04 Mar 2005

"Inventing Traditions" - A History of Regional and 'National' Cuisine - UCC Conference

As a part of the UCC contribution to the 2005 European City of Culture, the Department of History has organised a conference on food and history.   The Conference entitled "Inventing Traditions" - A History of Regional and 'National' Cuisine will be held on Friday and Saturday next, 11/12 March.

Speakers include Diana Southwood Kennedy, Claudia Roden, Darina Allen, Laura Mason and Donal O Drisceoil. The academic part of the conference will be followed by a demonstration of cookery by internationally renowned chefs and food-writers at the Ballymaloe Cookery School: Darina Allen, Diana Southwood Kennedy and Claudia Roden.   The speakers will explore the foods of various cultures, nations and regions including a history of Jewish food, Mexican, Irish and English foods exploring the diversity and regional variation within these national and cultural labels.   A short history of the English Market will augment the proceedings.

The Conference will commence at 8pm on Friday, 11 March with the first talk "Every cuisine tells a story. Jewish Food tells the story of an uprooted migrating people and their varnished worlds" by Claudia Roden.   Donal O Drisceoill will commence Saturday's proceedings at 9am with a talk '"Cork's Food Emporium" : the history of the English Market' followed by Darina Allen who will speak on "On Irish Traditional Food". "The Idea of Tradition in English Food" is the title of a talk by Laura Mason whilst Diana Kennedy will speak on "Mexican Abundance: Regions and Diversity".   The plenary discussion will follow at 12.30pm with Diana Southwood Kennedy, Claudia Roden and Darina Allen.

The Conference takes place on Friday and Saturday, 11/12 March, Boole III Lecture Theatre, University College Cork.   Admission is free (unless otherwise stated) and all are welcome.

The Department of History is grateful for the generous support of Bord Bia, UCC Faculty of Arts Conference Fund, Ballymaloe House and the FarmGate Café (The English Market).

Enquiries: Professor Dermot Keogh, tel. (021) 490 2687, email d.keogh@ucc.ie or Dr. David Ryan, tel. (021) 490 2183, email david.ryan@ucc.ie

NOTES ON THE SPEAKERS

Diana Southwood Kennedy
Diana Southwood Kennedy moved to Mexico in the late 1950s and began her prestigious research, teaching and publishing career in the early 1970s.   From her arrival in her adoptive country she has delved deep into the ingredients, culture, cuisine, topography and regions of Mexico.   The results of her culinary adventures are quite astounding.   She has written several books on Mexican foods, including: Cuisines of Mexico (1972), the Tortilla Book (1975), Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico (1978) , The Art of Mexican Cooking: Traditional Mexican Cooking for Aficionados (1989), My Mexico (1998), The Essential Cuisines of Mexico (2000), a compilation of the first three publications with thirty new recipes and recently the acclaimed From My Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients (2003).   The work which encompasses more than forty years of travel throughout the country has yielded an extraordinary insight into the culture and variation across the regions, from Aguascalientes, Veracruz, Tabasco to Oaxaca, Hidalgo and Morelos, indeed it seems every corner and village of the country could be accounted for.   Her work has been described as a 'culinary odyssey'.   Regional variation in both technique and ingredient explored throughout the body of work bring to life the cultures and diversity of the country, Mexico.   She was awarded the highest honour bestowed on foreigners in Mexico, the Order of the Aztec Eagle, and many other Mexican awards.   In 2003 Diana Southwood Kennedy received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Cooking Professionals and an MBE in England for her work towards enhancing cultural understanding between Mexico and the UK and her work for the environment.   She will be addressing the conference on 'Mexican Abundance: Regions and Diversity' and demonstrating her techniques at the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Claudia Roden
The historian Simon Schama has commented that Roden is 'memorialist, historian, ethnographer, anthropologist, essayist, poet...' Author and presenter of numerous cookery books and television programmes, Claudia Roden was born in Cairo, has lived and worked in Paris and London, is widely credited with transforming western attitudes to Middle Eastern cuisines through her frequent journalism and the publication of A Book of Middle Eastern Food (1970).   Throughout her books Claudia Roden presents a fascinating combination of the social and historical backgrounds of the food and recipes.   She has published numerous books including Coffee (1981), Picnic (1982).   Her television series and book Claudia Roden's Mediterranean Cookery was republished in 1998.   Her work on The Food of Italy (1989) combines memory, travel and of course the exquisite recipes and observations on the ingredients.   The Food of Italy draws us into the rich local heritage and traditions of the regions of the country and demonstrates the clear differences and historical experiences of the various regions and also some of the shared experiences of the nation.   The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day on which Claudia will talk at UCC and demonstrate recipes at the Ballymaloe Cookery School has been widely acclaimed and won eight awards including the prestigious Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year.

Darina Allen
Owner of Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Co Cork, Ireland,   is teacher, food writer, newspaper columnist, cookbook author and television presenter.   The School is situated on an organically run farm.   Darina Allen is a graduate in Hotel Management, Dublin Institute of Technology, a member of Taste Council of Irish Food Board, Food Safety Consultative Council of Ireland, Board Member of Irish Organic Centre, Patron of Irish Seedsavers and a Trustee of the Soil Association in UK.   She is the winner of Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year 2001 , Waterford Wedgwood Hospitality Award 2000, the Langhe Ceretto Prize 1996 , and Laois Person of the Year 1993.   She has also won the Gilbeys Gold Medal for Catering Excellence jointly with Myrtle Allen 1992, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Irish Hotel and Catering Institute.   Further, she is a Member of Eurotoques (European Association of Chefs), IWF (International Women's Federation), Network Ireland, Guild of Foodwriters in UK and Ireland, International Slow Movement, Bread Bakers Guild of America,   IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Darina Allen is a Certified Culinary Professional and Teacher and the school is accredited by IACP).   She was founder of first Farmers Markets in Ireland and involved on an ongoing basis in helping set up new markets.   She is Councillor for Ireland in Slow Food Movement and President of East Cork Convivium of Slow Food.   She has written several highly acclaimed books including, Simply Delicious Recipes (1986), A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School (1997), A Simply Delicious Irish Christmas (1998), Festive Food of Ireland (2001), The Ballymaloe Cookery Course (2001), Irish Traditional Cooking (2004), and Healthy Gluten Free Eating (2004).  

Laura Mason
Laura Mason has a long interest in history of food which was inspired in part by her rural background in the Yorkshire Dales, where she grew up on a dairy farm. Her publications include Sugar Plums and Sherbet (1998), Traditional Foods of Britain (1999), Food Culture in Great Britain (2004) and (forthcoming) Farmhouse Cookery (National Trust). Laura has contributed several papers to the Leeds Symposium on Cookery and Food History, and also to various other symposia in the UK and Europe.   Laura will address the conference on the 'idea of tradition' in English food.

Donal O Drisceoil
Is an historian and author of books on Irish political history including Censorship in Ireland 1939-1945: Neutrality, Politics and Society (1996) and Peadar O'Donnell (2001).  He also has an interest in local history.  In 1997 he co-authored The Murphy's Story: The History of Lady's Well Brewery, Cork with Diarmuid O Drisceoil, with whom he is also currently working on a history of the English Market in Cork, on which he will speak.  

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