Culinary Historians of Northern California

Past Events, 2004-2015

Culinary Historians of Northern California

2015

12 December 2015
Legion of Honor
Exhibition: "Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from Berthouville" (a collection of silver-gilt serving vessels and platters from the first or second century AD).

10 November 2015
California Historical Society
"Food at the Fair" (the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition), featuring collector Pam Elder, author/photographer Jeannette Ferrary, filmmaker Julia Lavaroni, and historian Erica J. Peters.

14 October 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Darra Goldstein, discussing her latest book, Fire and Ice: Classic Nordic Cooking (2015)

1 October 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Duggan McDonnell, author of Drinking the Devil's Acre: A Love Letter From San Francisco & Her Cocktails (2015)

10 September 2015
SF Maritime Research Center, Fort Mason
Speaker: Simon Spalding, author of Food at Sea: Shipboard Cuisine from Ancient to Modern Times (2014)

27 August 2015
Mountain View
Speaker: Carole J. Bumpus, author of Recipes for Redemption: A Companion Cookbook (2015) to her 2014 novel A Cup of Redemption.

18 July 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jeff Koehler, author of Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea (2015).

25 June 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jennifer Jordan (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), author of Edible Memory: The Lure of Heirloom Tomatoes and Other Forgotten Foods (Chicago, 2015).

14 May 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Sandra M. Gilbert (UC Davis professor emerita of English), author of The Culinary Imagination: From Myth to Modernity (W. W. Norton, 2014).

25 April 2015
Montclair district, Oakland, chez Andrew Sigal's
Event: Potluck to mark the centenary of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition

12 March 2015
CSU-East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Lucey Bowen, Independent Scholar and Asian Art Museum Docent
Topic: "'The Charm Garden': How a Salt Merchant's Son Brought Yangzhou Cuisine to the Bay Area"

12 February 2015
CSU-East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Susan B. Carter (Professor Emerita, UC Riverside; Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley)
Topic: "How Chop Suey Came to Oshkosh, Wisconsin"

31 January 2015
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jennifer McLagan, author of Bones (2005); Fat (2008); Odd Bits (2011), and Bitter (2014).

2014

20 November 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Rod Phillips (Carleton Univ.), author of Alcohol: A History (2014)

Nov. 20th also marked the 10th anniversary of the Culinary Historians of Northern California.

26 October 2014
Biscuits & Blues Club, 401 Mason St.
Speakers: Linda Lau Anusasanan (The Hakka Cookbook); John Birdsall (Senior Editor, CHOW); Erica J. Peters (San Francisco: A Food Biography); Cheryl Sternman Rule (RIPE: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits & VegetablesYogurt Culture); Moderator Philip M. Dobard, VP SoFAB Institute
Topic: Culinaria Query panel exploring "Can We Re-Set the Family Table?"

18 September 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Dan Jurafsky (Stanford), author of The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu (2014)

16 August 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Elizabeth Andoh, of the Tokyo cooking school, A Taste of Culture
Topic: Washoku (Japanese home cooking) and Kansha (Japanese vegan and vegetarian traditions)

24 July 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Pam Elder, longtime CHoNC member, presented photographer Pat Monaco's collection of Jell-O ephemera, paired with a Jell-O art contest for attendees.

18 June 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Paula Marcoux, author of Cooking With Fire (2014)
Topic: "Ovens on the Edge: How the First European Colonists Baked Bread, 1590-1640."

10 May 2014
SOMArts Cultural Center
"Eating Asian America" panel discussion, with Lok Siu (UC Berkeley), Mark Padoongpat (UN-Las Vegas), and Thy Tran (Asian Culinary Forum), co-sponsored with the AAWAA and the APICC.

19 April 2014
San Jose Museum of Art
Visited "Around the Table" exhibit on the diversity of food and farming in the Bay Area.

1-2 March 2014
The Culinary Historians had a booth at the 4th annual San Francisco History Expo, which was held at the Old Mint (88 Fifth St.) and showcased the city's complex history.

13 February 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Heather Arndt Anderson, author of Breakfast: A History (2013).

26 January 2014
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Charlotte Biltekoff (UC Davis), author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Dietary Health (2013).

2013

9 December 2013
Jeffrey D. Carr's Ephemera Studio, Oakland
Speakers: Jeff and Pat Carr discussed their collection of menus, photos, and other ephemera
14 November 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Erica J. Peters, author of San Francisco: A Food Biography (2013)
10 November 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Rachel Laudan, author of Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History (2013)
Topic: "What's Not to Like about Modern Processed Food? A Historical Perspective."

17 October 2013
Omnivore Books
Speakers: Andrea Lawson Gray and Adriana Almazen Lahl, authors of Celebraciones Mexicanas: History, Traditions and Recipes (2013)

19 September 2013
Omnivore Books
Speakers: Bruce Kraig and Patty Carroll, authors of Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America (2012)

2 August 2013
Oakland Museum of California
Speaker: Jennie Schacht, author of I Scream Sandwich: Inspired Recipes for the Ultimate Frozen Treat (2013)

25 July 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Pam Williams, founder of the Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts
Topic: The Future of Fine Chocolate

18 June 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: William Sitwell, author of The History of Food in 100 Recipes (2012)

23 May 2013
Museum of American Heritage, Palo Alto
Speaker: Peter Hertzmann, author of Knife Skills Illustrated: A User's Manual (2007)
Topic: The History of Kitchen Gadgets

24 April 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Toby Sonneman, author of Lemon: A Global History (Reaktion, 2013)

10 March 2013
Kanbar Hall, JCCSF
Speaker: Mark Russ Federman, owner of Russ & Daughters and author of Russ & Daughters: The House That Herring Built (2013)

13 February 2013
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Simone Cinotto (University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy), author of Soft Soil, Black Grapes: The Birth of Italian Winemaking in California (NYU, 2012)

10 January 2013
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Dr. Leonard Schmieding, University of Leipzig/Stanford University
Topic: German-American Food Cultures in Northern California

2012

29 November 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Hubert Keller, chef and author of Souvenirs: Stories and Recipes from My Life (2012)

9 November 2012
San Francisco Film Society
Film: Trattoria (2012)

4 October 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jeffrey Pilcher, author of Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food (2012)

23 September 2012
Women's Building, SF Mission District
Speakers: Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik (Kearny Street Workshop), Lok Siu (UC Berkeley) and Karen Tei Yamashita (UC Santa Cruz)
Topic: Asian + Latin American Cross-Cultural Cooking (Asian Culinary Forum event)

12 August 2012
Vacaville, CA
Speakers: Megan Mahoney of Honey Bee Genetics & Clay Ford of Pleasants Valley Honey Co.

12 July 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Richard Foss, author of Rum: A Global History (2012)

2 June 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Anne Willan, co-author with her husband Mark Cherniavsky of The Cookbook Library: Four Centuries of the Cooks, Writers, and Recipes That Made the Modern Cookbook (2012)

19 May 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Thomas McNamee, author of The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne and the American Food Renaissance (2012)

21 April 2012
Montclair District, Oakland
Event: Wokapalooza cooking party

14 March 2012
Marian Koshland Bioscience and Natural Resources Library, UC Berkeley
Speaker: Norma Kobzina, Head, Information Services
Topic: The Culinary Collection at the Koshland Library

9 February 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Pam Peirce, author of Golden Gate Gardening (3rd edition, 2010) and "A Personal History of the San Francisco People's Food System," in Ten Years that Shook the City: San Francisco 1968-1979, ed. Chris Carlsson (2011).

26 January 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Erica J. Peters, author of Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam: Food and Drink in the Long Nineteenth Century (AltaMira Studies in Food and Gastronomy, 2012)

12 January 2012
Omnivore Books
Speaker: William Rubel, author of Bread: A Global History (2011)

2011

7 November 2011
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Fabrizia Lanza, author of Olive: A Global History (2011)

27 October 2011
Omnivore Books
Topic: Hawaiian Night
Speakers: Alan Wong and Arnold Hiura, authors of The Blue Tomato (2010)

1 September 2011
Napa, in Betty's outdoor kitchen
Topic: Dishes with Stories (and things in jars...)

22 August 2011
San Francisco Ferry Building
Speakers: Sarah Dey, Dennis Lee, Richie Nakano, and Wilfred Pacio
Topic: Chefs Re-inventing Asian Cuisine (Asian Culinary Forum event)

19 July 2011
Omnivore Books
Speaker: John Jung, author of Sweet and Sour: Life in Chinese Family Restaurants (2010)

9 June 2011
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Cecilia Chiang, founder of the Mandarin Restaurant and author, with Lisa Weiss, of The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco (2007)

19 April 2011
San Francisco Ferry Building
Speakers: Nancy Chen, John Garrone, Vinita Jacinto, Jane Lin, Michelle Warner
Topic: Food as Medicine: Cuisine, Curatives & Culture (Asian Culinary Forum event)

10 March 2011
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: India Mandelkern (UC Berkeley Ph.D. candidate in history)
Topic: Homo Gastronomicus: Fashioning the English Palate in the Century of Taste

10 February 2011
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Grace Young, author of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge

13 January 2011
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Carolyn de la Peña, author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda

2010

9 December 2010
BJE Jewish Community Library
Speaker: Sue Fishkoff, author of Kosher Nation

9 November 2010
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Chef Yara Castro Roberts, author of The Brazilian Table

22 October 2010
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Mark Bitterman, author of Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes (2010), selmelier at The Meadow

2 September 2010
JCC East Bay (Berkeley); co-sponsored with the Asian Culinary Forum
Panel: The Foods of Shanghai's Jewish Communities
Speakers: Inna Mink, Dianne Jacob; Moderator: Linda Frank

20 August 2010
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jane Ziegelman, author of 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement (Smithsonian, 2010)

8 July 2010
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Andrew Beahrs, author of Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens (Penguin Press, 2010)

15 May 2010
International Culinary School at the Art Institute of SF
Panel Topic: Cultural and Culinary Encounters in the Philippines and its Diaspora
Panelists: Professors Jay Gonzalez, Dawn Mabalon, Benito Vergara, and Catherine Ceniza Choy, and doctoral candidate Alex Orquiza
Part of the Asian Culinary Forum Symposium on Filipino Flavors: Tradition and Innovation

8 April 2010
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Ariane Helou (UC Santa Cruz doctoral program in literature)
Topic: Performing the Renaissance Banquet: Feasting at the Este Court

12 March 2010
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Andrew F. Smith
Topic: Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine (2009)

11 February 2010
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: William Rubel, author of The Magic of Fire: Hearth Cooking
Topic: The Samburu of Northern Kenya and their Smoke-Flavored Milk

2009

10 December 2009
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Daniela Soleri (Geography, UCSB)
Topic: Mexican Migration, Maize Diversity, and How to Make Tejate
13 October 2009
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Darra Goldstein (Williams College; Editor-in-Chief, Gastronomica)
8 October 2009
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Andrew Coe, author of Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States (2009)
10 September 2009
CSU East Bay, Oakland Center
Speaker: Barbara H.J. Gordon (Professor Emerita, San Jose State Univ.)
Topic: The Past and Present of Urban Gardening
27 August 2009
Omnivore Books
Speaker: Jean Johnson, author of Cooking Beyond Measure (2008)
23 July 2009
Omnivore Books (SF)
Speaker: Polly Adema, author of Garlic Capital of the World: Gilroy, Garlic, and the Making of a Festive Foodscape (2009)
24 June 2009
San Francisco Ferry Building
Speakers: George Solt (History, NYU); Andy Raskin, author of The Ramen King and I (2009)
Topic: "For the Love of Ramen" / Asian Culinary Forum panel
14 May 2009
Cal State East Bay, Oakland campus
Speaker: Thy Tran (Director, Asian Culinary Forum)
Topic: "South by Southeast Asia: Tamales of the Philippines and Guam"
23 April 2009
Omnivore Books (SF)
Speaker: Michelle Branch (UC Berkeley Ph.D. student in history)
Topic: Urban Food Cultures and the "Free Produce" Movement in the Antebellum North
12 March 2009
Omnivore Books (SF)
Speaker: Bertie Mandelblatt (University of Montreal / SSHRC postdoc)
Topic: "Salt Beef or Manioc? Crises of Food Provisioning in the French Antilles"
12 February 2009
Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley
Speaker: Joe Bohling (UC Berkeley)
Topic: "Wine and the Anti-Alcoholism Campaign in France in the 1950s"
15 January 2009
Omnivore Books (SF)
Speaker: Sally Scully (Emerita in History, SFSU)
Topic: "Policing Desire: Food Consumption and its Constraints in Renaissance Venice"

2008
11 December 2008
Cafe Eritrea in North Oakland
Speakers: Mical Asefaw and Tsegai Reda
Topic: Eritrean culinary history

13 November 2008
Robert Mondavi Institute, UC Davis
Speaker: Hildegarde Heymann (UC Davis)
Topic: The history of Sensory Science

11 October 2008
San Francisco Ferry Building
Panel Topic: "Meals, Meaning and Memory in Asian Diasporas"
Part of inaugural Asian Culinary Forum weekend on "Asian Food Beyond Borders."
Speakers: Wendy Ho and Parama Roy (UC Davis), Ashwini Wagle (SJSU) and Martin Manalansan (UIUC).

11 September 2008
Cal State East Bay, Oakland campus
Speaker: Jessica Theroux, Culinary Curator at the Montalvo Arts Center
Topic: Jessica presented "Rabbits and Wrinkles," her mixed-media collection of food stories from the year she spent traveling through Italy, talking and cooking with local women.

14 August 2008
Napa
Speaker: Maria Binchet, food and wine writer and culinary consultant
Topic: Figs in history, from ancient tales to modern recipes

10 July 2008
Sausalito
Event: Dinner at Avatar's (Mexican-Punjabi cuisine)

12 June 2008
Magnes Museum in Berkeley
Topic: "Of Chocolate and Change"
Panelists: Bert Gordon, History Dept., Mills College; Fran Gage, patissier and author of Bread and Chocolate; Thalia Hohenthal, Guittard Chocolate Co; Alice Medrich, chocolatier and author of Pure Dessert and A Year in Chocolate; Frankie Whitman, Fullbloom Baking Co. (formerly at Scharffen Berger)

8 May 2008
Magnes Museum in Berkeley
Speaker: Jeannette Ferrary, author of M. F. K. Fisher and Me
Topic: A Centenary Celebration of M. F. K. Fisher: 'Nothing is in the Books'

15 April 2008
Vacaville Performing Arts Theater
Field Trip to see the Kitchen Sisters (NPR's Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva)
Topic: Hidden Kitchens across the United States

13 March 2008
Magnes Museum in Berkeley
Speaker: Andrew Griffin of Mariquita Farm
Topic: The early days of the California mesclun salad industry

21 February 2008
Burlingame
Event: Dinner at Yaya Cuisine (Mesopotamian restaurant)
Reading:The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat (Berg, 2007).

17 January 2008
Chancellor Hotel, San Francisco
Speaker: Andrew F. Smith, editor of The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink (2007)
Topic: "Eating History: 25 Historical Events that Shape What Americans Eat Today"

2007

13 December 2007
Field trip to the JCC East Bay, for the U.S. premiere of "Chez Schwartz" (2006)
Discussion afterwards with Peter Levitt and Karen Adelman, co-owners of Saul's Deli in Berkeley

8 November 2007
Speaker: Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write For Food (2005) and the forthcoming Grilled Pizzas and Piadinas (Spring 2008)
Topic: Iraqi Jewish cuisine in 1930s Shanghai

11 October 2007
Speaker: Thy Tran <
Topic: Sikh Temples and Communal Meals in California's Central Valley

20 September 2007
Speaker: Victor Geraci, Food and Wine Historian at Berkeley's Regional Oral History Office
Topic: Cultural Terroir: Defining Self and the Bay Area Region with Food and Wine

12 July 2007
Event: Viewing Ratatouille (Disney-Pixar movie)
Discussion afterwards at Bistro Liaison (Berkeley)

14 June 2007
Speaker: Robert Brower
Topic: Solving a Culinary History Mystery: Tracing Abby Fisher's Roots to South Carolina

10 May 2007
Speaker: William Rubel, author of The Magic of Fire
Topic: Heritage breads in Europe

23 April 2007
Speaker: Laura Shapiro, author of Perfection Salad, Something from the Oven and Julia Child
Topic: Julia Child

19 April 2007
Speakers: Melissa Salazar and Patrice Savery
Topic: Children and Food in the Public School System: Culture and Curricula

8 March 2007
Speaker: Sandra Oliver, editor of Food History News, author of Food in Colonial and Federal America (Greenwood, 2005) and co-author of Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History, from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie (Clarkson Potter, 2005).
Topic: Rethinking regionalism's role in American culinary history.

8 February 2007
Michele Simon spoke about her new book, Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and How to Fight Back (Nation Books, 2006).

11 January 2007
Speaker: Lynette Hunter (UC Davis)
Topic: Food, Culture, and Community (2006 collected volume honoring Alan Davidson)

2006

7 December 2006
Andrea Nguyen spoke about the role of family history in her new cookbook, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (Ten Speed, 2006).
14 November 2006
Field Trip to hear Professor Carole Counihan speak at a UC Davis event sponsored by Critical Studies in Food and Culture and the UC Davis Women's Center.
Topic: "Speaking Food and Making Place in the San Luis Valley of Colorado"
12 October 2006
Speaker: Ken Albala (University of the Pacific)
Topic: A Hill of Beans: A History of the World's Most Ubiquitous Peasant Food
21 September 2006
Speaker: Mary Margaret Pack (Foodways of Austin)
Topic: "Paradise Gardens and Mediterranean Gastronomy"
10 August 2006
Topic: "Curries, Chilies, and Colonial Cuisines"
Resources: Lizzie Collingham's Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors (2006); David Thompson's Thai Food (2002); and Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid's Mangoes and Curry leaves (2005). Also discussed Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible (2003).
20 July 2006
Topic: History of Children's Food
22 June 2006
Topic: Taste, Terroir, and the Wine Industry
Wine expert Ann Littlefield guided our "Judgment at Betty's" in Napa

18 May 2006
Speaker: Erica J. Peters
Topic: "Chopsticks, Forks, and Fingers, or How to Eat in Nineteenth-Century Vietnam"

27 April 2006
Speaker: Samantha Barbas
Topic: The history of women and dieting in the United States.
9 March 2006
Speaker: Jessica Weiss, CSU East Bay
Topic: Kay Wahl's "She Also Cooks" Column (1950s and 60s).
7 February 2006
Speaker: Marion Nestle (NYU)
Topic: Navigating the Supermarket