Masculinity and the Making of “Assamese” Pithas

The Gastronomica podcast returns to the air, bringing listeners new interviews with authors from the latest issues of Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies. In this episode, Alyssa James of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective hosts award-winning writer and historian Camille Bégin for a discussion of “Chiang Mai 2015,” a creative nonfiction account of a family trip and a search for sustenance that becomes entangled with questions of illness, climate, and care. In her memoir of failed culinary tourism, a story set against the smoky skies of northern Thailand, Camille asks what it means to travel, to look for meaning, and to eat ethically. In conversation with Alyssa, Camille talks about how the haze shapes her story, reflects on the politics of culinary tourism, and shows how food can become a small anchor in times of crisis. “Chiang Mai 2015” was published in the Spring 2025 issue of Gastronomica (25.1) and is available online here. Camille Bégin is the author of Taste of the Nation: The New Deal Search for America’s Food (University of Illinois Press, 2016). Her personal essays have appeared in Gastronomica, Adelaide Magazine, and the scientific journal, Brain. She is currently writing a food memoir called Crumbs: A Trail of Taste and Illness. Website here Alyssa A. L. James is an anthropologist and postdoctoral scholar at the USC Society of Fellows. Her current book project, Revival Grounds, examines coffee, heritage, and temporality in Martinique. Learn more here Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network here. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Irina D. Mihalache talks with Ozoz Sokoh, creator of Kitchen Butterfly and author of the forthcoming book, Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria (2025). Ozoz reflects on how movement and mobility have shaped her work, recounting her journey from Nigeria to Canada and from the field of geology to food, and the life stations she’s encountered along the way. The conversation centers the process of creative and curatorial work in food history and storytelling, with a focus on how food connects us. This episode concludes with a preview of Ozoz’s debut cookbook. She shares the joys of living in a diverse city while developing recipes, being able to source ingredients not only from Nigerian grocers but from a wide range of multicultural stores, with similar items, and one of the dishes she's most excited about in the book.  Photo by Oluwapelumi Bamidele of Ovia Reflex Photography.

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Dan Bender talks with anthropologist Alyssa Paredes about the role that stories of celebration can play in remembering food history — and in eclipsing alternative narratives about the past. Spotlighting the case of banana ketchup, Alyssa shares competing stories about the production of this popular condiment and explains how it came to be a celebrated symbol of Filipino cultural identity, yet one that overshadows unpalatable realities. Connecting narratives of past and present, Dan and Alyssa discuss the work that stories do and the process of interpreting them in food studies scholarship. Alyssa’s new article, “Banana Ketchup: Food Memory and Forgotten Labor across the Filipino Homeland/Diaspora Divide,” will be published in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2), coming Summer 2024.

What do the stories we tell about food reveal about the moment in which they are written? Gastronomica’s Melissa Fuster is joined by literary scholar turned food studies scholar Julieta Flores Jurado in a conversation about American food writing and how it has changed in recent years. They discuss key shifts in food journalism and the role of the critic, where a focus on pleasure and tastemaking has given way to new emphases on systemic and structural issues, a phenomenon accelerated in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic. Julieta sheds light on how contemporary American food writing differs from prior eras that showcased food as a platform for activism and change and explains what she takes to be distinctive about such writing in the current moment – its revisionary sentiment and the impulse to transform a field. Julieta’s research will be published in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2), coming Summer 2024.

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel talks with Dr. Anne E. McBride and Dr. Tara Scully about how climate change is impacting restaurants, the focus of their collaboration on a new report from the James Beard Foundation and the Global Food Institute, The Climate Reality for Independent Restaurants: A Deep Dive into the Supply Chain and New Economic Realities. Anne and Tara share some of the key research insights and discuss how the James Beard Foundation is mobilizing this knowledge to support chefs, engage lawmakers, and advocate for sustainable food policies and conservation programs. Bringing together food systems research and advocacy, they shed light on the role of chefs in helping to advance climate solutions and highlight how to take action.  Dr. Anne E. McBride is Vice President of Programs at the James Beard Foundation. Dr. Tara Scully is Director of Curriculum Development at the Global Food Institute at The George Washington University.

This episode offers listeners a peek into Gastronomica’s next issue. “Coproducing ‘Planetary’ Eating Futures from Dakar: Dietary Diffusionism and the (Geo)Politics of Nutrition Transition” is co-authored by Branwyn Poleykett, Ndiaga Sall, Fatou Ndow, and Paul Young. Branwyn joins the show and talks with Gastronomica’s Jaclyn Rohel about the concept of the planetary diet and the problems with dietary diffusionism, highlighting the process of localized engagement and what it means of negotiating global food system change. Listeners can learn more and find the article in Gastronomica’s Summer 2024 issue, coming soon.

In this episode, Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti talks with Evelyn Lambeth about the rise of beef consumption and the historical legacies that continue to shape food systems in Australia. Contrasting cattle with kangaroos and wallabies, Evelyn explains how imperial power and regulation have defined notions of what’s edible – and what’s not. Bob and Evelyn discuss what this means for local ecosystems today, and what policy changes and adaptations are needed to support environmentally and culturally sustainable foodways moving forward. Evelyn’s research article will be available in the next issue of Gastronomica (24.2).

This week’s episode looks at lab-grown meat, climate change, and the possible futures of edibility. In conversation with Gastronomica’s Bob Valgenti, Hallam Stevens shares his new article about a mammoth meatball and what motivated him to explore the technological innovation of an un-eatable food. Connecting history, biology, technology, and ethics, Hallam discusses how cellular agriculture shapes the temporality of food and the category of the animal itself, weighing in on what these new forms of value creation mean for sustainability transitions.

In this episode, Gastronomica’s James Farrer talks with sociologist Pooja Kalita about gender and the labor of food provisioning in Assam, India. Taking the case of pithas – the steamed or fried rice cakes and roasted rice flour rolls that have been traditionally prepared by women – Pooja explores how men became involved in making and selling this everyday food item in the urban marketplace. Drawing on her new Gastronomica article, Pooja sheds light on how care work, trust, and authenticity came to be at the center of these efforts to preserve Assamese culture.

Where is Food Studies today, and where might it be tomorrow? Join Alyshia Gálvez in conversation with Jessica Carbone, Irina Mihalache, Krishnendu Ray, and Signe Rousseau of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective as they weigh in on recent developments in Food Studies. They discuss some of their favorite pieces over the last year, reflect on directions in the field, and share what they’d love to see in the journal’s pages in the future.