Institut Ramon LLull

A Taste of Barcelona: The History of Catalan Cooking and Eating

Gastronomy.  New York, 18/10/2019

Widely associated with avant-garde gastronomy and lavish food markets, Barcelona has become a top destination for gourmands and chefs around the world. But how has the city established itself as a global culinary referent while becoming synonymous with cutting-edge cuisine? Author Rosi Song, in conversation with professor Robert Davidson and chef Jaume Biarnés will be discussing Barcelona’s urban and culinary development from the Middle Ages to the present, tracing the origins and the growth of its culinary prestige, and how cooking has been a crucial activity in creating and maintaining a Catalan identity.




H. Rosi Song is a Professor at Bryn Mawr College where she teaches courses on modern and contemporary Spanish narrative and culture, detective fiction, and film. She specializes in the literature, intellectual history, and culture of contemporary Spain. Professor Song is the author of Lost in Transition: Constructing Memory in Contemporary Spain (Liverpool UP, 2016), and the co-editor of Traces of Contamination: Unearthing the Francoist Legacy in Contemporary Spanish Discourse (Bucknell UP, 2004) and Towards a Cultural Archive of la Movida (Farleigh Dickinson UP, 2013). Her articles have appeared in Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, MLN, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, Romance Notes, Hispamérica, Revista Iberoamericana, Hispania, among others.  

Robert Davidson is a Professor of Spanish and Catalan at University of Toronto and specializes in Modern Peninsular Literature and Culture with an emphasis on urban studies and cultural theories of food and hospitality. Prof. Davidson is the author of Jazz Age Barcelona (U of Toronto Press, 2009) and The Hotel: Occupied Space (U of Toronto Press, 2018). He is the founder and co-editor of UTP’s Toronto Iberic book series and has published work on different aspects of the Castilian and Catalan avant-gardes, cultural theory and film. 

Jaume Biarnés is a Chef at Alicia Foundation, a research center devoted to technological innovation in cuisine that also aims at improving the eating habits and evaluating food and gastronomic heritage. He obtained his chef degree in Barcelona, and has worked in various restaurants, catering companies and patisseries. He was part of the El Bulli restaurant team with chef Ferran Adrià, actively engaged in all its areas (restaurant, el Bulli workshop, catering, consulting and writing of books) As a founding member of Alicia, he has coordinated the preparation of studies and publications on culinary techniques, gastronomy history and promotion of the agro food heritage of Catalonia.

 

Author Rosi Song in conversation with Prof. Robert Davidson and Catalan chef Jaume Biarnés

Friday October 18, 6:30pm

Casa Hispanica 201, Columbia University

612 W 116th St., New York

Event in English. Free and open to the public.

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