Oxford Food Symposium 2023: Food Rules & Rituals - online version

Organiser's description

While rules and rituals provide emotional reassurance in times of trouble, fear of famine – never far from human consciousness – is traditionally addressed by imposing rules on what, how, and when we put food in our mouths. Some of these traditions survive in the form of superstition: eating a lucky meal before a football match; choosing a particular meal before embarking on a risky undertaking; blessing bread or marking it with a cross before placing it in the oven; muttering an apology after dropping a grain of rice; setting an empty chair at table for the unexpected guest.

Read more here. The symposium runs from 7-9 July 2023, and from 16-30 July 2023 online.