Recipes and Remedies: an Autumn Almanac

Inspired by the intriguing collections of hand-written recipes and remedies in the Wellcome Library, we will be asking if food can cure, rooting through the history of culinary medicines and exploring contemporary scientific and cultural responses to food.

The series will gravitate around a edible experiment where, as the winter evenings draw in, we will challenge a chef to cook up a cure for melancholy, following the suggestions for food, drink and lifestyle in Robert Burton’s seminal 1621 text The Anatomy of Melancholy.

Elsewhere we will be investigating the future of food, the loaded relationships between food, class and morality, and how to navigate a healthy course between food science, social policy and the food industry in the face of ever-changing advice.

There will also be plenty of opportunity to get up close to Wellcome Collection’s unique treasures in sessions exploring topics such as localism and healthy eating then and now, how food remedies have allowed women to challenge male medical orthodoxy, and whether the bloggers of today can find counterparts in the recipe swappers of 400 years ago.

Dates for your almanac:

Gut Reactions. Thursday 15 September 2011Bad Behaviour In The Kitchen. Thursday 29 September 2011Packed Lunch: Breastfeeding. Wednesday 5 October 2011Healthcare and Housewifery. Thursday 6 October 2011

Everyone eats, so come along to share your views and delight your mental palate.