Festival of food will reveal who we are

A programme of events exploring who we are through what we eat launches on 9 November, with opportunities for tasting, making and sharing food in Colchester, Manningtree and Walton

The Hungry Human Project is part of the national Being Human festival of events, which celebrates arts and humanities research.

Running from 9-18 November, the pop-up festival of food will include opportunities to make Tudor-inspired spice mixes, try foods from around the world, and cook with food writer Rebecca May Johnson.

Taking food as the inspiration, the events offer opportunities to get hands on with history, creative writing and art while exploring themes including migration, globalisation and cultural belonging.

Series organiser Dr Jordan Savage, from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies said: “Food is essential to defining and understanding our identities at every level. It shapes where we come from: what is grown, raised or sold where we live. It is intimately entwined with our personal history: what foods were familiar to us that we now miss. Finally, food is fundamental to celebration: in nearly every culture around the world, festivals involve sharing food.”

“The Hungry Human project aims to explore every aspect of the complex stories of food. Who is living in Essex? How did we get here? What do we share?”

The programme kicks off on 9 November with The Rhyme and Reason of Recipes: A Sniff-And-Share Workshop at Queen Street Brewhouse in Colchester. Focusing on the period between the 16th and 18th centuries, the event will explore the flavour profiles of different ingredients and their associations with every-day life, medicinal uses, or special occasions. Visitors will get the chance to create and take-home Tudor-inspired spice mixes.

On 11 November the Sweet Stories: Storytelling and Pastry Tasting for Kids workshop at Manningtree Arts offers interactive children’s poetry, art, and storytelling with drawing, rhyming, and most importantly, eating. It will be followed by a Tastes of Home: Creative Writing Workshop which will use food to tell stories of community, migration, and home.

Also on 11 November is the headline Tasting Menu Open Mic Night and Poetry Reading event at the Lakeside Theatre on the University’s Colchester Campus, with food from The Olive Branch Syrian Café in Wivenhoe.

On 16 November postgraduate students will present their research - in a series of lightning talks - on the representation of foodstuffs and their meanings in literature, culture, and popular media at Queen Street Brewhouse.

Closing the programme on 18 November will be The Sauce Speaks: Cooking, Writing, and Eating with Rebecca May Johnson at The Nose bookshop in Walton-On-The-Naze. The food writer will cook a pasta recipe from her book Small Fires, An Epic In The Kitchen with the scents of garlic, tomato and basil inspiring a creative writing workshop.

All the events are free to attend but booking is required.

Dr Savage added: “As a City of Sanctuary, Colchester is a fundamentally diverse community. The programme offers an opportunity for us to come together to break bread and celebrate everything that we are.”

Header image courtesy of artist Sinjin Li.