As summer heats up, three dynamic Cooking Up History programs in July, August, and Septembershare fresh insights into American culture past and present through the lens of food.  Presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History—home of Julia Child’s kitchen and the FOOD: Transforming the American Table exhibition—each session features a guest chef from places as diverse as New Orleans and Toronto and a Smithsonian host preparing a dish and exploring the history and tradition behind its ingredients, culinary techniques, and enjoyment.

Please Note: Individual sessions are available for individual purchase.

JULY 26  Pleibol and Eat Well! Latino Culinary Traditions and Américas’ Game

If you’re a baseball fan, you probably have some favorite ballpark foods ranging from nachos to tacos, but have you thought about the food heritages they draw on and who made them popular? Explore the tangible connections between baseball and Latino culinary traditions and how Latinos have created culinary fusions and experiences that reflect broader themes and trends in American history—the themes explored in the National Museum of American History’s new exhibition ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas.

AUG 5  Lena Richard’s New Orleans Cook Book: A Groundbreaking Story of Innovation and Resilience

Lena Richard, a Black chef and entrepreneur in New Orleans, built a dynamic culinary career in the segregated South, defying harmful stereotypes of Black women that severely diminished their role in the creation and development of American food culture and its economy. Guest chef and New Orleanian Dee Lavigne prepares a classic Creole dish as she  recounts Richard's heartening story, which is currently featured in a recently installed case, “The Only One in the Room: Women Achievers in Business and the Cost of Success,” in the American Enterprise exhibition at National Museum of American History.

SEPT 30  Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: Chinese Americans and the Power of Stir-Frying

In Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge, culinary historian and award-winning cookbook author Grace Young writes of how for centuries the Chinese carried their woks and stir-frying techniques around the globe. In America, beginning around the late-19th century, Chinese immigrants struggled to establish themselves in cities and small towns—from San Francisco to the Mississippi Delta—while contending as well with poverty, discrimination, and to this day, anti-Asian bias.

PATRON INFORMATION

• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of each session. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of each session, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.