Speaker Series: Carolyn Tillie, Culinary Historian

6pm Pre-Talk Social
7pm Talk

Our lives are structured around eating and are reflected in the diverse food we eat. Food provides not only sustenance, but also a defining sense of culture and identity. Surrealist Salvador Dalí illustrated a cookbook with outrageous and beautiful food presentation ideas, Pablo Picasso liked to cook for his friends, and gastronomic habits of the world's most famous occultist, Aleister Crowley, are legendary. Carolyn Tillie will delve into rituals of food, which create and sustain our worldviews.

6PM Social will feature Carolyn's food-inspired art and jewelry.

Speaker Bio:

Carolyn Tillie is a culinary historian, artist, and curator. She obtained a Certified Master Chef certificate from Epicurean school in Los Angeles, and Level Two certification from the Wine Spirit Education Trust and is the co-founder of the Bay Area Culinary Historians. She also holds an MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing from CSU Long Beach. Combining gastronomic and artistic passions, she specializes in food-themed jewelry and artwork.

After the publication of her first book, Oysters, A Global History, she curated several exhibitions in conjunction with the release of her second book, A Feast for the Eyes: Edible Art from Apple to Zucchini. In 2023 she staged her first solo exhibition in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mixed Emotions.

Along with continuing to create and exhibiting artwork, she is simultaneously working on two culinary biographies: Henri Soulé, the creator of the first and most influential French restaurant in America, New York’s Le Pavilion and Victorian mage, mountaineer and chess maven, Aleister Crowley.