Reflections on the 2013 Annual ASFS/AFHVS Conference
A few weeks ago a handful of Gastronomy students traveled to exotic East Lansing, Michigan to participate and present in the annual food and agriculture conference co-hosted by ASFS (Association for the Study of Food and Society) and AFHVS (Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society). The 4 day academic conference was held on the Michigan State University campus in the eco-friendly Kellogg Conference Center next to the babbling Red Cedar River and the heart of downtown (we lucked out with a two-night Jazz Fest and some mighty fine local eateries).The conference program was full of informative seminars, foodways focused panels, and several interactive round-tables; it was difficult for us to pick one over the other! After the day was over, graduate student attendees could mingle with other visiting students, catch up with other academics and professors, or tour the MSU campus and its many agriculture and food-related attractions, including an extensive botanical garden, several nature preserves, and an on-campus dairy store with homemade ice cream. While there, we also learned that MSU was the very first land-grant institution in the United States and was created to serve as a model for future agricultural-science based universities. Essentially, it was a perfect place to host a food conference.
"This was my first time presenting at a conference and I was very nervous, but everyone was incredibly supportive and encouraging. Meeting other students and professors from other programs was an awesome opportunity to share ideas, not just for academic enrichment, but for improving our social experience as well. This is definitely a great first conference for those who are new to the food studies world." — Vicki Yu, presented a lightning talk on "Caught in the Middle: Taiwanese-American cultural identity formed in the comfort of food"
"I attended ASFS for the first time last summer in New York City when it was co-hosted by NYU and The New School. With one year's experience under my belt, it was exciting to not only continue meeting the folks that make up our delightful world of food and whose work I follow, but also to see some faces that have grown familiar. At this year's conference, I particularly enjoyed the lightning talk sessions. While the thought of condensing one's research into a 5-minute talk made me relieved I was on a panel with a leisurely 20 minutes to share my MLA thesis on men and dieting, these sessions allowed me as a viewer to economically consume a veritable buffet of ideas, findings, and questions. Getting to attend the conference with so many BU Gastronomy classmates also made me so very proud of our program. From the craft food movement to food and ethnic identity, food in Jane Austen's novels to the importance of food literacy, we presented on a wide range of topics with passion and aplomb." — Emily Contois, participated in a panel with a presentation on "The Dudification of Dieting: Marketing Weight Loss Programs to Men in the Twenty-First Century"
"The conference was incredible. T'was a joy relaxing with fellow BU Gastro-peeps. It was great presenting our work on Culinary Craftsmanship and truly heartening to witness such a warm response. We also met a great many fellow food scholars who had suggestions for our continuing roadtrip documentary. As for East Lansing, it's hard to argue with $2.50 pints of craft beer." — Chris Maggiolo, participated in a panel with a presentation on "United We Brew: Culinary Craftsmanship and the American Craft Beer Renaissance"
"On a personal level, presenting at the conference pushed me to not only work on my presentation skills required for the five minute lightning presentation, but the process and experience provided validation of my chosen field and topic of study. But I would also add that it would have been a much more difficult challenge without the feedback and support of my fellow BU Gastronomy cohorts." — Alicia Nelson, presented a lightning talk on "Grow Your Own: Defining and cultivating food literacy"
"Aside from losing my voice the day before my panel presentation, the entire conference experience was a great one! From networking with fellow food studies students to chatting with the well-known academics in our field (we didn't ask for autographs or anything geeky like that), the conference was as much about socializing and fostering intellectual discussion as it was presenting new scholarly research. The variety of topics surprised me the most and made picking a favorite concurrent sessions quite difficult! Presenting my own undergraduate thesis in a new setting (with food scholars rather than English Studies or Lit majors) introduced me to some new perspectives for my research. It was great to talk with other people who geek out over food as much as we do! Biggest takeaway: everyone fumbles over words, skips a slide, says 'um', and gets a little nervous before a big presentation; even the academic pros." — KC Hysmith, participated in a panel with a presentation on "Finding Food for a Rambling Fancy: Gastronomic Gentility and Symbolism in Jane Austen’s Texts"
"The papers that the Gastronomy students gave were excellent. These students demonstrated the academic rigor that is the hallmark of the Gastronomy Program. The conference gave me an excellent opportunity to hear about the latest food studies research and meet new people in the field. It's always interesting to see what areas are popular and which are emerging. I noticed that urban agriculture was a hot topic once again this year. Organizing a roundtable about Food Studies/Systems/Policy Masters programs was a wonderful way to engage with colleagues in a philosophical dialogue about the future and directions of these programs. As more and more programs are developed, I think these discussions are critical. We need to think about what we are offering students and how we are going to give them useful training as they move forward with their careers." — Rachel Black, participated in a round-table panel on "Masters Programs in Food Studies, Food Systems and Food Policy: A Roundtable Discussion"
Several other BU Gastronomy students and professors participated and presented in the conference, but were unfortunately unavailable for comment. See their presentation topics below:
Beth Forrest – La Pyramide or Top of the Food Chain: Chefs, Diners, and their Changing Spaces and Status
Brad Jones — We Nourish and Nurture the Community: An Ethnographic Investigation of Incubator Kitchens and Artisanal Food Production
Catherine Womack — “I don’t want no f***ing baby cup”: Diverse Eating Patterns and the Problem of Consensus in Making Food Policy.
We can't wait for next year's ASFS/AFHVS Conference in Vermont!
Guest Post: Gastronomy Student Chaperones BU’s “Cooking Up Culture” Program
Throughout the summer the BU Gastronomy blog will feature occasional posts from special guest writers including current students, recent alumni, professors, and more. The following Guest Post and photographs are brought to you by Gastronomy student Elizabeth Mindreau.
My two worlds collided in a most delicious way recently when I was a chaperone on my son’s field trip to Boston University, where I am enrolled in the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy. Thirty-six students from Brookline’s W.H. Lincoln School made the journey to the Fuller Building where the enthusiastic seven and eight year-olds participated in Cooking Up Culture, Boston University’s culinary arts program for kids. The field trip was the culmination of the students’ month-long exploration of the Hopi culture.
Cooking Up Culture programs are offered to students in grades one through twelve as a way to teach about different cultures through their cuisine. Local chefs and culinary professionals teach the courses under the coordination of Lisa Falso, Supervisor of Culinary Programs. For this generation of kids, raised watching cooking programs on TV, participating in the two-hour course held in the Culinary Arts Department classroom kitchen is an interactive thrill. Chef Dwayne Minier, impressive in a dark grey chef shirt and white apron, was our instructor with the assistance of Lisa Falso, dressed in white chef attire.
Minier and Falso are both graduates of BU’s Culinary Arts Program. They demonstrate the program’s strong foundation of educational and professional excellence through their knowledgeable and flawless execution of the Hopi lesson. The challenges of maintaining order and keeping the attention of a room full of hungry and excited apron-clad kids was apparent, but Minier’s no-nonsense approach and Falso’s gentle demeanor were successful in engaging the children and keeping them focused.
Minier introduced students to cooking terms: steeping, sautéing, and sear; ingredients of the southwest: cactus pads, wild herbs, and chili powder; and geographic, agricultural, and culinary details of the Hopi people. The students were eager to ask questions and offer comments. They demonstrated their knowledge of the Hopi culture and an impressive cooking savvy. Cooking Up Culture requires that students have some knowledge of a culture prior to attending the program. A theme that connected the students’ studies at their school with the field trip was the three sisters garden, a technique favored by Native Americans farming communities. The “three sisters” refers to corn, beans, and squash, which are planted together in a mound and form “the perfect protein” according to Minier.
Teachers and chaperones were impressed at how receptive the children were to eating food that was new to them. One student said, “This is the best food I ever ate,” and, “The Hopis have good taste.” The peppermint tea, succotash (made with the three sisters), and nopalitos (cactus pads) and chicken stew are not typical children’s fare. Not surprising is that cheers broke out when Minier entered the room carrying a tray piled high with sweet fry-bread the children had shaped into rings earlier. The students then applauded when Minier sprinkled the golden, misshapen rings with powdered sugar.
Minier, Falso, and the culinary students helping behind the scenes deserve a standing ovation for a job well done. The Cooking Up Culture program provides an excellent model for culinary education for children.
Elizabeth Mindreau discovered that it is possible to simultaneously go to graduate school (after not studying for 20 years) and keep two active and demanding sons alive and fed. She is looking forward to late nights, bleary-eyed mornings, and seeing her Gastro-friends again in the fall.
Summer Research Project: Cuisine de mères: Apprenticeship, Gender and the Construction of Culinary History
Congratulations to Rachel Black for being awarded the Culinary Trusts’ 2013-2014 Julia Child Independent Study grants. This support will allow Dr. Black to go to Lyon, France to conduct summer research on an important, yet neglected chapter in twentieth-century French culinary history--the cuisine des mères. This project offers insight into a moment in postwar France in which women maintained a privileged position between the two worlds of domestic and professional cookery.
Who were these mères? In the early twentieth century, affluent bourgeois households in the Lyon area employed women cooks who became known for their refined cuisine. After World War I and the economic crash of 1929, most families could no longer afford to keep a cook. Finding themselves without work, some of these women opened small, family-run dining establishments, which served simple yet perfectly prepared cuisine. Notable among these was “La mère Brazier” (Eugénie Brazier) who was the darling of the French restaurant critic Curnonsky and the only woman to ever earn three Michelin stars for two of her restaurants. Dr. Black’s research project looks at how women like Brazier, collectively known as ‘les mères’ (the mothers) in French culinary circles, brought their knowledge of local cuisine into the public sphere and raised these culinary traditions to new heights. It was during the interwar years that cuisine bourgeoise, previously only attainable in privileged private households, became available to the public, largely thanks to the women cooks who had been the keepers of these culinary traditions. The work of these women and the apprentices that they trained had an important influence on the construction of Lyonnais and French cuisine after the Second World War.
Dr. Black will focus on the rise to prominence of the mères lyonnaises in the otherwise male-dominated professional kitchens, and it will look at the reasons why male chefs eventually eclipsed these women. Through archival research and oral history interviews with family members and the chefs who apprenticed with the mères, she will not only seek to answer the question, ‘Why have the mères largely been written out of French culinary history?’ but will also take important steps to writing them back in.
This guest post is brought to you by Barbara Rotger and Rachel Black.
This week is the annual Association for the Study of Food and Society/ Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society Conference, which will be held this year at Michigan State University in East Lansing. A number of Gastronomy students and faculty will be presenting papers and participating in the conference:
Rachel Black – Masters Programs in Food Studies, Food Systems and Food Policy: A Roundtable Discussion
Emily Contois -- The Dudification of Dieting: Marketing Weight Loss Programs to Men in the Twenty-First Century
Beth Forrest – La Pyramide or Top of the Food Chain: Chefs, Diners, and their Changing Spaces and Status
Katherine Hysmith – “Fine Food for a Rambling Fancy:” Gastronomic Gentility and Symbolism in Jane Austen’s Texts
Brad Jones -- We Nourish and Nurture the Community: An Ethnographic Investigation of Incubator Kitchens and Artisanal Food Production
Chris Maggiolo – United We Brew: Culinary Craftsmanship and the American Craft Beer Renaissance
Gabriel Mitchel – More than White Rice: Jagucida and Constructed Identity in Cape Verdean Americans
Alicia Nelson – Grow Your Own: Defining and cultivating food literacy
Catherine Womack “I don’t want no f***ing baby cup”: Diverse Eating Patterns and the Problem of Consensus in Making Food Policy.
Dun-Ying Vicki Yu – Caught in the Middle: Taiwanese-American cultural identity formed in the comfort of food
Please see the conference web site for more details.
Summer Course Close-up: ML671 Food and Visual Culture
Throughout the summer the BU Gastronomy blog will feature occasional posts from special guest writers including current students, recent alumni, professors, and more. This Summer Course Close-up is brought to you by Gastronomy student Bethany Graber.
Food and Visual Culture: A look into the subtexts in food advertising and visual arts
This summer, Potter Palmer is offering a special version of his class formerly known as “Food and the Visual Arts”, which will henceforth be known as “Food and Visual Culture”. Well known and loved for a dedication to having indulgent treats and libations at the start of every class period, Palmer offers a multi-media experience to his students to encourage a thorough examination of how food is depicted and experienced through visual mediums.
Each week, Palmer provides students with a combination of text, photos, video, and online content to consume (visually, of course). Class time is spent examining the themes and messages within these mediums, as Palmer guides class discussion and debate over everything from provocative food advertisements to stereotypical gendered food television spots. The group dissections ultimately aim to lead students to see the subtext beneath a glossy photo or a coiffed “celebrity chef”, working towards an understanding of exactly how powerful visual images can be.
Under the presumption that full stomachs promote sharp minds, each class period begins with student provided snacks and sips, many of which rival the foods presented in the images themselves (perhaps a tactic to make for more lively discussion). In addition to Palmer's dynamic use of multimedia content, groups of students present on the week’s content focus, each with a unique interpretation and understanding of the material. Perhaps the most engaging methodology Palmer promotes is taking students outside the classroom, something he ensured remained in the course layout despite the condensed Summer 1 semester. On a trip to Boston’s Chinatown, students were treated to a lecture of the history of the historic area. The tour was led by Jim Becker of Boston Food Tours who delved into the finer points of Chinese cuisine. After an informative talk, students were unleashed to discover the area’s many food treasures and distinctive imagery. On another trip, Palmer took the class to the photography studio of food stylist Nina Gallant for a hands-on workshop in food styling and a lesson on the ins and outs of the food imagery industry.
Food and Visual Culture’s ultimate goal is to examine food and foodways within visual media, but ends up achieving so much more. This multi-faceted class is a study of the modern ways in which the world interacts with food today, while simultaneously examining the visual imagery of the past. This dualistic approach engages us in a study of contemporary ideas and mediums from television to blogs, advertisements to instagrams, all while keeping food in mind.
Guest post by Bethany Graber, current ML671 Food and Visual Culture gastronomy student (Summer 1, 2013).
Weekend Food Happenings, June 7-9
Dreary weather got you down? Side-step the cabin fever and those grey-skies-blues by venturing out, equipped with umbrella, galoshes and hearty appetite, to taste the numerous cuisines and food creations Boston has to offer. With several festivals, food tours, and cook-off competitions, you're sure to find something to do this weekend! So rain-coat up and chow down!
Strawberry Dessert Festival, June 7th
This month marks the 6th annual Strawberry Dessert Festival hosted by Mass Farmers Markets. Restaurants, cafes, and markets across the state (see list on official website) highlight the locally grown red berry in various desserts, baked goods, and sweet treats with proceeds going right back to farmers and Mass Farmers Markets.
Cambridge Food Truck Festival, June 8th
Featured trucks include the new A4 Food truck, Bon Me, Chubby Chickpea, Fugu, Roxy's Grilled Cheese, The Whoo(pie) Wagon, and many more! An inexpensive wristband gets you into the fest and the cheapest prices at all the trucks.
The Great Boston Cupcake Crawl, June 8th
A historic and delicious tour of downtown Boston and its best cupcake bakeries.
Burger Slam 2013, June 8th
A burger grill-off between several of Boston's best chefs. Judges include local mayoral candidates and America's Test Kitchen TV star Julia Collin Davison. Proceeds from the event go to the J.P. Manning Boston Public School.
Boston Irish Festival, June 7-9th
While the three-day festival focuses on Irish cultural traditions like dance, song, and art, there will be plenty of good Irish food for the tasting!
Herbstalk, June 8th and 9th
An educational plant walk in Somerville. Participants will learn how to use local and native plant species for cooking, healing, and more!
Hopefully these various happenings will keep you entertained and well-fed this weekend. Have fun and be sure to share your new food finds on the BU Gastronomy Facebook page!
Finding Local Farmers’ Markets
The sun is high, the temperature is climbing, the scarves and mittens are tucked away for the season, and everything is in bloom. If you haven't walked outside recently, you should know we're well into Springtime. So I have just one question: Do you know where your local Farmers' Markets are? Well, you should. If you've yet to locate your neighborhood market, or maybe you just moved to town, the BU Gastronomy Blog has you covered!
I'm sure many of you are experienced farmers' market shoppers, but here are a few pieces of gear to make this season's shopping that much better.
1. Start with a large reusable bag, big enough to hold all your impulse buys and tall things like bread or bunches of greens. 2. Instead of throwing your empty berry baskets and egg cartons into the recycling bin, ask vendors if they might use them to package their own goods(even if they can't, they'll appreciate the gesture). 3. Some markets and vendors still only accept cash and you don't want to miss out on the last bunch of kale due to an emergency ATM run. 4. Sometimes you'll find a nifty new fruit or veg, but have no idea what to do with it when you get home. Look up some recipes on a smartphone or tablet before adding the new produce to your shopping bag. 5. Its hot out there! Bring a water bottle to keep hydrated! 6. Keep your newly purchased goods from rolling around in your big shopping bag by containing each variety in its own reusable mesh produce bag. Alternatively you can reuse paper bags or those thin plastic produce bags you get in the grocery store. Off to the market!
The following list includes various markets in the Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville area with dates, locations, and times for each.
BOSTON
Allston Village Market
Saturdays starting May 11, in front of the Jackson Mann School at 500 Cambridge Street Union Square, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Boston Public Market - Dewey Square
Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 21– November 26, on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, from 11:30 am – 6:30 pm.
Boston Public Market - City Hall
Mondays and Wednesdays from May 20 – November 27, along Congress Street near City Hall Plaza, from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm (5:00 pm after Nov. 3).
Copley Square Market
Tuesdays and Fridays from May 14 - November 26, Along St. James Avenue, Dartmouth Street & Boylston Street, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Roslindale Village Market
Saturdays from June 1 – November 23, in Adams Park, from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm.
Charles Square Market
Sundays from May 19 - November 24, in the Charles Hotel Courtyard (Harvard Square), from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Central Square Farmers Market
Mondays from May 20 - November 18, in Central Square, from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Harvard University Farmers Market
Tuesdays from June 11 - October 29, in Science Center Plaza, from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Cambridge Center Farmers Market
Wednesdays from May 15 - October 30, on Main Street near Kendall/MIT Station, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Kendall Square Farmers Market
Thursdays from June 6 - October 31, 500 Kendall Street, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Davis Square Farmers Market
Wednesdays from May 22 - November 20, in Davis Square, from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Union Square Market
Saturdays from June 1 - November 23, in Union Square, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Mark your calendars and make your way to your local farmers' market. Comment below if you come across any new and interesting fruit or veg.
Spring 2013 Commencement: Congratulations New Grads!
The Boston University Gastronomy Program is thrilled to congratulate our new Spring 2013 graduates.
After completing multiple semesters of core course work in subjects like theory and methodology, history, food and the senses, and anthropology, along with various electives or numerous hours spent in the onsite Culinary Lab course, these new grads walked the stage prepped for their next adventure.
The following students graduated with an MLA in Gastronomy at the University’s May Commencement ceremonies:
- Lucia Austria
- Marty Brennan-Sawyer
- Valentina Cordero-Caruso
- Aubree Duplessis
- Anthony Filippone
- Alison Gross
- Jessica Habalou
- Robert Haley
- Michelle Hastings
- Liane Herrick
- Kyra James
- Kate Hamman Knapp
- Molly Kravitz
- Kelsey Laws
- Valerie Ryan
- Allison Schultz
- Christine Seible
- Lori Vail
- Sarah Warmus
- Rachel Wegman
Congratulations to all!
to cure: interview with Chris and Brad
By Noel Bielaczyc
On a recent Thursday, over pints and delicious thin-crust pizza at Otto Pizza (courtesy of executive chef and fellow BU Gastronomy student Sebastian Neva), Brad Jones and Chris Maggiolo discussed their upcoming cross-country road trip and combined passion for food, people, and culture.
Noel: Tell me about the inspiration for the to cure: project? Was there an A-HA moment?
Brad: Chris and I were independently brainstorming topics for our theses... I was thinking about going back to Italy and taking an ethnographic approach to look at WWOOFing. Chris was looking at breweries in northeastern French there on the Belgian border. We both had a moment where we thought, "We've been to Europe and Europe interests us, but there's a vibrant artisanal food movement that happening right in our own backyard!" There's a whole vast America, and many new (and old) food producers out there with experiences to share.
Chris: Another large part of it was our participation last October in the Cuisine and Culture of Québec course with Professor Rachel Black. There was a defining moment for a lot of people, and especially for us, when we had dinner at Côté Est, in Kamouraska, Québec. The 14 of us crowded into a tiny dining room that was half of the first floor of this couples house. The other half of the house was a "market" for artisanal products like jewelry, crafts, and foodstuffs. The remarkable thing was that the producers of every piece of food on our plates, raw and cooked ingredients, was present at this dinner. Cheesemakers, eel-fishers, charcuterists, produce growers, you name it. It was the highlight of the trip for me.
B: The pride and excitement for the food was amazing. There's a huge expression of identity through these products. It inspired us and we realized these are stories that need to be told, these are individuals that need to be met, and these are foods that need to be tasted. And so we made it our mission to see how this is transpiring in America.
N: What part of the road trip are you most excited about? Is there is specific place, person, or product you just wait to reach?
C: I'm hopeful that we'll get a chance to work with Sandor Katz (author of the acclaimed Wild Fermentation) at his homestead in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. I'm also personally really excited for the Louisiana Bayou. To me it's the epitome of what it means to be artisanal and self-sufficient. It's also a way of life and a biome that I've never encountered.
B: I'm most excited for the Pacific Northwest. I've never visited it or experienced it and there's such an interesting food and makers community in that region. It's also very productive agriculturally and ecologically. Sounds like there's strong notions of craftsmanship and local production, and I'm excited to observe it first-hand.
N: Will the end result be a mixture of visual anthropology and writing?
B: Decidedly. Yes, the project will include interviews, memoirs, personal recipes, videos, photos,audio, we're just going to collect it all. The idea is to use all that data to create a series of digital, multimedia journals that really feature and highlight these food craftspeople in America.
N: What do you see as the biggest challenge? Are there specific aspects of the trip that worry you?
C: Fund raising! This project is totally out-of-pocket. We are hosting an indiegogo campaign, and that is what will really make this trip possible. There's a lot a cool and thoughtful rewards offered for contributions too, so we hope people visit the site and check it out.
B: Yes, fund raising is by far our biggest challenge... But personal hygiene on the road is going to be a big challenge too! That and being without fresh coffee every morning! But just like the craftsmanship of artisans, this trip is combination of leisure and labor. It's hard work, but it sustains you. That's the approach we're taking.
Chris and Brad depart from Boston in their old blue Ram 3500 in just a few short days on May 13th. To contribute or learn more about this project, visit their indiegogo campaign or find to cure: on Facebook. Happy trails and good luck intrepid gastronomes!
Noel Bielaczyc recently finished his first year in the Gastronomy Program and was the spring 2013 editor of the Gastronomy at BU blog.
Valerie Ryan Successfully Defends Her Thesis
Congratulations to Gastronomy candidate Valeria Ryan. She successfully defended her thesis "Umami, Evolution and Nutritional Inequality" on May 7, 2013.