From Bean to Bar – Exploring the Complex World of Chocolate Presented by Adam Centamore Chocolate is one of the world’s most beloved foods, and it’s no surprise why. Few treats can rival the sweet, rich flavors of a well-made bar of chocolate. When it comes to the history, creation and production of cacao, however, most people are far less familiar with those details. It’s time to see what makes this global favorite tick! Spend an evening learning all about chocolate with educator and writer (and chocolate fiend) Adam Centamore. He’ll share chocolate’s origins and history, how different styles ..read more

Ignite The Conversation: A Exploration Into Chicago-style BBQ Dominique Leach (Lexington Betty Smokehouse) – Brian Jupiter (Frontier/Ina Mae Tavern)- Daniel Hammond (Smoky Soul BBQ)- Ron Conner (U Want Dat Smoke BBQ) Media Speakers: Journalist Monica Eng of AXIOS Chicago and co-author of Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites & James Beard Award-winning food writer/video producer Mike Gebert of Fooditor Moderator: Catherine Lambrecht, Culinary Historians of Chicago We’ve all heard of the classic BBQ styles from regions like Kansas City, Memphis or Texas-style. But what abo ..read more

A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel In 2014, food historians Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel cooked up a NYC supper club called Edible History, a pairing of fine dining and intellectual stimulation. Now they’ve spun their experience into a recently published book, A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes (Rizzoli). Come join us as the authors share highlights from their work and give us a world of culinary traditions and unfamiliar ingredients through dishes that make up 10 historical dinners: think Tudor England ..read more

The Delmonico Way Max Tucci From Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of Chicago I just couldn’t pass it up. When I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference in New York this past September, one limited-seating event had me signing up immediately: an historic dinner in the board room at Delmonico’s, hosted by third generation partner and global brand officer, Max Tucci. Max regaled us with the luscious history of what is widely recognized as America’s first fine dining restaurant, that began in 1827 in Manhattan as a small cafe and pastry shop. It was ..read more

Feeding the Art Deco Spirit Presented by Teri Edelstein, PhD Cover image: Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Café, bars, restaurants, Cover Félix Jobbé-Duval Paris: Librairie de la Construction moderne, 1930 A central aspect of the culture and lifestyle of the 1920s and 30s was the creation and consumption of food. You could exist in an Art Deco world where everything from the soup to the nuts was inflected with this style. As a pervasive mode, Deco shaped a total environment and food and drink were an integral part of this. The lecture will focus upon some of the more striking r ..read more

What’s behind Italy’s ingredients? Presented by Viola Buitoni Come join us as Viola Buitoni (yes, she’s a member of that illustrious pasta-manufacturing family) shares the history and geography of Italy’s most iconic ingredients, and gives tips on how we can incorporate their vibrant flavors and techniques into our kitchens. (Think balsamic vinegar, flakes of parmigiano reggiano, fresh ricotta and creamy grains of risotto.) As a native Roman raised in the Umbrian countryside, Viola grew up savoring these artisanal foods. Viola will also give us a preview of her just-released debut cookbook Ita ..read more

Identification of Mushrooms: More than the sum of their parts Presented by Patrick Leacock, PhD This presentation covers visible mushroom features found with caps, gills, stems, and veils. These features are used to key out and identify wild mushrooms. We can combine these features to learn the "stature types" of gilled mushrooms, such as amanita, pluteus, tricholoma, mycena, etc. Patrick is a mycologist documenting the mushrooms of the Upper Midwest with collections going to the Field Museum of Natural History. He teaches botany and mycology at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He a ..read more

Madison's Magical Market Presented by Terese Allen, Culinary Historian and writer Come join us as one of Wisconsin’s most celebrated culinary historians and food writers, Terese Allen, takes us on a delicious journey into our nation’s largest produce-only farmers’ market, The Dane County Farmers’ Market. Held in Madison’s vast Capitol Square, this more than half-century old market has helped area agriculture flourish, and dramatically changed the character of food culture in the region. Terese will share all this and introduce us to the colorful farmers. Terese has also captured the full flavo ..read more

Much ado about masalas—a deep dive into Indian Cuisine Come join us as a maven of masala, Nandita Godbole, explores India’s complex and delicious regional cuisines through its culinary backbone – its masalas (which, by the way, are a vast number of spice mixtures ground into a paste or powder for use in Indian cooking). Nandita will be dishing out a buffet of savory information on the micro cuisines of India, giving us a healthy serving of geopolitical histories that have shaped regional food identities. And she’ll liberally season her talk with her own culinary anecdotes. Nandita is drawing h ..read more

Paul Prud'homme, Dinner with the President You all probably know of Alex Prud’homme as co-author of Julia Child’s best selling memoir, My Life in France. Come join us as Alex takes us into the White House to talk about his latest book, Dinner with the President. Alex will serve us a capsulated history of American food and politics, from the grim meals eaten by George Washington and his starving troops at Valley Forge, to Donald Trump’s burger banquets and Joe Biden’s “performance enhancing” ice cream—what they ate, why they ate it, and what it tells us about the state of the nation. “At the Wh ..read more