For as long as mankind has been writing about the human experience, the topics of food and drink, feasts and famine, and cooking and eating have found their way into print. This two-day symposium will feature an array of talks and panels examining West Coast gastronomy and the connections that many of the pioneers of that tradition had with California fine printing, publishing, collecting, and writing. Kicked off with a keynote address, The Origin of the Modern Cookbook, by Anne Willan (who has over fifty years of experience as a cookbook author, teacher, culinary historian, and food columnist), the symposium will cover topics such as MFK Fisher, California, and the Genesis of Food Writing; California Fine Printing in a Culinary Context; Contemporary California Food Writing and the Future of Culinary Publishing; and Spirited Ephemera: An Overview of Cocktail and Booze History Through Paper. Contributors include Gary Kurutz (Executive Director of the California State Library Foundation), Joyce Goldstein (author of Inside the California Food Revolution), food editors Bill LeBlond (Chronicle Books), Margo True (Sunset Magazine), and Jenny Wapner (Ten Speed Press), as well as Michael Carabetta (Creative Director at Chronicle Books), Ben Kinmont (artist, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller), Patricia Curtan (author of Menus for Chez Panisse), David Lance Goines (artist, author, and printer), Darra Goldstein (founding editor of Gastronomica), and many more. The symposium coincides with the Book Club's fall exhibition, Food & Wine & Good Design: The California Fine Printers' Legacy, and the publications of our 2014 Annual Keepsake featuring twelve California recipes that highlight significant points in the state's culinary and cultural history. The Event will be commemorated with a letterpress printed symposium keepsake available to all attendees. A two-day pass includes admission to all eighteen presentations, multiple book signings at the Book Club's pop-up "Feast for the Eyes" bookshop, special letterpress keepsakes, and cocktail receptions each evening from 5-7 p.m. All events take place at the Book Club of California, 312 Sutter Street, 5th floor; the World Affairs Council auditorium, 312 Sutter Street, 2nd floor; and the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street. More information and a link to the full program available at www.bcbcooks.org/programs/feast |
