Presented by
Andrew Smith
Food Scholar, Editor and Author

Andy Smith, one of our nation’s most eminent food historians has so much information to dish out, that he’s going to give us a two-subject lecture, based on his latest books: American Tuna—the Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food, and Drinking History: 15 Turning Points in the Making of an American Beverages.Regarding tuna, he asks how does a fish move from being sold primarily as a fertilizer to becoming one of the most commonly consumed fish in the country in a matter of a decade? And how does a cheap fish become haute cuisine? And how does a fish become embroiled in U.S. foreign policy, immigration and environmental politics, and American dietary trends? He will also  tell how the American tuna industry was decimated by concerns about toxic levels of methylmercury, and over-harvesting.

Offering a chaser to that talk, Mr. Smith discuss why Americans drink what we drink; how beverages– alcoholic and non-alcoholic– have changed American history and how Americans have  invented, adopted, modified, and commercialized tens of thousands of beverages.

Andy Smith teaches Food Studies at the New School University in New York. He is the editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, and has edited or authored more than 20 books and his written more than 1000 articles on culinary topics.  In addition Mr. Smith conducts acclaimed food writing conferences in New York City.

(He will be conducting a food writing workshop immediately following the Culinary Historians Program. For more information, see separate announcement.)