Speaker meetings take place monthly, on a weeknight. All speaker meetings are open to the public. Our program for 2010 - 2011season is now underway.

Fall 2010 Schedule:

Monday, September 20, 6 p.m., Schlesinger Library

Sandra Sherman's book Invention of the Modern Cookbook is the first study to examine the question of how cookbooks came about, discussing the roots of these collections in 17th-century England and illuminating the cookbook's role as it has evolved over time.

Fall 2009 Schedule:

Jennifer Pustz, who is one of the authors of America's Kitchens, published
by the Historic New England. will discuss the history of American's kitchens from the Colonial period to the present. Schlesinger library, Thursday Sept. 10, 6-8 p.m.

Betty Fussell, award winning author will discuss her book Raising Steaks:
The life and Times of American Beef. The book is promoted as a red-blooded answer to Michael Pollan. Schlesinger library, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6-8 p.m.

Andy Smith, a frequent speaker and prolific and encyclopedic author of food history books will discuss his latest work: Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Schlesinger library, Thursday, Nov. 5, 6-8 p.m.

Weslie Janeway, co-author of Mrs Charles Darwin's Recipe Book will discuss the cuisine and life of one of Victorian England's most prominent families.

Schlesinger library, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 6-8 p.m.

Spring 2010 Schedule:

Tuesday, February 23, 6-8 p.m.
Andrew Coe, will trace the intriguing story of chop suey and America's centuries-long encounter with Chinese food. In his book: Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States, Mr. Coe tells how Americans went from believing that Chinese meals contained dogs and rats to making regular pilgrimages to the neighborhood chop suey parlor.
Along this journey, Mr. Coe shows how the peasant food of an obscure part of China came to dominate Chinese-American restaurants, unravels the truth of chop suey's origin, and shows how Nixon's 1972 trip to China opened our palates to a new world of cuisine. He also explains why we still can't get dishes like the ones restaurants serve in China. Most important, the book shows how larger historical forces - the belief in Manifest Destiny, the American assertion of military might in the Pacific, and the country's postWWII rise to superpower status - shape our tastes.
Schlesinger library, Tuesday, Feb 23, 6-8 p.m.

Tuesday, March 23, 6-8 p.m.
Merry White, Professor of Anthropology at Boston University, will discuss coffee and cafes in Japan, the topic of her forthcoming book. Ms. White writes frequently as a journalist in several fields, including culinary studies.
She also works with Cambodian coffee farmers to help produce and sell their coffee
beans, particularly in Japan, as a project in community development. She presently is
engaged in research on urban social spaces and social change in Japan, particularly on the history of the cafe.
Her publications include Perfectly Japanese: Making Families in an Era of Upheaval;
The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America; The Japanese Educational
Challenge and The Japanese Overseas.

Schlesinger library, Tuesday, Mar 23, 6-8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 21, 6-8 p.m.
Stephen Cole and Lindy Gifford, Transformed from a wild fruit to a cultivated commodity, the American cranberry contains equal amounts of holiday symbolism and antioxidants. Its evolution over the past century is a surprising story of risk, enterprise, conflict, and the tension between tradition and innovation. In their book, The Cranberry: Hard Work and Holiday Sauce, Mr. Cole and Ms. Gifford harvest stories, images, and observations to tell the unusual tale of an American subculture dominated by this tart little red fruit.
Stephen A. Cole directs the natural resources and sustainable communities programs at Coastal Enterprises, Inc., a community-development corporation. He is co-author of I Was Content and Not Content: The Story of Linda Lord and the Closing of Penobscot Poultry and The Rangeley and Its Region: The Famous Boat and Lakes of Western Maine.
Lindy Gifford is an independent graphic designer and photographer. In addition to the book design for The Cranberry, she did much of the photography and historical research. She has also designed books for Tilbury House, Down East Books, WoodenBoat, and other publishers.

Schlesinger library, Wednesday, Apr 21, 6-8 p.m.

Monday, May 3, 6-8 p.m.
Gillian Riley, is a critically acclaimed food historian and a former typographer, who has written many books on food in art, including Renaissance Recipes and Impressionistic Picnics. She is the author of A Feast for the Eyes, the National Gallery Cookbook, and of The Oxford Companion to Italian Food.

Ms. Riley will discuss the still life paintings of Luis Meléndez and what they tell us about the foods of 18th century Spain. A London resident, she contributes regularly to the Oxford Food Symposium.

Schlesinger library, Monday, May 3, 6-8 p.m.

Sunday, May 23, noon-3 p.m.
Culinary Historians of Boston 2010 Banquet

This year, the annual banquet will continue our three-year-long theme of tracing the foods of the Triangular Trade. Last year’s banquet featured foods appropriate to a New England tavern in the 18th century. This year, the focus will be on the foods of the British Empire from 1650-1775. The banquet will take place in Mitton House at Newbury College on Sunday May 23, 2010, from noon until 3:00 pm. To learn more about the foods of this era or to share your knowledge, join the committee and get involved with the research, menu planning, and cooking that makes for a successful and lively event. More details will be announced at upcoming meetings and on the website. Meanwhile, mark your calendars and look forward to another fascinating banquet.

Milton House at Newbury College, Sunday, May 23, noon-3 p.m.

The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute is just west of Harvard Square. Their website has a useful map and directions.

Monday, May 3, 6-8 p.m.
Gillian Riley, is a critically acclaimed food historian and a former typographer, who has written many books on food in art, including Renaissance Recipes and Impressionistic Picnics. She is the author of A Feast for the Eyes, the National Gallery Cookbook, and of The Oxford Companion to Italian Food.

Ms. Riley will discuss the still life paintings of Luis Meléndez and what they tell us about the foods of 18th century Spain. A London resident, she contributes regularly to the Oxford Food Symposium.

Schlesinger library, Monday, May 3, 6-8 p.m.