CHNY Events

Monthly lectures with curriculum-based tastings are CHNY’s raison d’être, bringing together scholars, chefs, scientists and the intellectually curious to explore the past, present, and future of food and drink. Our programs are stimulating and erudite, but are accessible to a general audience; our congenial atmosphere guarantees an enjoyable and culturally rich evening.

Next Event: (Click title for event details)

Friday, March 27th, 2020 - Friday, August 21st, 2020

Culinary Historians of New York-on hiatus

Rachel Laudan speaking at the April 2015 event, Rules for Eating: Culinary Philosophies from J. J. Rousseau to Michael Pollan

Past Events and Program Summaries

Juba: Sanctuary
September 24, 2019
The Hunt for Buried Menus: Digging Up Our Culinary Past
June 5, 2019
Moritsuke: The Japanese Art of Presenting Food
May 14, 2019
A Rich and Fertile Land: The Power of Ideas About Food, Land, and Agricultural Production
April 29, 2019
Pungent Politics: Cetara’s Ancient Sauce, Colatura di Alici
February 21, 2019
The History of Halal and the Rules That Launched a Fleet of Food Trucks
January 9, 2019
Flips and Rattle Skulls: Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England
December 11, 2018
Some History Behind Culinary History and Tribute to Karen Hess
November 13, 2018
Food in Flight: How Pan American Airlines Brought Gourmet Dining to 30,000 Feet
October 10, 2018
Food and Family Values: Comparing the Tables of the Households of George III and George Washington
June 6, 2018
Garum: Ancient Rome’s Fish Sauce, on the Table and in the Kitchen
May 2, 2018
Why We Drink What We Drink: The Marriage of Food & Wine
April 11, 2018
Chocolate Making in New York: A Colonial History
February 12, 2018
Sacred Sweet Tooth: The Symbolism and Function of Candy and Sweets in Religious Traditions
January 15, 2018
“What They Ate:” Can Food be Psycho-History?
December 6, 2017
Butter: Carved, Cursed and Cultured
October 18, 2017
A Celebration of Our Members 2017 Edition
September 19, 2017
How the Gringos Stole Tequila, with Chantal Martineau
April 20, 2017
Persian Foodways: Cuisines without Borders, with Naomi Duguid
March 22, 2017
Onigiri and Omusubi with Elizabeth Andoh
February 2, 2017
“A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression” with Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe
January 11, 2017
Food and the Chinese American Journey: A Conversation between Anne Mendelson and Kian Lam Kho
December 7, 2016
Making Politics Palatable: Food and Partisanship in Early America
November 3, 2016
A Celebration of Our Members
September 19, 2016
Fast Food
June 14, 2016
The Cook’s Oracle: A Database of Historical Cookbooks
May 9, 2016
Street Food in New York City: Past and Present
April 12, 2016
Dining and Social Positioning with Professor Paul Freedman
March 31, 2016
Darra Goldstein: Fire and Ice
March 2, 2016
Vermouth: The Spirit That Started It All
January 21, 2016
Celebrating the Launch of Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover’s Companion to New York City
November 16, 2015
The Culinary World of a Literary Icon: Zora Neale Hurston
October 28, 2015
A Celebration of Our Members
September 15, 2015
Making It Delicious: Flavor Science and the Industrialization of Food in the U.S.
June 8, 2015
The Renaissance of German Gastronomy: Artisanal Cheeses and Rieslings
May 21, 2015
Rules for Eating: Culinary Philosophies from J. J. Rousseau to Michael Pollan
April 13, 2015
The Complicated Relationship Between Jews and Pork
March 19, 2015
The History and Ritual of Brunch
February 26, 2015
Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet
January 29, 2015
Whiskey Women
December 8, 2014
What We Can Learn from Manuscript Cookbooks
November 13, 2014
Word of Mouth: What We Talk About When we Talk About Food
October 15, 2014
A Celebration of Our Members, and Annual Business Meeting
September 22, 2014
Dethroning the Deceitful Pork Chop: Black Progressive Era Food Reformers and the Case Study of the Tuskegee Institute
June 9, 2014
The Slurpy, Messy History of Ramen
May 19, 2014
Sicily and Its Sweets
March 10, 2014
Candy: Evil or Just Misunderstood?
February 3, 2014
The Making of Modern American Vegetarianism
January 13, 2014
Vodka Goes Global
December 2, 2013
Cooking and Modern Art
November 21, 2013
Southern Italy and Genoa in the Early History of Pasta: Debunking the Myth of Arab Influence
October 10, 2013