's just published the new edition of his guidebook The Fooditor 99, a local's guide to the best places to eat in Chicago right now.
MICHAEL GEBERT is a Chicago-based food writer, video producer and the editor of Fooditor.com, recognized as the most in-depth publication on food in Chicago. He’s written for local publications like the Reader and Time Out Chicago, for national publications including Air Canada’s En Route and Saveur, and as a frequent guest on radio and local food events. He won a James Beard Foundation award for the Reader’s Key Ingredient chef video series.
Recorded live at Kendall College on December 9, 2017.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/fooditor-com-eat-chicago-drink-chicago-read-chicago/
Please join us for a rice tell-all with one of Chicago’s most eminent chefs, John Coletta, and writer/photographer Monica Kass Rogers, who collaborated to write the just-published cookbook "Risotto and Beyond."
Here’s what’s on our menu for you:
You’ll get a generous slice of Italian rice history—including stories of a smuggling Jesuit priest, the Sforzas, lords of Milan who used advice from Leonardo da Vinci to start building the canals to help reclaim the wetlands for growing rice, and le mondine, the female rice workers who planted and weeded the rice.
You’ll learn about varieties of Italian rice, and which work best in different types of recipes. You’ll hear stories from Chef John about his own love affair with Italian rice—from the Italian rice snacks and soups his mother made when he was growing up in Queens, to the hearty dishes he learned to make from Italian rice growers.
And after you’ve digested this savory food for thought, you’ll get to taste a sampling of chef Coletta’s recipes from his new book, hailed as a definitive guide to cooking with Italian rice. The volume features 100 of Chef Coletta’s gluten-free rice recipes for everything from appetizers to soups, salads, main courses and desserts, along with a guide to the many varieties of Italian rice.
BIOGRAPHIES John Coletta is executive chef and managing partner of Chicago’s Quartino Ristorante & Wine Bar. A native New Yorker, Chef Coletta served apprenticeships at Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and Four Seasons Restaurant and went to Europe to work under world-renowned chefs Alain Ducasse and Joel Rubuchon. Returning to America, Chef Coletta reigned over an army of over 450 cooks at Caeser’s Palace in Las Vegas, then continued in executive chef positions in Sydney Australia and Singapore. An individual gold medalist in the 1984 Culinary Olympics, he snared another gold medal in Frankfurt, Germany in 1992 as part of the Culinary Olympic Team U.S.A. In 2004 Chef Coletta opened Quartino in Chicago, showcasing rustic Italian recipes, many of which date back 200 years. In addition to his risotto cookbook, Chef Coletta also authored "250 True Italian Pasta Dishes."
Monica Kass Rogers became a full-time magazine writer and editor in the 1980’s, writing for national food magazines. She switched to freelance writing and photography while she raised four children, At one point she was simultaneously freelance writing for six different sections of the Chicago Tribune, addressing sustainability, women’s issues, gardening, business, architecture and food. Monica also has a blog on vintage recipes: lostrecipesfound.com. Monica’s first book collaboration, with Chef Coletta, came about after the beloved foodwriter Nancy Ross Ryan died suddenly. Monica helped complete the risotto book by interviewing rice experts and chefs in Italy, and learning from Chef Coletta about his recipes. Monica also tested the recipes and photographed the scenic views of Italy and took several of the food shots.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/risotto-beyond-heartfelt-history-italian-rice/
Presented by Sarah Peters Kernan, PhD
The early centuries of cookbook production in England were filled with a dazzling variety of manuscript and printed texts. “Cookeries” from 1300 to 1700 ranged from basic, undecorated texts to lavishly illustrated cookbooks. In her extensive research, Sarah Peters Kernan, PhD, has examined numerous manuscripts and printed cookeries in libraries across the United States and Europe. Her research has led to new ways of thinking about how some of these books were used in kitchens, who was using early cookbooks, and how English cookbooks underwent dramatic changes.
Join us as Sarah gives us a sweet and savory introduction to cookbooks of medieval and early modern England. She will show vivid food illustrations, and describe the types of recipes the books contained; their form (some are rolls, while most are in codex form), their decorations (some are plain and others have goldleaf illumination), and the manuscripts which contain these books (some were made for physicians and include illustrated surgical treatises, others were for wealthy merchant households, others seem to be for use in more “ordinary” homes).
The earliest printed cookbooks in England reveal shifting audiences, moving from male gentry readers to middle class women by the late 1500s. The seventeenth century reveals a division in printed cookbooks between lavish tomes by prominent male chefs and books for frugal housewives. At the same time, hundreds of manuscript recipe books were produced by and for women of many socioeconomic levels to be passed down through generations and gifted between friends.
These early centuries of cookbook production in England yielded a great range of fascinating cookbooks to explore and consider today.
Sarah Peters Kernan, PhD Sarah is an Independent Culinary Historian in the Chicago area. Her research focuses on the production and use of cookbooks in medieval and early modern England. She has published in the journal Food & History and regularly writes blog posts for The Recipes Project. Sarah was a 2014 Food Studies Fellow at the New York Public Library. She currently works with Chicago’s Newberry Library, assembling modules on food history topics for their Digital Collections for the Classroom project, teaching adult seminars on food history topics, and appears on the Shelf Life podcast talking about chocolate.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/whoever-said-english-cant-cook-cookbooks-1300-1700-prove-otherwise/
Presented by Chef Christopher Koetke Vice President, Strategy and Industry Relations, Kendall College
For the last 5 years, Chef Koetke has been criss-crossing the globe, visiting 20-25 countries annually. In 12 of these countries, he set up culinary programs or worked with local culinary schools. Additionally, he works on sustainability issues as the Feed the Planet Chairman for World Chefs were he routinely is talking to people around the world. Through all of these travels, he has learned much and seen many ideas, concepts and just plain interesting culinary things that are a true source of culinary inspiration. Many of these ideas could be easily introduced in the USA where diners are increasingly looking for interesting and authentic culinary experiences. Join Chef Koetke on a delicious and culinary journey of internationality.
Biography: Christopher Koetke is a professional chef, having worked now for over 37 years in the culinary field. In the last 20 years, he has devoted his professional life to culinary education at Kendall College and at 48 other campuses in 12 countries. An expert on international education, Koetke also has his finger on the pulse of global food, beverage and hospitality trends. Chef Koetke earned his MBA from Dominican University in River Forest, Ill., a bachelor’s degree in French literature from Valparaiso University in Indiana, and a Certificat de la Langue Française from the Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Chef Koetke has cooked professionally since 1982 in some of the finest kitchens and pastry shops in France, Switzerland and the United States. Prior to starting to work in culinary education in 1998, he was executive chef of Chicago’s critically acclaimed Les Nomades. An expert in sustainability as it pertains to the foodservice industry, Chef Koetke serves on many boards, writes for numerous publications, and is a frequent international presenter. He has won many awards including: the nonprofit Chefs Collaborative’s inaugural Pathfinder Award in 2010, Chef of the Year for 1996-7 by the Chicago Chapter of the International Wine and Food Society, and Cooking Teacher of the Year in 2009 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). His cooking show, “Let’s Dish” which ran for 5 years in the USA was nominated for a Midwest Emmy.
Drawing on the observations of three years spent in the company of dedicated amateur mushroomers and professional mycologists. Gary Alan Fine explores the ways in which Americans attempt to give meaning to the natural world, while providing an eye-opening look inside the cultures they construct around its study and appreciation.
This will be an interview-discussion with Gary Alan Fine, whose book Morel Tales: The Culture of Mushrooming (2003), is considered a landmark work on environmental sociology. We will explore his examination of a thriving community, one with its own language, ceremonies, jokes, narratives, rivalries and social codes. We will learn of the American phenomenon Fine calls “Naturework,’ that is, culturally constructing one’s own place in the natural environment through communities with shared systems of assigned meaning.
“Naturework,” Fine observes, is something we all do on some level – not only birders, butterfly collectors, rock hounds, hunters, hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts, but all of us who construct community through narrative and nature through culture.
Gary Alan Fine, PhD is a professor of sociology at Northwestern University. He has been a member of Illinois Mycological Association and Culinary Historians of Chicago.
http://culinaryhistorians.org/morel-tales-culture-mushrooming/