Chicago Foodways: What is American food? Sat 7/22 @ 10 AM

CHC Chicago Foodways Roundtable presents:

Just what is American Food?

A program by
Penelope Bingham

Saturday, July 22, 2006

10 AM

at
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Ave,
Room 628
Chicago, Illinois
(Parking within a block for $6 for 3 hours at the Loop Auto
Park at 524 South Wabash Avenue 312/922-1499. If they have special event parking on any day, then go one or two blocks south
on State Street and there is a lot between Wabash and State, next to
the L-tracks- and it's a $6.00 charge. RU is easily accessible by public transit-the Green-Brown-Red and Blue lines plus busses stop nearby)

Cost: $2 per person

"Just what is "American Food"? Raymond Sokolov says there is no such thing, David Rosengarten says "It's All American Food". It seems that every food historian and critic has an opinion on the subject, but there is no consensus.

Is American Food just the sum of disparate regional cuisines, or the foodways of individual ethnic groups and immigrants? Or is there something distinctive about the foodways of the country as a whole? The food itself? What constitutes a proper American meal? The corporate element (think General Foods, McDonald's)? Is there an identifiable American food culture? Do American foodways illuminate broader aspects of American culture?

In an interactive program, given by the Newberry Library Book Fair's "Cookbook Lady", Penelope Bingham, will look at these questions with reference to American cookbooks, past and present. Come ready to talk about how we eat and how we live, American food and cultural identity.

Penelope Bingham, who has been collecting cookbooks for 40 years, travels around the state of Illinois as a "Road Scholar" for the Illinois Humanities Council, talking about American cookbooks and culture. For the past thirteen years, she has appraised and priced cookbooks for the annual book fair of the Newberry Library. She is a member of the Culinary Historians of Chicago and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Please reserve e-mail [email protected] or by phone 847/432-8255. Please include your name, telephone number and the number of people in your party.

Hi,

This is an audience participation discussion on American food, which should be very lively, interesting and thought provoking.

If you make a last minute decision tomorrow and don't have a reservation, just come anyway!

Regards,