Category Archives: Chicago Foodways Roundtable

In Remembrance of Me: Feasting with the Dead in the Ancient Middle East

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In Remembrance of Me: Feasting with the Dead in the Ancient Middle East, shows how the living cared for the dead and how the ancients conceptualized the idea of the human soul in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant.

The show is built around two themes: the offering of food and drink on regular occasions to nourish the dead in the afterlife, and the use of two or three-dimensional effigies of the dead, often made of stone, to preserve their memory and to provide a means of interaction between the living and the dead. Continue reading →

Duncan Hines: The Man Behind the Cake Mix

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Presented by Louis Hatchett, Biographer

Duncan Hines (1880–1959) may be best known for the cake mixes, baked goods and bread products that bear his name, but most people forget that he traveled across America discovering restaurants and offering his recommendations to readers in his best-selling compilation Adventures in Good Eating.  His biographer, Louis Hatchett, will explore the life and legacy of a savvy businessman, American icon and an often-overlooked culinary pioneer.  Continue reading →

What Flavor Was Your Childhood? A Workshop on How to Trace Your Culinary Legacy

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When New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Flinn decided to tackle her culinary roots in her new book, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good, she unearthed some surprises. She discovered three generations of cooks among her immigrant ancestors and a startling fact: That her last name isn’t really Flinn. She’ll share the behind-the-scenes research she conducted on what turned out to be a most curious culinary journey. Continue reading →

The Road Joyfully Traveled: Judging Family Heirloom Recipes at Midwestern State Fairs

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Podcast

Join us for an oral report card on Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance’s Family Heirloom Recipe contest.

Since 2009, Greater Midwest Foodways has sponsored and judged Family Heirloom Recipes contests in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Contestants prepare their family recipe circa 1950 or earlier, submit their recipe and its history. We suggest they display their family heirloom recipe simply though attractively, with the use of props, such as a copy of the original recipe, photographs, placemat, napkins, glassware or flowers. All this for cash prizes of: 1st place – $150., 2nd place – $100., 3rd place – $50 Continue reading →

Learning Tour: Testa Produce

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Podcast

Testa Produce, Inc. is a 100-year-old family owned and operated produce distributor for foodservice entities around the Midwest including restaurants, hotels, schools, country clubs, sporting arenas and hospitals.

Testa’s new LEED* Platinum Refrigerated Foodservice facility (2011) designed by Epstein is the first of its kind in the United States. The warehouse features sustainable technologies including a 750kW wind turbine producing 30% of the building’s energy needs, a huge solar grid for heating potable water, an extensive water management system which recovers rain and graywater for non-potable purposes, LED lighting, skylighting, electric/compressed natural gas delivery trucks and a vegetated roof. Continue reading →