ThoughtGallery.org > Food of the Dead: A Culinary History of Funeral Food

Food of the Dead: A Culinary History of Funeral Food

At the end of an early American funeral, participants were given a cookie: spiced with caraway, and stamped with a special design, they were often kept for years as a memento of the departed.

Although mourning traditions have changed over time, and vary from place to place, what they have in common is food and drink. From the home parlour to the funeral parlor; from Irish wakes to sitting Shiva, consumption offers comfort in a time of grief.

In this talk we’ll look at the culinary traditions surrounding funerals throughout American history, and we’ll taste beer from Midas’s tomb, funeral cakes, and Mormon funeral potatoes.

Taught by Sarah Lohman

Dubbed a “historic gastronomist,” Sarah Lohman recreates historic recipes as a way to make a personal connection with the past. She chronicles her explorations in culinary history on her blog, Four Pounds Flour, and her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She appears on the Cooking Channel’s Food: Fact or Fiction? and is 1/2 of the Masters of Social Gastronomy with co-founder Jonathan Soma.

Currently, she works with museums and galleries around the city to create public programs focused on food, including institutions such as The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Science, Boston, and The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Her first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, was published with Simon & Schuster in 2016.











When: Mon., Oct. 23, 2017 at 8:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Where: Prospect Heights Brainery
190 Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights

Price: $16
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At the end of an early American funeral, participants were given a cookie: spiced with caraway, and stamped with a special design, they were often kept for years as a memento of the departed.

Although mourning traditions have changed over time, and vary from place to place, what they have in common is food and drink. From the home parlour to the funeral parlor; from Irish wakes to sitting Shiva, consumption offers comfort in a time of grief.

In this talk we’ll look at the culinary traditions surrounding funerals throughout American history, and we’ll taste beer from Midas’s tomb, funeral cakes, and Mormon funeral potatoes.

Taught by Sarah Lohman

Dubbed a “historic gastronomist,” Sarah Lohman recreates historic recipes as a way to make a personal connection with the past. She chronicles her explorations in culinary history on her blog, Four Pounds Flour, and her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She appears on the Cooking Channel’s Food: Fact or Fiction? and is 1/2 of the Masters of Social Gastronomy with co-founder Jonathan Soma.

Currently, she works with museums and galleries around the city to create public programs focused on food, including institutions such as The American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Science, Boston, and The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Her first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, was published with Simon & Schuster in 2016.

Buy tickets/get more info now