Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery

The Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery meets annually, currently at St Catherine's College, Oxford, to discuss issues of concern to those, academics and non-academics alike, whose principal professional concern or interest is food history, taken in its broadest sense.

The Oxford Symposium is the oldest such body in the world,^{[citation needed]} tracing its origins to seminars given in 1978–9 at St Antony's College, Oxford, by the late Alan Davidson, at the instigation of Theodore Zeldin.^[1] Participants in the first seminar included Elizabeth David, Richard Olney, Jane Grigson and Paul Levy. The group was soon augmented by Claudia Roden, Nicholas Kurti, the publisher Jill Norman and Sri Owen, among others, and other regulars include the American writers Jeffrey Steingarten, Raymond Sokolov and Charles Perry, and the Australian Cherry Ripe. Many topics have had their first airing at the Oxford Symposium, including the expression "molecular gastronomy," and there have been meetings to discuss the migrations of foodstuffs, the history of cookbooks and the concept of authenticity.

The 2010 meeting was held, at St Catherine's College on 9–11 July, and the topic to be discussed is "Cured, Smoked, and Fermented Foods." The Oxford Symposium is a registered charity in Britain, with a group of distinguished Trustees, and there is an American Friends of the Oxford Symposium. The proceedings of the Symposium are published annually.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ History of the Oxford Symposium, Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, UK.

External links

• Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery website
• Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery Enthusiasts on Facebook
• Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery on Flickr