A Taste of the Past

It’s Linsanity on A Taste of the Past!! Tune in as Linda discusses the cuisine and culture of Taiwan with Jessica Chien and Joanne Liu, freelance pastry chefs. Learn the differences between China, Japan and Taiwan when it comes to food and hear what makes Taiwanese cuisine stand out from the rest. From their bountiful produce and livestock options to the creative cultural dishes, listeners will come away with a new found knowledge and respect for the food from this Asian-Pacific island. This program was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. “What makes Taiwanese food unique is that the country is self sustaining. There’s plentiful amounts of agriculture, seafood, poultry, pork and beef. In mainland China, there are provinces where you can only have one type of vegetable or livestock. It’s not as bountiful as Taiwan.” –Freelance Pastry Chef, Author and Food Blogger Jessica Chien on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined by food writer and journalist Toni Tipton-Martin for a discussion on imagery, stereotypes and African American cuisine and culture as it relates to the famous and controversial image of Aunt Jemima. Learn more about the history behind the trademarked character and hear what Toni thinks “soul food” actually means in the context of African American cooking. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. “There is quite a bit of debate now over whether the woman being depicted as Aunt Jemima ever existed at all.” “I think there’s an expectation as an African American cook or chef to conform to an image that has been constructed in the trademark of Aunt Jemima.” “Soul Food is a definition that emerged out of the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960’s, at a time when African American dance, music and other artistic expressions were being reclaimed and identified by the term ‘soul’. For that particular period of time, [soul food] is a suitable definition for what was coming out of the kitchen.” “I’m hoping we can look at these women free of gender and racial biases and just look at the work they did at the time.” –Journalist and Author Toni Tipton-Martin on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From food culture in 800BCE to the present day, this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past will take you there. With the help of New School professor of food studies, Fabio Parasecoli, host Linda Pelaccio takes you on a world tour of food globalization throughout major world time periods. Parasecoli, who has also edited an encyclopedic 6-volume tome on the subject– A Cultural History of Food— discusses the rise of food scholarship in major learning institutes around the world as well how food, not just eating, is taking an ever-expanding presence in every aspect of daily life. This episode is sponsored by Fairway Market “Food has become very important in social and political debates. So my question is were those debates already there at the Roman times, what happened in the middle ages? For example, is the family meal really an institution or did we create it 100 years ago and we just pretend its been there forever?” –Fabio Parasecoli on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of the Past host Linda Pelaccio talks with food writer and interviewer Monica Bhide who has written on a variety of subjects from Indian cooking to her latest venture into the world of e-publishing with her newest e-book, “ In Conversation with Exceptional Women”. Learn about her tips for gaining inspiration in both cooking and writing, her views on authenticity and Indian cooking, as well as where she sees the realm of digital publishing heading. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “It really raises the question of what is real cooking and what is real food. And, to me, anything that is prepared with love and that is intended to nurture the people that it’s prepared for is real cooking.” –Monica Bhide on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of the Past get ready to dive in to the re-emerging world of “table-scaping” –ie. how to set and visually design a dinner table setting– with host Linda Pelaccio. Joined by esteemed guest, food stylist, and historian Rick Ellis, the two delve into rich the history of table setting and food service originating in Europe as well as the research it requires to bring food alive on the silver screen for period pieces. Tune into learn about the difference between “service a la Francaise” and “service a la Russe” as well as some of Rick’s favorite historical source material for food styling. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard. “Service à la française [is where] elaborate tables were set in 2-3 courses all the plates down at once, very symmetrical arrangements, often the food was cold at that point.” “Keeping food looking beautiful and fresh is our biggest challenge.” –Rick Ellis on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How did restaurants become such a staple in American culture? Tune in for a lively discussion with historian and professor Cindy Lobel on this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past. Linda and Cindy chat about the history of restaurants in New York, and explain how our foodways were urbanized and colonial taverns evolved into the modern day restaurant. From Delmonico’s to boarding houses, learn more about the emergence of the restaurant and our gastronomic growth. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market “The growth of restaurants in New York is directly related to the growth of New York.” –Historian Cindy Lobel on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of the Past we take a trip to the Abbey of Fecamp in Normandy where the Benedictine monk Dom Bernardo Vincelli created the liqueur Benedictine in the 16th century. With the help Benedictine brand ambassador Martin Duffy, learn all about the history of this ancient libation as well as some delicious holiday drinks that will keep you warm all winter long. This episode is sponsored by Heritage Foods USA “Putting a little Benedictine in your hot chocolate is sure to ‘warm your cockles’.” –Martin Duffy on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get ready to loosen up your belt a notch or two because A Taste of The Past is having a Christmas feast. Host Linda Pelaccio is joined accomplished food historian Clifford Wright who explains history of holiday feasts from the origin of the real St. Nicholas to the significance sweets at the holidays for the poor. This episode is sponsored The Barterhouse. “We take it for granted, but there was a time when people couldn’t afford food and (Christmas) was the one time of the year you could have visions of sugar plums” – Historian Clifford Wright on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of The Past it’s time to rediscover The Lost Art of Real Cooking with Ken Albala who has written a book on just that. Learn how our liberation from the kitchen in the ’70s has lead to our over-consumption of pre-made and pre-packaged foods. From government subsidies to food deserts, tune in to learn something new about how to recover this lost art. This episode is sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio explores the history of public markets and meat supplies in New York City with Gergely Baics, Assistant Professor of History and Urban Studies at Barnard College. Tune in to learn about food provisioning and local markets and how policy and seasonality play into the proteins made available to the public in urban areas. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.