Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery
Encyclopedia
The Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery meets annually, currently at St Catherine's College, Oxford
, to discuss issues of concern to those, academics and non-academics alike, whose principal professional concern or interest is food history
, taken in its broadest sense.
The Oxford Symposium is the oldest such body in the world, tracing its origins to seminars given in 1978–9 at St Antony's College, Oxford
, by the late Alan Davidson
, at the instigation of Theodore Zeldin
. Participants in the first seminar included Elizabeth David
, Richard Olney
, Jane Grigson
and Paul Levy. The group was soon augmented by Claudia Roden
, Nicholas Kurti
, the publisher Jill Norman and Sri Owen, among others, and other regulars include the American writers Jeffrey Steingarten
, Raymond Sokolov
and Charles Perry, and the Australian Cherry Ripe
. Many topics have had their first airing at the Oxford Symposium, including the expression "molecular gastronomy
," and there have been meetings to discuss the migrations of foodstuffs, the history of cookbooks and the concept of authenticity.
The 2010 meeting was held, at St Catherine's College on 9–11 July, and the topic to be discussed is "Cured, Smoked, and Fermented Foods." The Oxford Symposium is a registered charity in Britain, with a group of distinguished Trustees, and there is an American Friends of the Oxford Symposium. The proceedings of the Symposium are published annually.
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
, to discuss issues of concern to those, academics and non-academics alike, whose principal professional concern or interest is food history
Food history
Food history is an interdisciplinary field that examines the history of food, and the cultural, economic, environmental, and sociological impacts of food. Food history is considered distinct from the more traditional field of culinary history, which focuses on the origin and recreation of specific...
, taken in its broadest sense.
The Oxford Symposium is the oldest such body in the world, tracing its origins to seminars given in 1978–9 at St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
, by the late Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (food writer)
Alan Eaton Davidson was a British diplomat and historian best known for his writing and editing on food and gastronomy. He was the author of the 900-page, encyclopedic The Oxford Companion to Food .The son of a Scottish tax inspector, Davidson was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland...
, at the instigation of Theodore Zeldin
Theodore Zeldin
Theodore Zeldin CBE , President of the Oxford Muse Foundation, is an English philosopher, sociologist, historian, writer and public speaker....
. Participants in the first seminar included Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the...
, Richard Olney
Richard Olney
Richard Olney was an American statesman. He served as both United States Attorney General and Secretary of State under President Grover Cleveland. As attorney general, Olney used injunctions against striking workers in the Pullman strike, setting a precedent, and advised the use of federal troops,...
, Jane Grigson
Jane Grigson
Jane Grigson was a notable English cookery writer.-Life and writings:...
and Paul Levy. The group was soon augmented by Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden
Claudia Roden is a cookbook writer based in the United Kingdom. She was born 1936 in Cairo, Egypt. After completing her formal education in Paris, she moved to London to study art...
, Nicholas Kurti
Nicholas Kurti
Professor Nicholas Kurti FRS was a Hungarian-born physicist who lived in Oxford, UK, for most of his life. In his era, he was one of the leading experimental physicists....
, the publisher Jill Norman and Sri Owen, among others, and other regulars include the American writers Jeffrey Steingarten
Jeffrey Steingarten
Jeffrey Steingarten is a leading food writer in the United States. He has been the food critic at Vogue magazine since 1989. His monthly columns in Vogue have earned him a National Magazine Award, and nearly a dozen James Beard Awards and nominations...
, Raymond Sokolov
Raymond Sokolov
Raymond Sokolov is a journalist who has written extensively about food. He wrote the "Eating Out" column for The Wall Street Journal's weekend edition from 2006 until March 2010....
and Charles Perry, and the Australian Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe is an English song with words by the poet Robert Herrick , and music by Charles Edward Horn which contains the refrain,Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,Ripe I cry,Full and fair onesCome and buy.Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,...
. Many topics have had their first airing at the Oxford Symposium, including the expression "molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
," and there have been meetings to discuss the migrations of foodstuffs, the history of cookbooks and the concept of authenticity.
The 2010 meeting was held, at St Catherine's College on 9–11 July, and the topic to be discussed is "Cured, Smoked, and Fermented Foods." The Oxford Symposium is a registered charity in Britain, with a group of distinguished Trustees, and there is an American Friends of the Oxford Symposium. The proceedings of the Symposium are published annually.
External links
- Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery website
- Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery Enthusiasts on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...