Panel 15 — Herbs (and Other) Biographies
A single herb can trigger a modest culinary revolution: Myrtle Allen’s quest for tarragon for a simple roast chicken helped usher in a new style of Irish cooking. On a…
The Sophie Coe Prize: Announcement and Tribute to the Coes
The Sophie Coe Prize is the most prestigious and longest-running prize for writing in English in the field of food history. Established by Michael Coe and Alan Davidson in 1995,…
Rising Scholar Presentation
The Oxford Rising Scholar recognizes a young scholar who has not reached the age of 31 years by the opening day of the annual Symposium. First awarded in 2007 and…
Panel 16 — Spice Biographies
Focusing on a single plant (Cinnamomum zeylanicum and yuzu), these papers explore the history and cultivation of these single species in their places of origin.
Panel 17 — Perceptions of Heat
How do we perceive heat and flavour intensity? Does our ability to perceive flavours change over time? Depend on the culture in which we live? Are our perceptions manipulated by…
Sunday Lunch: My Life in a Recipe. Film and V-Fringe BYO Lunch with Sri Owen
Get ready for a rare treat: the UK premiere of 'My Life in a Recipe'. This short film by Janice Gabriel shows Sri Owen, beloved long term symposiast, preparing her…
Reports from the Young Chefs
In order to make the Symposium experience more accessible to food professionals early in their careers, the Friends of the Oxford Food Symposium sponsor a program of Young Chef Grants.…
Keynote from Harold McGee: A Nose Dive Into Plant Aromas
Harold McGee started his professional life as literature and writing instructor at Yale University, focusing on Romantic poetry: his dissertation was entitled “Keats and the Progress of Taste.” But he…
Concluding Keynote by Krishnendu Ray: Summing up the Journey
Professor Krishnendu Ray is Chairman of the Department of Food Studies at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. A sociologist by training, Ray’s interests focus…
2023 Topic Selection
Symposium tradition dictates that the final session be devoted to democratically selecting the theme for the symposium three years hence. The session is joyfully chaotic and will be hosted by…
Welcome from our President Claudia Roden with Elisabeth Luard and Ursula Heinzelmann
Our President, Claudia Roden, has long been a guiding light of the Oxford Symposium. Her books, among them the ground-breaking The Book of Middle Eastern Food and The Book of Jewish Food, have inspired…
Margaret Atwood on Fictional Foodies in conversation with Mark McWilliams
We’re over the moon (appropriately for this year’s subject) that Margaret Atwood has agreed to address us in our fortieth anniversary year on Fictional Foodies. As one of Canada’s best…
