January 26, 2025 5:00PM PST
Online presentation: Richard Foss - The First California Cuisines
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None of the cooking techniques or popular items of either the first people of California or the Mission period are common today. Why? How did the native people survive, and how did the introduction of agriculture change their lives? What delicacies did the pleasure-loving Californian Dons enjoy in their haciendas, and why did their cuisine die out so quickly after the USA annexed the territory?
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Richard Foss has been writing professionally since 1986. He has contributed to over forty different publications, including the Encyclopedia of World Food Cultures and Oxford Companion to Sweets. Richard has taught culinary history in extension programs, done lecture tours in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, been a culinary consultant for museums, and is on the board of the Culinary Historians of Southern California.
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As always, it is super-helpful if you indicate your interest on the BACH Events page on Facebook in addition to registering on Eventbrite.
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​PS: Please note that this is the presentation that had previously been planned for September 2024, but was postponed.
February 23, 2025 5:00PM PST
Online presentation: Adam Balic - The Obscure Origins and Mysterious Disappearance of the Savoury Course
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Please join us, Sunday, February 23, 2025, at 5:00pm PST, for an online presentation by Adam Balic on "The Obscure Origins and Mysterious Disappearance of the Savoury Course"
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Balic writes, 'A “savoury” is an English foodstuff whose purpose is to stimulate and awaken the appetite of diners. In this context it overlaps in meaning with a vast array of other small piquant dishes. What distinguishes the English “savoury” from other similar dishes is that it is served towards the end of the meal, rather than the beginning. For non-English diners and chefs, the savoury course is a mild perversion at best, and an abomination at worst. From its peak popularity from the mid-19th century to the early-20th century, the savoury course has now all but disappeared as British society and dining habits rapidly changed in post-WWII era.'
In this talk Adam Balic will explore the origins, popularity and waning of this largely overlooked area of British food history. He will present evidence that the savoury course was not so much a collection of specific recipes, but an English cultural phenomenon. Finally, he asks the question: Is there any desire to resurrect the savoury course as part of the modern dining experience?
Adam Balic is an immunologist (Ph.D. 1999, The University of Melbourne) and independent scholar. He has a special interest in Scottish food history and British food history in general. He has been a committee member of the Leeds Symposium on Food History and Traditions, presented papers on Scottish food traditions at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, and is a co-author of “Food on the Move: Dining on the Legendary Railway Journeys of the World” (2019).
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Sign up on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link.
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​As always, it is super-helpful if you indicate your interest on the BACH Events page on Facebook in addition to registering here.
April 14, 2025
In-person tour of M.F.K Fisher's house in Glen Ellen, CA.
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Stay tuned for details
~~~ 2025 ~~~
We are very excited about our upcoming 2025 season!
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Watch this space for future event postings.
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I know, I know, this space looks blank, but we really do have a full
and interesting season coming up! We just need to adjust the
seasonings and add some frosting.
We will serve no events before its time.
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See you then!