Don Lindgren Explores the Anatomy of a Cookbook
by Barbara Rotger
Like family bibles and favorite children’s books, cookbooks are often singled out in the home for special treatment. They are kept separately from other books, passed down from generation to generation, with each caretaker inscribing his or her own name within it. However, unlike other treasured volumes, users regularly mark these texts with their own corrections or commentary, adding whole new sections or boldly crossing out recipes that have proved unsuccessful. Years of heavy use are reflected in repairs, occasionally made by professional binders, but more frequently accomplished with tape or needle and thread, providing a tangible link between the craft of cooking and other household crafts.
Don Lindgren, proprietor of Rabelais Fine Books on Food & Drink, made these points in his lecture “The Anatomy of a Cookbook: The Useful Object and Its Users.” This was the first talk in this year’s Jacques Pepin Lectures Series, offered by Boston University’s Programs in Food and Wine. Lindgren emphasized use of the term “object” rather than “text” in his title, noting that there are many aspects of cookbooks that scholars can learn from that beyond lists of ingredients and instructions for their preparation.
Referencing the methodology that historian Barbara Ketcham Wheaton presents in her seminar on Reading Historic Cookbooks, Lindgren encouraged the audience to look for details such as the number of ingredients a cookbook calls for, the source of those ingredients, and the kind of environment they might reflect. Scholars should also consider evidence of the range of equipment in use and the people involved in preparing food – from heads of households planning menus, cooks who prepared them, and the merchants, foragers and farmers who supplied the ingredients.
Lindgren pointed out the importance of considering the motivations of the publisher or author. Cookbooks do not just exist 
as a vehicle to share recipes; authors may seek to gain publicity for themselves, raise funds for a cause, or support advertisers. The use of pseudonyms is common in cookbook publishing. Lindgren illustrated this point with an example, noting that a volume published by the “Society of New York Gentlemen” sold far more copies after the author’s name was changed to the fictitious “Priscilla Homespun”.
In another example of cookbook sleuthing, Lindgren showed how a bookseller’s ticket, affixed to the inside of a collection of cocktail recipes that was published in 1862, shed light on another historical moment. This slip of paper, pasted inside the cover of the book, indicated that the volume was sold in a shop in Havana that was in business from 1873 to 1877, providing evidence that contradicts the conventional wisdom of when cocktail culture developed on the island of Cuba.
After his talk, participants were invited to examine a number of cookbooks from Lindgren’s shop. Many took home a catalog and went home inspired to consider the “useful objects” on their own kitchen shelves in a new light.
Upcoming Lecture: Taste and Judgment as a Key to Becoming a Responsible and Enjoying Eater
Members of the Gastronomy Community and the public are invited to a lecture by Dr. Helle Brønnum Carlsen on Taste and Judgment as a Key to Becoming a Responsible and Enjoying Eater (Food "Bildung").
Dr. Carls
en will discuss an aesthetic approach to food, and how food knowledge and attitudes concerning foods (food Bildung, or food literacy) are used to frame the consumer’s choice as those of a responsible, reflexive human being. Dr. Carlsen, a scholar in food and aesthetics, obtained her Ph.D. at the Danmarks institut for Pædagogik og Uddannelse, now Århus University, from the Institute of Pedagogical Philosophy. She also has a Master of Arts in Literature from Copenhagen University, where she studied food and literature, and a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Biochemistry from DPU. In addition to teaching, Dr. Carlsen has served as an advisor for the Copenhagen House of Food, as a chef consultant for the Ministry of Education, food critic/reviewer in the monthly gastro-magazine Smag og Behag, freelance food writer, and lecturer. She has published 15 cookbooks, 2 academic books about food and philosophy/education and, most recently, a book for teaching food knowledge and cooking skills.
This lecture will be held on October 15, 2015 at 6:00 pm, in the College of General Studies, 871 Commonwealth Avenue, room 511, and is sponsored by the Gastronomy Program and Boston University's Programs in Food and Wine.
Course Spotlight: Food and Gender
Dr. Karen Metheny will be teaching Food and Gender during the Fall 2015 term. This 4-credit course takes an anthropological, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of food and gender, looking at how masculinity and femininity are defined through beliefs and practices surrounding food and body. Students will engage in a semester-long research project using ethnographic and oral interview techniques such as food-centered life histories.
This class will meet on Monday evenings, from 6 to 9 PM, starting on September 14. The course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Non-degree students may also register. Please contact gastrmla@bu.edu for more information.
Back-to-School Season, part 4
Our Back-to-School series continues with four more new-student introductions. We are looking forward to meeting everyone in classes, starting September 2, 2015.
Louise Beck Brønnum will be coming to Boston University for the Fall 2015 semester as an exchange
student from Copenhagen University, where she is studying Food Innovation and Health. At Copenhagen University she has been responsible for the students organization ”Gastronomic Playground” where new dishes are created from knowledge of nutritional, physical and chemical perspectives of food. With themes such as “from trash to treasure” they have created dishes such as crispy fish bone, hens’ feet, and chocolate ice cream made with blood instead of egg yolks as an emulsifier. The group served these dishes at festivals, communicating knowledge in an edible way. In her spare time, Louise writes for food magazines and a restaurant guide, and has authored two cookbooks. She looks forward to sharing her understanding of the Nordic kitchen with other students in the program.
Louise writes: “I love food. I would go as far as to call myself a food fanatic, who is MADly[1] in love with food. Gastronomy needs a holistic approach, which contains the interdisciplinary aspect of food: the scientific aspect, the cultural aspect, the aesthetic aspect, the ethical aspect and the cooking skills. Combining these aspects is what I find interesting about gastronomy.”
[1] Mad; Food in Danish.
Sonia Dovedy just arrived to 
Boston this summer and has already fallen in love with this vibrant city - from the fragrant mint sold at Haymarket, to the incredibly fresh seafood, and of course, bike rides along the Charles River.
Growing up in an Indian kitchen in California, Sonia was exposed to bright spices, warm flavors, and the beauty of homemade food eaten amongst family at the dinner table from a very young age. Today, she equates food with love, and finds that the simplest foods are the most beautiful in flavor. Sonia loves to study cookbooks, taste new flavors, and then experiment and create her own recipes in the kitchen.
Sonia completed her undergraduate degree at University of California, Berkeley, where she studied food media and nutrition. This education opened her eyes to the ways individuals form relationships with their food based on the media and society. While recently living in India for the past two years, studying yoga with Shri BKS Iyengar, Sonia connected with food in a new light, using her five senses. The locals taught her how to listen to the sounds of perfectly toasted cumin, how to feel the softness of a well-made chapatti, and how to coddle the best cup of chai.
Sonia devotes a big part of her life to the practice of yoga and Ayurveda. She believes that food integrates perfectly together with these principles - food is truly "beautiful fuel" for the body. She loves concocting wholesome, delicious recipes to share with others as well as encouraging those around her to slow down and pay attention to the beauty on the plate. She aspires to harness the wellness power of food and make it available to everyone.
You can find Sonia in the kitchen or on her yoga mat. You can also follow her on her food/yoga/travel blog: www.bakewithsonia.com.
Amy Lipsitz grew up in a coastal town in Rhode Island then headed north to study 
Public Communications and Food Systems at the University of Vermont. Her undergraduate studies gave her insight into many aspects of the food industry and she learned her passion is cooking and nutrition. Since college Amy has combined her love of food with her communications degree and worked in food marketing roles at a nutrition magazine, health food store and, most recently, a fair trade, organic chocolate company.
Amy loves how food brings people together. This love inspired her recently launched food blog ‘Sobremesa’ which, in Spanish, refers to time spent around the table savoring food and friendship. Amy posts weekly vegetarian recipes and photos on her blog. Through this experience she’s learned a lot about food and cooking, and met amazing people from around the world. Amy’s favorite part about blogging is inviting friends over to eat after a photo shoot and seeing what they think of her latest recipe.
When Amy’s not in the kitchen she can be found traveling and discovering different cuisines, hanging out with friends or training for her next marathon.
Caroline Pierce is a Massachusetts 
native and attended Boston University as an undergrad where she earned a degree in Environmental Policy and Analysis. Caroline has worked as an environmental consultant for the last 4 years helping restaurants to improve their sustainability and reduce their environmental footprint. Intrigued by the food-related side of her work Caroline applied to the Gastronomy program at Boston University in order to hone her culinary interests and pursue a new career.
Back-to-School Season, part 3
It is back to school season! Classes in Boston University’s Gastronomy program begin on September 2, 2015.
Here is your next batch of introductions to some of the new students joining the Gastronomy Program for the Fall 2015 Semester.
John Kramer, a Texas native, became interested in the study of anthropology during a year spent living in Arusha, Tanzania. His exposure to such a drastically different culture, and the increasingly visible effects of globalization acting upon it, led him to obtain a degree in Anthropology at the University of Houston. In addition to the academic aspects of culture, John also enjoys the more practical applications to be found in the study of food. To this end, he has worked as the Sous Chef for several years in the kitchen of Camp Waldemar, a summer camp in the Texas Hill Country. Combining his interest in the study of culture with his passion for food led him to Boston University’s Gastronomy program, where he intends to pursue both the policy and culture concentrations so that he may deepen his understanding and appreciation of culinary anthropology.
Kayla Koehn is a born 
and raised native Texan and sweet-a-holic, who found her passion for food while watching her grandma bake and cook the old fashion way. Following her dream she found herself at Johnson & Wales University where, after 4 years, an internship at Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Patisserie, in Yssingeaux, France she received both her AS and BS in Baking and Pastry. After graduating she moved back to her home state and started working as a culinary instructor for the Art Institute, and well as a pastry chef at La Cantera Hill Country Resort. She found that the best part of her day was seeing the smiles on people's faces when they ate their sweet treats and decided she wanted to see that more often. This led to her decision to continue her education, finding the BU Gastronomy program's focus on food policy to be the perfect fit. She hopes that one day she will be able to work with different nations around the world to help with their food supply, food sustainability, and see the smiles on the faces of people who no longer need to worry about where their next meal will come from. She is excited to start this journey and see where this program could take her.
Marina Starkey first became interested in food studies when she accidentally left the Food Network on too long and watched Alton Brown's "Good Eats" when she was only ten. Smitten with Brown and his vast culinary knowledge, she decided to begin experimenting with food and all its possibilities (much to her parents' dismay). Eleven years later, Marina has a BA in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College where she also worked as a contributing writer for the online culinary magazine Simmer. She also developed her own food blog titled "Marinated" where her food experiments continue to find their outlet to the world. While enrolled in BU's Gastronomy program, she hopes to build her culinary knowledge and skills so one day she can have her own cooking show and give Alton Brown a run for his money.
Lauren Weinberg grew up in Kansas City
, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies and History from Indiana University. While at IU, her penchant for food and farming developed during weekly trips to the Farmers Market. Conversations shared across produce stands created meaningful connections with local growers and community members who valued good food, celebrating the abundance of each new season, and learning from one another.
After college, Lauren’s interests led her to rural Connecticut and the Adamah Jewish Farming Fellowship, where she cultivated her knowledge of organic agriculture, maple sugaring, and lacto-fermentation. Lauren moved to Boston in 2011 to join the Waltham Fields Community Farm crew as an Assistant Grower. Beyond the fields, Lauren expanded her focus from the farm to the factory when she began working at Taza Chocolate in Somerville, MA. Starting as a Chocolate Maker, she grew into the role of Assistant Production Manager. As well, Lauren has continued to keep her hands in the dirt outside of work, gardening for 4 seasons at Codman Community Farm in Lincoln, MA.
Lauren comes to the Gastronomy Program with a desire to focus her education on food systems, culture and policy.
Back-to-School Season, Part 2
It is back to school season! Classes in Boston University’s Gastronomy program begin on September 2, 2015.
Here is your next batch of introductions to some of the new students joining the Gastronomy Program for the Fall 2015 Semester.
Valencia Baker is a fresh transplant from beautiful California who is on a mission to soak up all things epicurean at Boston University. Blend the adventurously quirky energies of Ms. Frizzle, with the homey, bubbly feel of Giada de Laurenttiis, and you’ve got her in a tasty nutshell. She’s dipped into many food niches, from Culinary Arts Elementary School Teacher, farm hand and prep cook at a Roman countryside restaurant, to Food Shelter Organizer outside of Sacramento, CA, and prep cook in Philadelphia’s financial district, but she’s hungry for academic growth.
A graduate of University of California Davis’ Sociology, Anthropology, and Sustainable Food Systems programs, her mind is excited about food justice. Born to an artistic and hardworking Afro-Latina family, Valencia grew up eating and cooking lots of colorfully rich meals at the kitchen table. Food brought everyone together after hard days’ work and each delectable dish, prepared with care, was enthusiastically celebrated by all. Eventually, the desire to share with others the feelings of love, gratitude, and pleasure that creatively prepared meals bought her family became an insatiable passion. After undergraduate school, she focused on merging her food love fury with her blooming social concerns for food justice. After BU Gastronomy, Valencia plans to open a food education farm supported bed and breakfast.
Elizabeth Nieves is from the Bluegrass State of 
Kentucky, 1,000 miles south of Boston. She recently graduated from the University of Kentucky with her Bachelor’s of Science in Food Science. Food science led her to two internships, including one at WILD Flavors, Inc. and the Food Systems Innovation Center (FSIC) at UK. Working at WILD gave her insight into the commercial food industry, while working with FSIC taught her about food microbiology and how to do home canning. Baking is where her real passion lies and, thus, her friends have affectionately nicknamed her ‘Bethy Crocker.’ Her great grandfather started the family bakery, which was passed down two generations and is no doubt where her fondest baking memories began. By studying Gastronomy, she would like to expand upon her culinary skills, while keeping a global perspective. Elizabeth will focus on food policy and hopes to work with the global food supply or nutrition policies in the future.
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” – Luciano Pavarotti
Metiga Parkcharoen credits this quote with giving her the courage to follow her gourmet dream of becoming a well-versed food connoisseur and restaurateur. Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, Metiga has had the chance from a young age to study in many other countries, including Singapore, France and the United Kingdom.She received her BA in Marketing Communication Management from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand with a term of study aboard program at Sciences Po in Paris. She has also completed a Master’s Degree in Marketing at University of Bath in UK. Through this travel she became trilingual (English, Thai and Chinese) and she also developed an interest in the various food scenes.
Metiga’s wanderlust and experiences living aboard and her eagerness to try out all kinds of cuisines have sparked her love of food. She anticipates an entrepreneurial career, revolving around curating the ultimate dining experiences. She also hopes that she will be able to contribute and share her extended knowledge of the food manufacturing industry and experiences while working as a marketer for one of the leading food conglomerates in her home country.
Yi Chieh Yeh, also known as Erica, is from Taiwan but has lived in South Africa for most of her life. She recently graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. She started baking her own birthday cakes to take to school 
to share with her classmates in her early teens and has loved cooking and baking since. Having worked with and talked to all sorts of people about their health and nutrition during her university days, she became intrigued by how food, culture, history and so many aspects each play a different but important role in an individual’s life and well-being. She dreams to be able to create beautiful food, as well as, to give appropriate and effective dietary and culinary advice and guidance to people with special dietary needs.
Back-to-School season is here
It is back to school season! Classes in Boston University's Gastronomy program begin on September 2, 2015.
Here is your first introduction to some of the new students joining the Gastronomy Program for the Fall 2015 Semester.
Jessica Caccamo is originally from Clifton Park, NY and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Alfred University in 2009 where
she concentrated in ceramics. Immediately following graduation she began working in Alfred University’s admissions office and started recruiting students from New Jersey and Manhattan. Jessica has been working as a higher education professional for the past 6 years, and credits her travels to Manhattan, as well as other cities across the Northeast and Midwest, as the impetus for her passion for creative and innovative food. She has become an avid home cook and baker, and also spends her time working as a server at Brookline’s Fairsted Kitchen. She hopes that the Gastronomy program will help her make the transition to working full time in the restaurant and food industry.
Krysia Lycette Villón was born and raised in the Boston-area. She received her BA in Spanish from Mount Holyoke Coll
ege and her AS in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University at Providence, among other professional certificates in the hospitality industry. She currently works as the Assistant Manager of the Retail Store at Taza Chocolate in Somerville, MA, a bean-to-bar organic, stone-ground, dark chocolate factory just outside Boston. She had a long career in Development and Volunteer Management in higher education until she decided to pursue her culinary dreams. Her recent experiences in the culinary world have brought her to want to learn more about various food histories, especially that of the Aymara and Quechua people of South America (her ancestors), and the cultures connected to them. She is inspired by the generations-deep relationship Indigenous peoples have with the world (and, hence, food items) around them and wishes to write and teach about these histories. She hopes to develop this knowledge more intimately through the Gastronomy program at BU."
Ilana Hardesty has been an enthusiastic home cook for as long as she can remember. Her inherited food genes are from her Iowa meat-and-potatoes father (brownies!) and her South African Jewish mother (chicken soup with matzoh balls!). Ilana’s interests in food have led to extensive cooking experimentation at home, (including keeping her cardiovascular-challenged husband interested in low fat food), voluminous shelves of books about food and foodways, and teaching healthy cooking techniques at a number of Boston-area adult education institutions. Her aim in the BU Gastronomy Program is to give structure to her self-taught knowledge of food and food issues, and to expand her general knowledge.
Rachel DeSimone is a born and raised New Yorker from Hell’s Kitchen who found her way to Boston to complete her undergraduate 
studies in Hospitality Administration and Journalism at BU. She has worked in an array of restaurants during her college career in Boston, New York and Sydney, Australia but found her true passion in writing. As she embarked her editorial career she took on the position of Editor in Chief of BU’s chapter of the national food publication Spoon University, managing a team of 50 people. She continues to find inspiration writing about anything that catches her appetite. She knows that the Gastronomy program will strengthen her food foundation and inform her writing and is excited for all that is to come as she begins the graduate school journey. Most importantly to note, she loves ice cream to the ends of the earth and always has at least seven different pints in her freezer for safekeeping.
Summer Course Spotlight: The Science of Food and Cooking
Food science meets culinary arts in the MLA in Gastronomy program's Science of Food and Cooking course. In this Summer I course, basic food science is explored in the context of traditional and modern cooking techniques. Students will discover the science behind cooking everyday foods, explore molecular gastronomy, and learn how to use sensory evaluation techniques to analyze food products.
Students will conduct in-class experiments and have the opportunity to work in BU’s professional kitchen for a comprehensive look at the basic science that makes recipes work and how altering ingredients results in differing sensory properties. Join us for a combination of academic discussion and hands-on exploration of the science of food. This course is designed for food studies and other non-natural science majors and does not require prerequisites.
Instructor Valerie Ryan is a food scientist and food studies scholar. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy and is certified in Culinary Arts; her Bachelor of Science is in Food and Nutrition, with a concentration in Food Chemistry. As a food scientist, she has worked for both government and industry in the areas of research and development; ingredient applications; chemical, nutritional, and sensory analysis; and product innovation. Ryan has focused her food studies research on the impact of taste preference on human evolution.
Limited seats are still available in this class, which will meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings, beginning May 18 and runs through June 25. Please register online at http://www.bu.edu/summer/registration/ by May 10 or contact gastrmla@bu.edu for more information
GSA End of Semester Fiesta
The semester is over, some of us are graduating, and we say goodbye to a long, hard winter as we welcome the warmer weather. Join the Gastronomy Students Association in celebrating all of this, as well as anything else you might want to raise a glass to, at the End of Semester Potluck Party on May 9th from 2:00 PM to Midnight. Enjoy some delicious food and refreshing drinks while overlooking Commonwealth Avenue at an exclusive rooftop venue.
The theme of the event is Flavors of Latin America, and we ask that guests bring their favorite savory and/or sweet dishes from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Plan to enjoy some delicious Cuban ropa vieja, mojo marinated chicken, calaloo soup, congrí rice, and Haitian sweets along with whatever culinary creations guests bring to the party.
Tickets are $20 per person and include beer, wine, cocktails, and soft drinks. Proceeds go towards funding future Gastronomy Students Association events. Tickets should be purchased through PayPal by May 5th.
This event is open to BU Gastronomy students, alumni, faculty, staff, and their guests.
Date: Saturday, May 9th
Time: 2:00 PM to 12:00 AM (Midnight)
Place: Allston, MA (exact location will be provided to paid guests)
Price: $20 per person purchased vial PayPal (use ID: gastronomystudents@gmail.com)
For more information, please contact a GSA executive board member at gastronomystudents@gmail.com
After Graduation: Starting a Wine Business
by Kim Simone
Alumna Kim Simone (May ’14) shares her post-degree career path and founding her company, Vinitas Wineworks.
One of the questions I heard frequently from people while I was attending the Gastronomy program was “What are you going to do with your degree?” It’s not exactly a traditional program with built-in job training (with the exception of the culinary program.) We do it because it’s a part of who we are and what we love. I bet that most of us use the degree to forge our own way in the world of food, creating a place for ourselves in one of the many industries that pertain to our chosen field of study, be it cooking, writing, education, hospitality, and so on. I chose wine.
At the same time that I started the Gastronomy program I also jumped into the wine world, working first in a large retail store and then for a medium-sized Massachusetts wine distributor. And although I was climbing up the industry ladder, I got an idea pretty early on that a job in sales wasn’t the place for me. My real love has always been educating the public and “geeking out” over the finer points of whatever is in my wineglass. Which is why, after years of thought and planning, I founded an independent wine education and consulting company after finishing my degree last May.
I specialize in wine education classes and hosting wine events for the general public. These can be either private events (e.g. tastings in people’s homes, private parties, etc.) or something bigger like a fundraiser for a nonprofit. I also provide training for those in the hospitality trades that either need some guidance within their own store or restaurant, or who need someone to train their staff to be better servers or wine consultants. My education through the Gastronomy program and the Elizabeth Bishop Wine School has really prepared me for this new role. Both the hands-on tasting classes led by Sandy Block and Bill Nesto, as well as the History of Wine class, really opened up this fabulous world to me. The most important thing I feel that I can pass on to my clients is that wine doesn’t have to be scary. It is complex, yes, but there truly is something out there for every palate. Once you learn what you like the possibilities are endless. Through my events and blog I provide the place to ask those questions that you might think are a little bit dumb and get that knowledge flowing.
Kim Simone can be reached at kim@vinitaswineworks.com or www.VinitasWineWorks.com.