Culinary History vs. Food History: Bringing Culinary History to Life

Culinary historians know of one another’s work through their publications and by attending the growing number of meetings and conferences that have been held since the early 1980s. The first such gathering, the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, organized by the British food historian Alan Davidson, brought together an international group of mainly independent scholars that continues to meet on the campus of Oxford University. Since then, culinary history groups have sprung up across the United States, drawing like-minded members for whom the study of food history is a passion. These groups typically invite outside speakers who are recognized authorities in subjects that range from growing heirloom apples to interpreting classical cuisines. Often, they also create period meals as a hands-on way of understanding the past. Themes range from the favored foods of Native Americans, the efforts required to produce a particular historical meal, or the menu items served at Thomas Jefferson’s table, illustrating the crops he grew and imported and the equipment he introduced.