A New Exhibit at the CIA
Hyde Park, NY – Over the course of this semester, students in The Culinary Institute of America’s
Food History class have been researching and curating a museum exhibit for the
public. Through the use of primary texts, cultural artifacts, and multi-media, the
students created “Cooking Up a Nation: [Im]migration and American Foodways,”
an exhibit showcasing many aspects related to historical and cultural
intersections with the migration of people to America and the construction and
changes of our foodways.
Some explored themes include: pre-nation migrants from
Europe and Africa and interactions with native peoples; the century of
immigration from Europe and the Asia and how patterns of settlement and
push-pull factors affected food practices and traditions; how national
immigration policies corresponded with attitudes toward what constituted
“Americans” and “American foods”; and the rise of a globalized palate across
the American landscape.
The students wrote interpretive and descriptive text to
accompany each theme and produced multi-media components to introduce video and
audio components to the exhibit.
An opening reception will be held in the Conrad N. Hilton
Library on the CIA campus in Hyde Park on Tuesday, July 25th
from 2:30–3:30 p.m. Student-curators will be on hand to answer questions about
the exhibit. They will also be preparing and serving food from nations whose
residents are currently banned from traveling to the United States.
The exhibit will be on display in the Donald and Barbara Tober Exhibit Room in the Hilton Library until December 13,
2017. The hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m.–7
p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the
public.
Photo Captions and Hi-Res Images:
Photo 1 (top): The
student-curated “Cooking Up a Nation” exhibit at The
Culinary Institute of America explores how the food cultures immigrants brought
with them to America helped shape this country’s cuisines. Among the rare menus
on display is a 1963 menu from Scandia restaurant in Los Angeles. (Photo credit: Menus courtesy of The
Culinary Institute of America archives)
Photo 2: Among
the rare menus on display at the student-curated “Cooking Up a Nation” exhibit at The Culinary Institute of America is a special St. Patrick’s
Day bill of fare from the Partridge Inn in Augusta, GA in 1927. (Photo credit: Menus courtesy of The
Culinary Institute of America archives)
Photo 3: The
student-curated “Cooking Up a Nation” exhibit at The
Culinary Institute of America features rare and colorful menus that illustrate
how immigrants brought their cuisines into American culture. This die-cut menu
is from a Bavarian restaurant in Boston in the 1960s. (Photo credit: Menus courtesy of The Culinary Institute of America
archives)
Media Contacts:
Beth Forrest, PhD
Professor
845-451-1767
beth.forrest@culinary.edu
Nicole Semenchuck
Library Archives
845-451-1270
nicole.semenchuck@culinary.edu
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier
culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and
hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers bachelor’s degree
majors in management, culinary science, and applied food studies; associate
degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; and executive education
through its Food Business School. The college also offers certificate programs
and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences and consulting
services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its
worldwide network of 49,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the
food business. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and
Singapore.
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