We’re Not Just Whistlin’ Dixie

South’s Beloved Cuisine Evolves
Presented by
Kevin Gillespie
Cookbook Author and Executive Chef, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

Renowned southern Chef Kevin Gillespie has made a special trip north just to spread the gospel of Dixie cuisine to the Culinary Historians of Chicago.  We invited Chef Kevin not only because he passionately honors the history and tradition of the South, but because he is also constantly evolving new dishes that fit seamlessly into the region’s culture. Continue reading

The Original Food Pyramid

Beer, Bread and Foie Gras
Presented by
Michael Fenster, MD
Chef, Interventional Cardiologist, and Martial Artist

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”–Hippocrates

Dr. Michael Fenster is making a house call to the Culinary Historians of Chicago.  And he’s going to ask all of us if we are healthier today. But before we’ll have a chance to answer, this physician/chef will give us the real skinny about health, ancient cuisines and their modern implications. Continue reading

“What’s Your Hurry? Enjoy Our Curry! A savory tale of what curry is–and isn’t

Presented by
Anupy Singla
author and teacher

Join Indian cookbook author, Anupy Singla, for a discussion on deconstructing curry. Anupy will discuss the differences between curry powder and what South Asians term ‘curry’ — essentially any dish with a gravy. Most in the West are shocked to learn that curry powder is rarely used by South Asian cooks. Continue reading

The South, According to Nathalie

An intimate perspective from a Dixie culinary queen
Presented by
Nathalie Dupree
TV host, chef, author, and teacher

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

According to Southern cooking icon Nathalie Dupree, Southerners lie awake at night and remember their grandmother’s biscuits, their Aunt Sue’s mashed potatoes and gravy, the grits from the mill down the road, and the boiled peanuts their grandfather taught them to cook in a large, well-used old can over a fire in the backyard. “We crave our food and dream about it,” Nathalie says. Continue reading

The Story of Algerian Pastries and an Epiphany

Presented by
Rachel Finn,
Founder, Roots Cuisine

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

When Rachel Finn was living in Paris several years ago, she tasted Algerian pastries for the first time; her life was changed forever. “It was, without question, love at first bite,” she recalled. “An obsession was born. I visited pastry shops throughout Paris, sampling pastries including m’khebez, rzimette, maqrout, skandriate, and my very favorites d’ziriate. After moving back to the States Rachel soon returned to France to do a short apprentissage at her favorite bakery, La Bague de Kenza, which taught her as much about Algerian culture, cooking, and Islam as it did about baking.

Please join us as Rachel gives a brief overview of the history, culinary influences, and cultural significance of Algerian pastries, which are often linked to very specific holidays, or family celebrations such as marriages and births. She will touch on their immense popularity in France, where northern African food has become part of modern French culinary heritage. It is a situation that has much in common with the other Afro-diasporic cuisines around the world that continue to transform culinary and cultural landscapes.

BIO
Rachel Finn is a freelance writer, editor, researcher, and the founder of Roots Cuisine (http://rootscuisine.org), a nonprofit created to promote the foodways of African Diaspora around the globe. Her work has appeared in print and electronic publications including Gastronomica, Chicago Sun-Times, Seattle Weekly, and The Root. She has also written encyclopedia entries on the foodways of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for ABC-CLIO’s Food Cultures of the World. She is currently working on a book on the food history and recipes of the global African Diaspora. Her personal website is http://rachelfinn.net.

Program hosted at Kendall College.