Category Archives: Culinary Historians of Chicago

Midwestern Newspaper Food Editors: Ruth Ellen Church, Clarice Rowlands & Peggy Daum

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Presented by
Kimberly Wilmot Voss, PhD
American Midwest Foodways Scholar’s Grant recipient, 2013

This talk is the story of three significant Midwestern food editors from the 1950s and 1960s. Ruth Ellen Church joined the Chicago Tribune as cooking editor in 1936 and oversaw one of the first test kitchens at a newspaper. She published many cookbooks—several under the pen name of Mary Meade. She remained the food editor until 1974 and became the nation’s first newspaper wine editor in 1962. Clarice Rowlands joined the Milwaukee Journal as food editor in 1943 based on an interest she developed as a member of the 4-H Club in high school. She occasionally wrote under the pen name Alice Richards. Peggy Daum began working in the women’s pages in the 1950s and was the food editor at the Milwaukee Journal from 1968 to 1988. She initiated the creation of what is now known as the Association of Food Journalists and was its first president. These women documented what home cooks were making and what was served in fine restaurants. They judged cooking contests and oversaw recipe exchange programs. They also had a lot of fun. Continue reading →

There’s more to Sardinia Than Sardines! The story of the island, its food and its people

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Presented by Viktorija Todorovska
Food and Wine Writer, Author, Educator

Sardinia, the isolated and majestic island off the southwest coast of Italy, has a rich and ancient history as home to different Mediterranean peoples whose customs have intertwined over the centuries. The result is an unparalleled richness of cuisine that surprises even those familiar with the cuisines of other Italian regions. From myrtle, saffron, and honey to lamb, seafood, and specialty cheeses, Sardinian food features a broad variety of flavors for any occasion. Many traditional Sardinian recipes are simple and straightforward — reflecting the peasant cuisine heavy on legumes, fresh vegetables, olive oil, and bread. However, it is common for Sardinians to celebrate holidays with lavish feasts and special delicacies: suckling pig, lobster, bottarga (Sardinian caviar), and the full-bodied home-made Sardinian sausages.  Continue reading →

The Ina Monologue

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Chicago’s spicy Breakfast Queen has a savory history!
Presented by
Ina Pinkney
Restaurateur, Author: Taste Memories– Recipes for Life and Breakfast

When asked to give an appeteaser of what she will share with the Culinary Historians, Ina Pinkney demurely bats her eyes: “Hmmmm… I will tell the story of how I went from Brooklyn to Breakfast… my childhood polio… coming to Chicago without knowing a soul… baking my first cake at 37 and finding my way for 33 years… I’ll talk about what it means to be me now… post restaurant and what the future might hold.” Continue reading →

Culinary Street Smarts

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How Latin American Street Food Catapulted into a Mainstay
Presented by Sandra A. Gutierrez
Cookbook Author, Food Writer, and Culinary Instructor

Learn how the dishes found in the streets of Latin America showcase the historical evolution of an entire culinary culture. According to Sandra A. Gutierrez, street food has been a constant in the culinary landscape of the Americas since Ancient times. By the time the Europeans conquered the New World in the 1500’s, outdoor markets and food stalls were commonplace. Historians documented finding tortillas, tamales, and atoles (hot drinks) sold in the streets of Mesoamerica. Continue reading →

Jambalaya, Congri, & Hopping John

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Culinary History in an Atlantic Context ‘from the Bottom Up’
Presented by
Anthony Buccini

In this talk we focus initially on two iconic regional dishes from the American South, jambalaya and Hopping John (and its Haitian and Louisianan cousins congri), which are related directly only through their inclusion of rice as a core ingredient and the etymologies of their names, and use them as exemplars of instances of the importation of culinary aesthetics from the ‘Old World’ by poor whites and enslaved blacks. In addition to offering new etymologies for these dishes’ names which are based on both sound linguistic arguments and thorough analysis of the relevant culinary history, we also examine the development of these dishes in their broader Atlantic socio-historical context. Continue reading →