‘You are what you eat’. Taste of History

Almost two hundred years ago, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote: “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” The French gourmet created a theory and philosophy of cuisine, and we are still trying to understand his message today.

Food is not just fuel; we do not eat and have never eaten what we have. People choose their food, define what is and what is not, and decide what is good food and what it means. Today, we live in an era of so-called “gastro-anomie” - food has lost its former economic, symbolic and social value. Moreover, that is why we desperately seek it. We want to recall the taste of our grandmother’s cooking and the dishes of our childhood; we want to buy food from the farmer and the artisan, and we think of food that is local, traditional, healthy - and simply ours.

Cuisine is not just about cooking; it is all about ideas. The principles that make raw materials, goods and products into food: what we eat. The history of cuisine tells us a lot about ourselves, locality and globalization, biodiversity, taste, hierarchy, religion and identity. We tell stories about ourselves through cuisine and food, express ourselves, and learn something about others.

We will tell this story by reading old recipes and ancient menus, wondering what the recipes and descriptions of meals from centuries ago are really about.

 Coffee and tea will be available on the spot.