The Chicago Food Encyclopedia Book Talk

Please join the UIC University Library for a panel discussion about the acclaimed University of Illinois Press book, The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Editor Colleen Taylor Sen and contributor Ellen F. Steinberg, Ph.D., will discuss how the book came about, the culinary history of Chicago and the role food plays in cultural identity. The talk will be moderated by UIC University Library Director of Social Justice Projects and Research Sonia Yaco.

UIC University Library faculty, staff and student employees will share their own food traditions as expressed in their family gardens, kitchens and dining rooms. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about recipes, hear stories, watch food preparation demos and sample international dishes.

March 22, 2018
3-6 p.m.

University of Illinois at Chicago
Richard J. Daley Library
801 S. Morgan St., Room 1-470
Chicago, IL 60607

The Chicago Food Encyclopedia will be available for purchase and Colleen Taylor Sen and Ellen F. Steinberg, PhD will sign autographs at the event.

The University of Illinois Press

The University of Illinois Press supports the mission of the university through the worldwide dissemination of significant scholarship, striving to enhance and extend the reputation of the university. Through its publishing programs, the Press promotes research and education, enriches cultural and intellectual life, and fosters regional pride and accomplishments. The Press serves the university as a source for scholarly publishing knowledge and standards. As an innovator in the scholarly publishing community, the University of Illinois Press diligently pursues the best and most innovative technology to meet the needs of our readers.

The Chicago Food Encyclopedia
Published by the University of Illinois Press

The Chicago Food Encyclopedia is a far-ranging portrait of an American culinary paradise. Hundreds of entries deliver all of the visionary restauranteurs, Michelin superstars, beloved haunts, and food companies of today and yesterday. More than 100 sumptuous images include thirty full-color photographs that transport readers to dining rooms and food stands across the city. Throughout, a roster of writers, scholars, and industry experts pays tribute to an expansive—and still expanding—food history that not only helped build Chicago but fed a growing nation.

Pizza. Alinea. Wrigley Spearmint. Soul food. The Berghoff. Hot dogs. Koreatown. Everest. All served up A-Z, and all part of the ultimate reference on Chicago and its food.

Colleen Taylor Sen
The Chicago Food Encyclopedia Editor

Colleen Taylor Sen is a food and travel journalist and food historian specializing in Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Her articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Travel and Leisure, Food Arts, the Chicago Sun-Times, and many other publications. She is the author of six books, most recently, “Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India.” Colleen Sen has a BA and MA from the University of Toronto and PhD from Columbia University, all in Slavic Languages and Literatures. She has been decorated by the French government with the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

Ellen F. Steinberg, PhD
The Chicago Food Encyclopedia Contributor

Ellen F. Steinberg is a native Chicagoan and UIC alumnus who finds everything related to the city worth investigating. Between “eating locally” and gardening, she writes articles and books based on her anthropological and culinary historical research.

Sonia Yaco
Moderator

Sonia Yaco is an assistant professor and the Director of Social Justice Research and Projects at the UIC University Library. Her research examines how libraries can build collections and programming that reflect the diversity of society. She holds a master’s degree from the School of Library and Information Studies from University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is also a reluctant urban farmer with pear trees that yield 600 pounds a year.