Fall 2007 Literary Event: "The Word on Food"

Sunday, November 18th at 1:30 p.m.

The Friends of Saratoga Springs Public Library present The Word on Food: An Afternoon with People Who Write About Food, and Those Who are Written About. The panel discussion is Sunday, November 18 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the Community Room. It is free and open to the public, with tickets available at the library information desk after November 1. Please join us. We look forward to an enjoyable afternoon.

Our panel:

Gary Allen cooks, eats, dreams, talks, and writes about food. After penning The Resource Guide for Food Writers (Routledge, 1999), a reference book for anyone interested in food, he edited a book on professional table service, Remarkable Service (Wiley, 2001), for The Culinary Institute of America. His latest book, The Herbalist in the Kitchen (another reference work, on herbs and spices), was published this year from the University of Illinois Press.

Una Bray, is an associate professor of math at Skidmore College, but her other love is food. Dr. Bray teaches a freshman survey course on food and society at Skidmore that explores such questions as, Why do we eat what we eat? Is it nature, nurture, or do we just eat what’s available? From the foraging of the ancient world, through early human civilizations, Greek and Roman times, medieval eastern cultures, the Far East, early European cultures, African cultures, to the contributions of the Americas, Dr. Bray will give us a brief overview of how we arrived at the food we eat today.

Ruth Fantasia, executive features editor at the Times Union, was assistant to the food editor at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, VA. Over the next 12 years, she worked her way into the position of food editor.  In 1998, she left the south for snowy winters and the challenge of developing innovative food coverage at the Times Union. She now directs the paper’s food, home and fashion coverage and writes Matters of Taste, a weekly review of local restaurants. 

Catharine A. Hamilton, and her sister, Gloria, started Putnam Market Inc. in 1995.  They added Putnam Wine in 1998, managed by Cathy’s husband, William Roach.  Their mission is to sell delicious food and wine, and share their passion for cooking, eating and drinking well. Hamilton will talk about what it’s like to run her family-run eatery, a must-go-to destination in Saratoga Springs.

Chef John LaPosta, executive chef of Maestro’s has had a long and exciting career path, which has landed him in Saratoga Springs. Along with his partner, Tina Kruger, he has created a wonderful Fine American Bistro full of great energy, fine hospitality and, of course, outstanding food. Recently the N.Y. Times stated that on a day trip to Saratoga “…head back up to Broadway for lunch at Maestro’s…The pumpkin-colored walls, jazz pulsing in the background and diners enjoying a crisp glass of wine with lunch give the place the feel of a Parisian café…

Deborah Nelson is the niece of the famed Hattie Austin Mosely, who oversaw Hattie’s Chicken Shack (now Hattie’s Restaurant) for 60 years. Deborah Nelson comes from a long line of accomplished cooks, and she specializes in healthy soul food with a European twist. Nelson will share stories of working under Hattie’s wings, as well as her philosophy of good eating, which includes using only the freshest and healthiest ingredients, while keeping “soul” in her culinary creations. She is currently in the process of developing a cookbook, European Soul, which is scheduled for release in 2008.