Welcome from our President Claudia Roden
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 food historians and sociologists as well as home-cooks and professional chefs for more than five decades. But it is her skill as story-teller – meticulous recorder of treasured memories – that makes her books irresistible.
Opening Keynote by Charles Spence. Gastrophysics: The Psychology of Herbs and Spices
Professor Charles Spence is an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, where he explores the impact that sight, sound and touch have on our perceptions of taste. With more…
Keynote by Vivienne Lo. Potent Flavours: Nutritional Practice in the Sinosphere
Dr. Vivienne Lo is a Senior Lecturer at University College London specializing in the history of Asian medicine and classical Chinese medicine. Her work explores, among other things, the social…
Tea Break
Following the keynote by Vivienne Lo, let's gather for tea, to continue discussing informally. And who knows? Our speaker may even drop in to chat. Your host will be Naomi…
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…
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…
