Culinary Anthropologist

Archive

  1. Flavours of Fieldwork Secret Kitchen series

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    Flavours of Fieldwork
    in association with the SOAS Food Studies Centre

    Anna is hosting a series of dinners based on anthropology PhD students’ research in Morocco, Japan, China and Greece. Each dinner will bring to life recipes and stories from fieldwork in home kitchens, restaurants, shops and archives, reveal some surprising insights into cuisines you thought you knew, and demonstrate ways in which research into food contributes so much to anthropology today. Expect welcome drinks, feasting at communal tables and a delicious night out!

     

    K Graf pic Street marketA Moroccan Feast
    Fri 21st & Sat 22nd October 2016,
    with Katharina Graf

    Katharina spent months mastering the crafts of bread-making and couscous steaming, not to mention negotiating Marrakech’s street markets. She learnt to cook like the young Moroccan women around her – by sight, sound and touch – without a recipe book or set of scales in sight. Katharina’s research interests include the relationship between cooking and gender, the transmission of cooking knowledge across generations, and how home cooking reflects broader social changes in Morocco.

    Secret Kitchen oyakiRegional Japanese Cooking
    Fri 9th & Sat 10th December 2016
    with Celia Plender

    Regional food in Japan reveals a rich variety of cooking styles, tastes and ingredients. While some of these are seen as deeply embedded in the history and cultural practices of an area, others are identified as recently invented ‘traditions’. Both give insights into the social construction of local food and national cuisine. A decade ago Celia worked in a Tokyo restaurant and has since then regularly cooked and written about Japanese food. This dinner follows a recent trip to research regional Japanese cooking.

    Goanese balichao in a Macau wet market January 2016 copy tCantonese Masala
    Fri 17th & Sat 18th February 2017
    with Mukta Das

    Take a journey into the kitchens and cafes of 19th century Canton as we explore how experiments with spices have resulted in dishes that are now part of Macanese, Hong Kong or Cantonese culinary heritage. Mukta recently spent a year in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou with professional chefs and home cooks, and in the archives, uncovering some of the ways the centuries old maritime spice trade carved deep and aromatic channels into the everyday cooking in these old cities.

    A Greek Moveable Feast
    Fri 17th & Sat 18th March 2017
    with Nafsika Papacharalampous

    Nafsika undertook fieldwork in the delis and restaurant kitchens of Athens, following the journey of Greek peasant foods of the past (such as trahanas or beef tongue) into the urban present. She is now writing up her PhD on Greek poverty and artisan foods and their relationship to national identity, tradition, heritage and memory. She is also an experienced professional cook, with a passion for old Greek cookery books.

     

    To book your place:
    All events start at 7.30pm and cost £45. To book your place email Anna by clicking the ‘book now’ button below with the following: which dinner(s) you would like to attend, the number of people in your group, whether you prefer the Friday or Saturday or could do either, and whether anyone in your group has any special dietary requirements.

    Event:Flavours of Fieldwork Secret Kitchen series
    Date(s):October 2016 to March 2017
    Time:7.30pm - 11pm
    Location:London N5 (Arsenal tube 2 mins walk)
    Price:£45
    Book now
    flagPlease read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.
  2. Secret Kitchen, Fri 17th & Sat 18th Feb 2017 – Cantonese masala

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    Da pai dong near Stanley Street Hong Kong May 2016 copy t

     

    Cantonese masala: the surprising stories of spicy food in China’s Pearl River Delta

    Take a journey into the kitchens and cafes of 19th century Canton as we explore how experiments with spices have resulted in dishes that are now part of Macanese, Hong Kong or Cantonese culinary heritage.

     

    Goanese balichao in a Macau wet market January 2016 copy t‘Star Ferry’ sours

    Vodka-based cocktails flavoured with fresh tamarind, lemongrass and cinnamon.

    Chicken chillicotes and vegetarian chamuças

    Dainty, spicy and crispy, and transcending time and borders, samosas, chillicotes and curry puffs are as much a part of Cantonese snacking as their cousins in India, parts of Africa and the Americas.

    Pork rib ‘tea’

    Thought to be a 19th century ‘prescription’ from the Chinese apothecary to keep dockers strong and warm, this Cantonese soup is a rich broth flavoured with spices and packed with meat, mushrooms and tofu.

    Macanese pork vinha d’alho with sticky rice and Chinese greens

    This dish is at the heart of the fusion that defines Macanese cooking. Flavoured with Chinese wine, turmeric, garlic and other aromatics, it challenges our views on its contemporary cousin, vindaloo.

    Steamed ginger milk pudding

    A classic Cantonese dessert combining south China’s buffalo herding and ginger growing traditions. Light ginger syrup, extracted fresh from the root, gently sets the frothy milk into sweet creamy pudding.

     

    Mukta Das Profile Cooking 2 tThis special Secret Kitchen is a collaboration with fellow anthropologist Mukta Das. Mukta is a social justice worker and researcher of food and immigration. As an anthropologist she recently spent a year in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou with professional chefs and home cooks, and in the archives, uncovering some of the ways the centuries old maritime spice trade and the attendent travelling cooks carved deep and aromatic channels into the everyday cooking in these old cities.

    Mukta is also an exceptionally good cook. Book early to avoid disappointment!

    Please let us know about any dietary requirements when you make your booking. We can offer a vegetarian menu, but please be sure to check with us if you have other requirements.

    Event:Secret Kitchen
    Date(s):Friday 17th & Saturday 18th February 2017
    Time:7.30pm - 11pm
    Location:London N5 (Arsenal tube 2 mins walk)
    Price:£45
    Book now
    flagPlease read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.