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The 17th Symposium of Australian Gastronomy

Adelaide, South Australia, 13-16 November, 2009.

For all details and forms for registration, abract submission and accommodation:

Follow the link at right for 'CONFERENCES AND CALL FOR PAPERS"

We hope you can us join us in November.


Best Wishes, Roger Haden (convener)

NEXUS

In the past two years, Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre has held an annual Interfaith Forum run along the popular theme of combining faith and food. In 2009, Nexus will be holding this Community Interfaith Forum ‘Faith and Food - Abraham’s Supper’ on Thursday 19 February 6-10pm. The Forum will be held in the Nexus Cabaret Space at Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre located at the Lion Arts Centre, City West.

‘ABRAHAM'S SUPPER' will incorporate dialogue, food tasting, and music. A panel of 3 key speakers, each drawn from the following faiths: Christian, Muslim and Jewish, will talk for a maximum of 15-20 minutes, highlighting the cultural practices and rituals of particular foods associated with their faiths. The talks will focus on Abraham as the ancient Patriarch of three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Afterwards, the panel would be open to the audience, who will later sample foods associated with the 3 faiths in a multifaith platter; and listen to spiritual music.

Dr Noris Ioannou
Executive Director
Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre Inc
Cnr North Tce & Morphett St
Adelaide  SA  5000
T 08 8212 4276

Newsletters 

• The latest newsletter has been issued electronically (October 2008) and is now available directly from the website (Publications link) Back issues are also available. Paper edition publication of the newsletter have ceased.

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Centre Seminar 2009

•  The Centre invites members to contribute theme ideas for a proposed 2009 seminar (May). Food and Disgust: a seminar on the taboo, the unsavoury, and the decidely "other." More details on this will be posted in the new year (January 2009) along with a formal call for papers.

Centre Conference 2009

      The Centre will play an active role in convening the 25th Anniversary Symposium of Australian Gastronomy, in Adelaide, in November 2009. See the latest Newsletter (Oct 2008) for breif details. More information will be forthcoming. 

December, 2008

See details of the centre's Workshop under "Latest News" and "Conferences and Call for Papers"

Brief listings and web links below for conferences and events related to the history of food and drink. For more listings and further details see our current newsletter. See under Publications (at left).

Seminar

Historian, Lynn Martin, will be giving a paper on Alcohol, Violence, and Disorder in Traditional Europe starting at 1:10 on 17 March in the Stretton Room on the 4th floor of the Napier Bldg, University of Adelaide. Members welcome.

Past Events

2007

Seminar I: Food Choices, Health and Identity

Tuesday 27th March 2007, Stretton Room, 4th Floor Napier Bldg,

University of Adelaide, 12.30-2.00 pm. 

The centre is most fortunate to be able to host a seminar given by Dr Nicholas Fox, Reader in the Sociology of Health and the Body and Director of Teaching at Sheffield University's School of Health and Related Research. Nick is in Adelaide on study leave and has kindly offered to speak to members and students on the subject of Food Choices, Health and Identity, the title of a recent essay co-authored with researcher Katie Ward.

Nick's extensive knowledge and wide-ranging research on health and the body naturally has many cross-overs with food and diet and we look forward to his presentation. You can read more about Nick via this link to Sheffield University

Bring your lunch!

Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery

The 2007 Oxford Sympoisum will be on the subject of food and morality

For a report on the 2006 Symposium, on the subject of eggs:
http://www.oxfordsymposium.org

For a report on the 2005 Symposium, on the subject of authenticity:
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2005

The splendidly produced proceedings of this symposium have now been published in book form. Richard Hosking (ed.) Authenticity in the Kitchen. Totnes: Prospect Books, 2006. 453 pgs.    

Tasting Australia

 13-21 October 2007

Tasting Australia has over 50 associated events throughout South Australia, including celebrity dinners and lunches, market visits, food demonstrations, wine and beer appreciation and restaurant promotions.

September 11, 2007

The Research Centre for the History of Food and Drink

presents 

Peter Barham

Physicist at the Univeristy of Exeter, pioneer of molecular gastronomy, author of Science in the Kitchen,

and culinary collaborator with chef Heston Blumenthal (of the famed Fat Duck)

Molecular gastronomy and the science of taste and flavour

Napier Building, University of Adelaide  

Lecture Theatre G03

5.15 for 6 pm.

“Molecular” Refreshments Provided

RSVP by 31st August to roger.haden@adelaide.edu.au

 

Abstract: Molecular gastronomy has been interpreted in many different ways, some people think of it as cooking with weird chemicals while others consider it to be mad chefs and scientists thinking up strange combinations of flavours and textures.  I disagree with any such interpretations.  There are several good definitions of Molecular Gastronomy – amongst the best is that form Harold McGee who defines it simply as “the science of deliciousness”.  In my role as visiting Professor of Molecular Gastronomy at the University of Copenhagen, one of my main tasks is to attempt to make Molecular Gastronomy a recognised scientific discipline.  Our preferred definition is that Molecular Gastronomy should be considered as the pursuit of a full scientific understanding of what it is that makes us enjoy our food.  I will begin this lecture demonstration by elucidating how Molecular Gastronomy arose and outlining some of its achievements to date. The main thrust of the lecture will be to show how little we really understand about how we actually ascribe “flavour” to food.  We will ask questions such as: What gives food its flavour? What makes some foods taste really good while others can be mediocre or even disgusting? We will see how far can science go it answering these (and other) questions that are so important for domestic cooks and chefs alike? In this short demonstration lecture I will show that we actually use all our senses to assess the food we eat.  We use our eyes to see the colour, shape and size, our ears to hear any sizzling, or crackling, etc. we use our hands to feel the texture, we use our tongues to sense the taste, our noses to sense the aroma and all the nerves in our mouths to assess the “mouthfeel”. Once we understand that we integrate all these sensations into what we call the “flavour” and then decide whether or not we like it, we can go on to use such understanding to design novel and interesting dishes to delight the palate.

Activities

Culinary Curiosities:
Oddments, Oddities, Favourites and Fantasies from the
Annals of Food History, Cookery Books and Recipe Collections.

Please send in your favourite wierd or wonderful recipe for inclusion on a new page, soon to be loaded on our site.
It will eventually be organised by decade, and here's two to start, from the 1950s:

Glazed Meat Bars

2 12oz cans luncheon meat
Orange marmalade

Cut each meat loaf in 4 slices. Spread each puiece with marmalde to cover. Bake in moderate oven (350) about 30 minutes, or till nicely glazed. Makes 4 servingss.

Better Homes and Gardens (US) 1955.

Candle Stick Salad

(a version of this featured in Newsletter No 40), but here it comes care of "Susie's New Stove" (The Little Chef's Cookbook) by Annie North Bedford (A Little Golden Book), circa 1950.