Category Archives: Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland

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Presented by
Nina Mukerjee Furstenau, Author & Journalist
for Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Recipes

For almost all people, food is journey to identity. More than sustenance, food holds memory, desire, reward from frustration, and a link to place; food can represent how we live and who we are; food holds story.

Biting through the Skin centers on the life of an Indian family in pre-long grain rice America. In 1960s Kansas, eating was cause for inquiry. All key cultural, spiritual and family values transferred in the Mukerjee family via the rituals around Bengali food preparation. Food was, in fact, the only way these elements of identity were passed down in an area and era where there were no other avenues. Biting through the Skin shows how we maintain our differences as well as come together, what we learn about ourselves and about others from the rituals of cooking, serving, and eating. It examines the idea of belonging and the tiny details of life it rests upon. Continue reading →

Uncovering the Surprising History of Fast Food Before McDonald’s

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Making Fast Food
Presented by
Nic Mink,
Author of Salmon: A Global History

To many, fast food is the quintessential embodiment of twentieth-century American food culture. In his talk, author Nic Mink explores the often forgotten roots of American fast food, as the industry developed between the 1920s and the 1950s. From the changes wrought to fast food by Federal Prohibition to the sweeping technological transformations that took place in restaurant kitchens, Mink shows how the development of the industry and its cuisine came from unexpected places and emerged in equally unexpected ways. Continue reading →

Chicago Foodways: Crete

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Crete: The Roots of the Mediterranean Diet
Presented by
Nikki Rose

Join us for an intriguing glimpse into Crete’s culinary heritage. The concepts of the Mediterranean Diet originated in Crete. Chef Rose, founder of the award-winning Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries Eco-Agritourism Network, demonstrates that Cretan cuisine is not just a diet, but is a way of life that has much to offer in our ongoing pursuit of healthy and sustainable approaches to eating. Chef Rose shares strategies for applying the celebrated concepts of Cretan cuisine wherever we live. She will share highlights of her work during this presentation. Continue reading →

Culinary Memoir & Personal Essays

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Turning a Bunch of Heartland Food Stories into an Anthology
Presented by
Peggy Wolff
With readings by Carol Mighton Haddix and Melanie Benjamin

Peggy Wolff, editor of Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie: Midwestern Writers on Food (U. of Nebraska Press), talks about the inspiration for a post-WWII regional food anthology, the genre called food/lit, some anecdotes about working with writers, and how she put together essays from notable authors who could see food beyond the printed recipe on the page. Continue reading →

If Recipes Could Talk: Wisconsin Foods and the Stories They Tell

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by
Terese Allen,
Author and President of Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s culinary traditions, both past and present, reflect the richness of an ethnically and agriculturally diverse region. Author Terese Allen shares the stories behind–and recipes for–such varied foodways as cream puffs, Hmong egg rolls and the Friday night fish fry. From Ojibwe wild rice to arugula pesto pasta, she tracks the amazing cornucopia of what Wisconsinites have gathered, grown, produced, cooked, and eaten. Continue reading →