12/04/2021
The British Library Food Season 2021 Events featuring Women In The Food Industry
The British Library are in the 4th year of their highly popular talks on food, all inspired by their extensive food-related collections. Many of the events feature prominent women in the food industry. The events start on 13th April and run until late May 2021. We highlight some of our favourites.
16th April – 6pm – 9pm – Men and Food, Dudes and Diets
This event has historian Professor Emily Contis talking about masculinity, food and cooking with Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge. Issues of gender dynamics in the professional and domestic kitchen and how food is marketed to men and women will be up for discussion.
27th April 19.30 – 20.30 – From Fish Knives to Fish n Chips
Do you have avocado or beans on toast? Put the milk in your tea first or last? And is your evening meal tea, dinner or supper? Come and explore how our eating habits are, and always have been, loaded with centuries of class prejudice.
With Pen Vogler, whose recent book Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain reveals how food and eating have long reflected and have been used to enforce social difference, joined by writer Ruby Tandoh and campaigner Dee Woods to discuss eating, culture and identity in modern Britain. Chaired by Babita Sharma, BBC journalist and author of The Corner Shop.
5th May – 19.30 – 20.30 – The Rise of New Food Media
Four leading food writers, podcasters and editors at the forefront of the rise of contemporary food media discuss how different voices, agendas, and publishing tools are disrupting and revitalising the conversation about food. Food writer Melissa Thompson leads the discussion between three exciting voices in new food media and debates: founder and editor of Vittles online magazine Jonathan Nunn; Stephen Satterfield of US-based Whetstone magazine and podcast; and writer, academic and commentator Anna Sulan Masing.
12th May 19.30-20.30 – Food in Service. In the Service of Food
Historians Dr Annie Gray and Sue Quinn discuss two women who made their living through food in the 1930s –Churchill’s cook and the cookery writer Florence White. From very different backgrounds and with very different approaches to food, these two women carved out careers in food in the interwar years.
20th May – 19.30 – 20.30 – Madhur Jaffrey: A Life in Food
For over 45 years Madhur Jaffrey has been revered around the world as the queen of Indian cooking and has written over 15 cookery books. She arrived in London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and her career would continue to span huge success across both food and acting. Her first book, An Invitation to Indian Cookery, was published in 1973 and her series for BBC television Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery made her a household name. Madhur is joining The British Library live from her home in New York, and talking to Ravinder Bhogal – one of the most exciting modern food-writers and the chef-restaurateur of London’s Jikoni.
7th May – 13.15-14.00 – Lunchtime Legends – Claudia Roden with Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich
In this series of Friday lunchtime events chefs recreate their favourite dish, while reflecting on the shared language of food, friendship and the legacy that cooks and food writers can offer generations following in their footsteps.
In this edition, Claudia Roden, a pioneering writer and expert on Middle Eastern and Jewish food, meets Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of much loved restaurant Honey & Co. Together they make baba ganoush and talk about Claudia’s career and how attitudes to food have transformed since the 1960s.
14th May – 13.00-14.15 – Lunchtime Legends – Jill Norman with Rosie Sykes
In this edition meet publisher and food-writer Jill Norman who as an editor, nurtured the careers of luminaries such as Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson. She discusses their work and legacies with chef Rosie Sykes, and together they cook Provençal pork with prunes and leeks.
21st May 13.15-14.00 – Lunchtime Legends – Elisabeth Luard and Olia Hercules
This session features Elisabeth Luard whose work on European food cultures has inspired and influenced chef and food writer Olia Hercules. Olia makes Elisabeth’s recipe for Slovakian wedding dumplings as they talk together about the culinary traditions that fascinate them.
The Food Season runs until 28th May 2021 and all sessions are online. Ticket prices vary from free to £7.50.
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