March 29, 2026 2:00PM
​SOLD OUT - In Person: A Panel Discussion on the History and Legacy of Sunset Magazine
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Bay Area Culinary Historians and Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco invite you to a special afternoon celebrating the legacy of Sunset Magazine.
Jennifer Pagano will moderate a conversation with Jerry Di Vecchio, Margo True, Linda Anusasananan, Elaine Johnson, and Sara Schneider reflecting on the magazine’s influence on California cuisine, entertaining, and modern living. The program will include a tasting of classic Sunset hors d’oeuvres.
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The presentation will be held at the Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA.
Seating is limited and we expect to sell out quickly. Tickets are $45 and are available through the website of Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco, not through our usual Eventbrite sales channel. This is a joint presentation by BACH and Les Dames. You do not need to be a member of Les Dames to buy tickets and attend.
This event is sold out, but you can join the waitlist here.
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Please note that this is not our usual 5:00p.m. start time.
April 26, 2026 5:00PM PDT
Online: Evelyn Rose - What Mrs. Fisher Knew, and What We Know Now: Rediscovering the Life of Cookbook Author and Entrepreneur Abby Fisher
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Rediscovered at auction in 1984, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Pickles, Preserves, etc. by Mrs. Abby Fisher had been absent from culinary circles for nearly a century. The book is now widely regarded as the second cookbook published by an African American, and the first by a person who was formerly enslaved. Until recently, knowledge of Mrs. Fisher’s life was largely limited to the autobiographical details she provided in her preface. Drawing from ongoing research, this presentation will explore what more has been discovered about Mrs. Fisher’s significant life history and that of her husband, Alexander, and trace their experiences from Mobile, Alabama, to San Francisco.
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Evelyn Rose, PharmD, has been a community historian in San Francisco for nearly 20 years. After launching her history blog, Tramps of San Francisco in 2012 to rediscover some of the forgotten histories of the City by the Bay, in 2014 she founded the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project (GPNHP) and subsequently rediscovered several historic “firsts” in her district. Evelyn continues to research the life histories of Abby and Alexander Fisher, who resided just over the hill from Glen Park in Noe Valley. She published a preliminary summary of her research in Repast, a publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor, in Winter 2022.
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May 28, 2026 5:00PM PDT
Save the Date!
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Online: Kelly Spring - SPAM!​ A Global History
Today, SPAM is generally not looked on favorably by most people living in the United States. Many Americans view it with disdain, preferring instead to buy fresh meat at more expensive prices. But such negative impressions of the canned good stem from misinformation or lack of information about its creation, production, history and consumption. There are five primary myths about SPAM, which relegate it to a lower status in the American food system. These myths are: SPAM is made of unsavory pieces of pigs, it is full of chemicals, its name means Spiced Ham, it was created in World War II, and it is universally disliked. This presentation aims to set the record straight. In this talk, Kelly Spring will take on these five myths to dispel the false perceptions that people hold about the pork product. In the process, she will provide audience members with a better understanding of the food, offering a complete picture of what SPAM is and what it is not. This presentation will give an overview of the processed product from its origins to the present-day, charting its 89-year history, and exploring its enduring appeal around the world.
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Kelly A. Spring, PhD, is an author, entrepreneur, researcher, and lecturer of food history. Her work examines the impact of domestic crises and international conflict on domestic and global food systems in British and American history. Her company, The Fork Front, which is based in Washington, D.C., offers services ranging from consulting, researching and writing about food history to creating curated food history narratives, courses, and menus. Additionally, she co-hosts the bi-weekly food history podcast, The Hungry Historians. Kelly’s latest book, SPAM: A Global History (Reaktion Press, 2025), charts how food was used by the United States to spread its culture and values in wartime, impacting people’s foodways and lifestyles around the globe. She founded and is the lead convener of the Institute of Historical Research’s Food History Seminar in the UK. She is also a Fellow of the Institute. To find out more about Kelly’s current projects, as well as her food musings and adventures, you can follow her on Instagram @theforkfront.
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Registration information will be available soon.
June 8,2026 6:00PM
Save the Date!
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In Person: 140th Anniversary of Fior d’Italia Restaurant Dinner
We are thrilled to celebrate the 140th Anniversary of legendary Italian eatery, Fior d’Italia. Opened in 1886, come celebrate at the third oldest restaurant in San Francisco with a family-style historic menu. Accompanying the meal will be a talk about the history and impact of the restaurant, and how North Beach transformed into “Little Italy” after the 1906 earthquake.
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Seating will be limited. Menu, pricing, and ticket details coming soon.
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Please note that this is not our usual 4th Sunday 5:00p.m. event date and time.
~~~ 2026 ~~~
We are very excited about our upcoming events for the rest of the 2026 season!
​Check back again for details which will be posted as they are ready.
​​We just need to adjust the seasonings and add some frosting.
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We will serve no event before its time.
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