In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, we delight in serving up Columbia's own moveable feast - an intellectual compilation of history, recipes, chefs, and even food startups coming out of Columbia University.
Cooking Hitler's Goose
From Columbia News:
The year was 1942, and a committee of Columbia faculty wives supported the war effort by compiling recipes from soups and canapés to hot puddings and frozen desserts. Published by Columbia University Press, the cookbook raised money for the University Committee for War Relief. All proceeds for the book, as the Columbia Spectator noted at the time, went “to help cook Hitler’s goose.”
The first recipe in the 1948 edition, for vegetable soup, runs two full pages and is notable for its extraordinary level of detail, including this: “Your vegetables should not all be dumped in at once. The potatoes, for example, will cook more quickly than the carrots.” The contributor? Eisenhower, former supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe, showing his flair for logistics and planning.
Columbia Chefs
A Columbia degree can be a recipe for success - literally.
The late Julia Child has called Jacques Pepin '70GS the best chef in America. Writing about food and its many connections to civilization makes him an intellectual powerhouse around cultural studies and history, as well as a culinary super-star. Watch his address as graduation speaker to General Studies' class of 2010
Find more in Barnard's "Cornucopia of Culinary Talent", and let us know your own favorite Columbia chef in the comments section.
Sociology Professor on Thanksgiving
From Columbia News:
Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson is a Columbia sociologist who thinks and writes a lot about food. In her 2014 book, Word of Mouth: What We Talk About When We Talk About Food, Ferguson argues that today, conversation about food can even trump its consumption. We take pictures of it, we plan vacations around it, and we spend countless hours watching others prepare it. Ferguson, who has written extensively about French literature and culture, was definitely on to something when she decided to focus in her recent book on the central role of food in 21st century global culture. Her interest in what her sociology department webpage calls “cuisinology” makes her the perfect person to talk about the one American holiday that celebrates food and its consumption like no other – Thanksgiving. Read more.
Home for the holidays
Every year Columbia Dining hosts a Thanksgiving feast for 1,000 students who do not go home for the holiday, but can still celebrate with their Columbia family. A traditional dinner of turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings is served family style in John Jay Dining Hall, where the menu includes vegan, vegetarian, halal and kosher options. Last year, there was a special focus on community. Cards at each place setting outlined Columbia Community Principles of responsibility, integrity and acceptance of a diversity of opinion and also invited students to write down why they are thankful. For every card returned, the University donated money to two local soup kitchens.