Research Centre for the History of Food and Drink

In 1997 the Department of History at the University of Adelaide established a Research Centre for the History of Food and Drink. The primary purpose of the Research Centre is the promotion of research in the history of food and drink in both an Australian and a global context. Among its secondary purposes is the promotion of the fine food and drink available in South Australia. To achieve these purposes the Research Centre has been involved in a wide range of activities with a large number of other organisations such as the Australian Food and Wine Writers' Festival, the National Wine Centre, and the History Trust of South Australia. Its activities also include:

Seminars by local, national, and international scholars. The speakers have included Don Dunstan, Anne Ruston, Alan Warde, Doreen Fernandez, Richard Hosking, Don Levy, James Walvin, Valmai Hankel, Sidney Mintz, Andrew Watson, Barbara Santich, Michael Symons, and Angela Heuzenroeder. The seminars are also opportunities to celebrate South Australia's food and drink.

A Newsletter and a Website that highlight the activities of the Research Centre and its members and include information on the history of food and drink--books, conferences, news.

Symposia, Workshops, and International Conferences on the history of food and drink. Our first international conference took place at the University of Adelaide in July 1998; at that time we also hosted a workshop on the history of sugar. In May 1999 we hosted a symposium on Cuisines: Regional, National, Global? and in March-April 2000 on Food in Literature. Our next international conference will take place in July 2001.

Become a Member: The Research Centre seeks members with research interests in the history of food and drink but also people with a general interest in the topic who would like to take part in some of its activities. The price of membership is $10 to cover the costs of postage, printing, stationery, and computing. .