The Most Loved Room In The House: The Evolution of the American Kitchen

Wednesday July 15, 2020

Book cover of John Ota’s book, The Kitchen

Presented by John Ota,
Author, The Kitchen

View Presentation on Facebook and YouTube

No samples available at this virtual presentation,
though feel free to try this recipe for Matzo Ball Soup.

John Ota was a man on a mission–to put together the perfect kitchen. He and his wife had been making do with a room that was frankly no great advertisement for John’s architectural expertise. It just about did the job.

But for a room that’s supposed to be the beating heart of a home and a joy to cook in, the Otas’ left a lot to be desired. And so John set out on a quest across North America, exploring examples of excellent designs throughout history, to learn from them and apply their lessons to his own renovation. Along the way, he learned about the origins and evolution of the kitchen, its architecture and its appliances. He learned too about the homes and their occupants, who range from pilgrims to President Thomas Jefferson, from turn-of-the century tenement dwellers to 21st century idealists, from Julia Child to Georgia O’Keeffe, and from Elvis Presley to Louis Armstrong. John’s talk will include photographs and drawings. His talk and his book, The Kitchen, are for cooks, homemakers, interior designers, culinary historians, and for anyone who–like John Ota before them–is looking for inspiration for a renovation.

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.


Wednesday, July 15, 2020
7 p.m.
Via ZOOM

Please e-mail Culinary.Historians@gmail.com for the zoom link.