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…
Eric C. Rath on The Imaginary Cuisine of Medieval Japan
Eric C. Rath, culinary historian and enthusiast for all foods Japanese, will illuminate The Imaginary Cuisine of Medieval Japan. As Professor of history at the University of Kansas, he teaches…
Tea
One person's tea might be another one's breakfast - here is some toast to nourish everyone while we're setting off in our imagination...
Sophie Coe Prize Announcement
The Sophie Coe Prize is the world’s best prize for writing on food history. The £1,500 Prize is awarded each year to an engaging, original piece of writing that delivers new research…
Rising Scholar Presentation
The OFS Rising Scholar (formerly known as The Cherwell) was endowed by an anonymous donor and is administered through the American Friends of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery. It…
Rob Hopkins on What is to What If
Environmental activist Rob Hopkins will address the big questions in What is to What If – Unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want. Campaigner, broadcaster, keen…
Tea Break and a Recap of The Weekend
Let's have a much needed cup of tea together, and draw breath, to look back at the wonderful flurry of a weekend! Cathy Kaufman will sum it all up, and…
Janet Beizer on Walking through our Gastronomies: Notes from an Imaginary Flâneuse
Janet L. Beizer, professor of Romance Languages and Literature at Harvard University, will deliver our concluding keynote from the perspective of the flâneuse, the erudite wanderer through the many metaphorical…
Topic Selection 2024
Symposium tradition dictates that the final session be devoted to democratically selecting the theme for the symposium three years hence. This year is no different – zoom polling is doing…
Auld lang syne
A joyous, yet also slightly melancholic farewell at the virtual bar (the one at St Catz is closed at that point!) - that was OFS 2021. Let's raise a last…
