Join us on March 9th for a talk with Barbara Haber on “Cooking in Captivity: How American Civilians Survived WWII in Japanese Prison Camps.”

Immediately after attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and imprisoned thousands of American civilians who spent the war years deprived of food. Many internees recorded their experiences, among them Natalie Crouter, a remarkable Boston-bred woman who kept a diary that describes how food preoccupied every prisoner. They talked about it, dreamed about it, and used any available resource to cook ersatz dishes that got them through the war. Barbara Haber will share her research and insights about Crouter and other internees who spent the war years in prison camps.

Barbara Haber is a food historian and the former curator of books at Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library at Harvard University where she built a major collection of cookbooks and other books related to food and its history. She is the author of From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals. A former director of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Haber currently serves on the Awards Committee and chairs the Who’s Who Committee of the James Beard Foundation. She is a regular contributor to ZesterDaily.com and is a frequent speaker on topics related to the history of food. She was elected to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who in Food and Beverage in America and received the M.F.K. Fisher Award from Les Dames d’Escoffier.

A reception with refreshments will follow the talk at approximately 11:30am.

Free and open to the public.