Beginning the evening of April 20, 2007 with a welcoming reception with the Alice M. Johnson Memorial Lecture given by food historian Barbara Haber, this symposium on 400 years of food and cooking in Virginia will feature workshops and presentations on the history of food and cooking in Virginia by a wide range of culinary experts, historians, and cookbook collectors. Topics will extend from the foods eaten in Jamestown and the early days of the colony, followed by plantation foods, slave foods, the Civil War period, and on up to the present day. Virginia Tech's famed Civil War historian, James I. Robertson, Jr., will discuss Civil War rations and their impact on common soldiers. A special aspect of this unique event will be an exhibit of the Peacock-Harper Culinary History Collection at Virginia Tech, with its colonial-period manuscript cookbooks and period cookbooks from England. This event emphasizes the gastronomic legacy of Virginia and its impact on the United States. A grand finale banquet featuring historical recipes and keynote speaker and food writer, John Egerton, will end this delicious journey. Renowned African-American poet Nikki Giovanni will introduce Mr. Egerton. Please contact Cynthia Bertelsen at 540-552-8655/cbertel@usit.net for more information or visit the Conference Website at........

The registration fee for the entire event is $225.00