Join us on February 8 for “Eating New Orleans: The Crescent City’s Evolving Cuisine” with Liz Williams and Philip Dobard of the SoFab (Southern Food and Beverage) Institute!

New Orleans is home to a singular and globally recognized cuisine. Crescent City foodways, however, are often misunderstood. Food and drink historian Liz Williams, author of New Orleans: A Food Biography, highlights the history and present of the city’s ever-evolving culinary culture. Philip Dobard joins her to discuss their work in documenting that culture at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Liz Williams is the Founder, President and Director of the SoFab Institute. SoFAB opened its doors in June of 2008, in the Riverwalk, overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans, LA. She has served as culinary consultant for festivals in Colombia and France, as well as in the US. Much of her research and writing centers on the legal and policy issues related to food and foodways. Her book, The A to Z Encyclopedia of Food Controversies and the Law, was published in 2010. Her latest book, New Orleans: A Food Biography was published by Alta Mira in 2013. Liz served for five years as the President & CEO of the University of New Orleans Foundation, during which time the foundation established and opened the world acclaimed D-Day Museum (now the World War II Museum) and the Nims Center (a film studio with motion capture laboratory.) The Foundation also developed and managed the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. She also practiced law with an emphasis on nonprofit organizations and giving.

Philip Dobard is Vice President of the SoFAB Institute and Director of SoFAB Media, home to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, the Museum of the American Cocktail, the SoFAB Center for Food Law, Policy & Culture, and SoFAB Media. He plays an integral role in all SoFAB programs, anchors the organization’s growing West Coast presence, and produces both the Farm to Table International Symposium and the CULINARIA Query & Lecture Series. He’s producing a new series for Nickelodeon (Deadtime Stories) and a slate of food and drink-focused projects under the SoFAB Media banner. Philip completed graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of New Orleans. With Liz Williams, he’s co-editing a book that seeks to answer the question: Is Food Art?

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

Free and open to the public.