Oxford Symposium Awards and Grants
▪ Five Oxford Symposium Student Research Grants
▪ Prizes for Best Student Paper Presentations
▪ Prize for Best Presentation by a non-Student First-time Presenter
▪ Two Oxford Symposium Young Chefs Grants
▪ Thirty Student Discounted Places
▪ The Sophie Coe Prize in Food History
▪ The Cherwell Food History Studentship
Oxford Symposium Student Research Grants and Best Paper Prize
• Student Research Grants
The Friends of the Oxford Symposium offer up to eight grants to students who have had a proposal accepted for presentation at the Symposium. To be eligible, you must declare that you are a student on your paper proposal. All students from undergraduate through PhD programs are eligible. The grant is £200 for UK students and £350 for students who study outside of the UK. This grant is in addition to whatever funding you may receive from your institution. It is also in addition to the first-come-first-serve discounted registration offered to the first 30 registered students. Recipients receive their funds at the Symposium in a public presentation.
▪ Prizes for Best Student Paper Presentations
Additionally, £500 is allocated as prize money to be awarded at the discretion of the awards committee between the best papers presentations by a student. Student Research Grant recipients are also be eligible for a presentation prize. You must have declared that you are a student on your paper proposal to be eligible for this prize.
Recipients receive their funds at the Symposium in a public presentation.
▪ Prize for Best Presentation by a First-time Presenter who is not a student.
£150 is also allocated by the Friends of the Oxford Symposium as prize money to be awarded to the best presentation by a first-time presenter who is not a student. You must have declared that you are a first-time presenter on your paper proposal to be eligible for this prize
Young Chefs’ Grant
The Friends of the Oxford Symposium award two fully funded places at the Symposium (7-9 July 2017) to a culinary professional or student with not more than 10 years in the industry. You will get 1 free place at the Symposium (worth £300) plus £200 cash, and be invited to work behind the scenes with our invited chef and with Tim Kelsey of the St. Catherine’s College kitchen in the preparation of Friday night’s dinner. You will then be able to attend all Symposium sessions and meals. The aim is simple: to enrich your approach to food and cooking.
If you’re interested, please write a short statement (a single page will do) explaining why you would like to attend the Symposium and in what way this would benefit you. If you have social media that relate to food, such as a twitter feed or Facebook page, please provide the links. In addition to explaining why you would like to attend the Oxford Symposium, please tell us about your educational background and your cooking experience. The deadline for the 2017 Symposium is May 1, 2017 no later than midnight GMT. Address correspondence to grants@oxfordsymposium.org.uk.
“I was heady with excitement to be able to work in the kitchen at such an event.
This is a wonderful opportunity for any emerging chef!”
Keelin Tobin – winner 2014
Read Keelin’s full report here
The visiting chef in 2016 was:
The genius-chef and cookbook author Fergus Henderson, the King of Nose-to-Tail Cookery. His Friday-night feast was A Bold Offal Feast ( and Bold Vegetables).
Some of our previous visiting chefs:
Henry Harris, Shaun Hill, Rowley Leigh, Jeremy Lee.
Student Discounted Places
The first 30 students to register may register at the discounted student rage of £250 for full room and board. See the registration page for details.
The Sophie Coe Prize in Food History
The Sophie Coe Prize is the longest-running and most generous prize for writing in food history in the English language, given once a year for an essay or article of up to 10,000 words on any aspect of the history of food. First awarded in 1995, the fund that administers the prize was founded in memory of Sophie Coe, the eminent food historian who died in 1994. The winner is chosen every year by an anonymous panel of distinguished judges and awarded at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery to the author of an original, informative article or essay on some aspect of food history that embodies new research or provides new insights.
For full details of the prize, its conditions, entry information and contact details, please visit the Sophie Coe Prize website.
Download a How To Enter PDF.
The Cherwell Food History Studentship
The Cherwell Food History Studentship supports research by young scholars. Made possible by an anonymous donation and overseen by the American Friends of the Oxford Symposium, the Studentship awards an immediate US$1000 grant and a second payment, given at the Oxford Symposium, which covers the Symposium’s attendance fees as well as transport to and from Oxford. Applicants must be 30 or under (i.e. not have celebrated their 31st birthday by the start of the Symposium) and are expected to present the results of their research at the Symposium. Submissions for the Cherwell Studentship should be emailed to cathykkaufman@verizon.net no later than February 1 2017.
For details, including submission requirements, judging criteria, and contact information, please see the PDF : Rules of the Cherwell Food History Studentship.
