Upcoming Programs at a Glance

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Our events are typically at Bethany Retirement Community (directions and parking) on Saturday mornings from 10:00 am until noon. Occasionally, our event time varies or we meet at a different location. These variances will be highlighted below, though please read the full event notice for details.

Culinary Historians of Chicago:
  • December 14, 2019: Chandra Ram, cookbook author
  • January 18, 2020: Louisa Chu, Chicago Tribune and Monica Eng, WBEZ
  • February 22, 2020: Michael Lachowicz of Aboyer
  • March 14, 2020: John Ota, The Kitchen
Chicago Foodways Roundtable: 

Find Culinary Historians of Chicago and Chicago Foodways Roundtable on Twitter or Facebook.

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance:
  • SUNDAY March 1, 2020: Tea with Princess Grace of Monaco
  • September TBA, 2020: Heirloom Apple Tour – postponed a year.

Find Greater Midwest Foodways on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

A Culinary History of Downeast Maine

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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. Continue reading →

How the Instant Pot Helped This Indian-American Forge Her Ethnic Identity

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Presented by Chandra Ram, Chef, Author, Editor

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. Continue reading →

The Legitimacy and Legacy of Chinese Food in America

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Presented by Louisa Chu and Monica Eng
Co-hosts, “Chewing” Podcast

“Chewing” podcast hosts Monica Eng, left, and Louisa Chu. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

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. Continue reading →

Maggi Galaxy

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Presented by Stephan Palmié, Anthropology Dept. at University of Chicago
Antoni Miralda, Artist and founder of Food Cultura, Foodcultura*

Image by Peter Engler

The Reader’s Mike Sula weighs in on Maggi

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. Continue reading →

After fall from Grace, Chef and Business Partner plan the best Ever

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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 manager were devastated. Continue reading →