All lectures begin on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm in MSU Billings Library Room 148. All programs are free and open to the public.
»» Read Presenters' Bios »» Get Lecture Series Poster
March 15, 2016
"Americans at the Table: The Political Language of Food"
Dr. Sam Boerboom, MSU Billings Department of Communication and Theatre
Program Description: In his lecture, Dr. Boerboom will discuss his recent book The Political Language of Food. In addition, he will address the history of deceptive food language and discuss how it applies to the science and marketing of weight loss regimens.
March 22, 2015
"Pungent but Problematic: Media and Food Culture"
Dr. Melissa Boehm, MSU Billings Department of Communication and Theatre
Program Description: What happens when foods traditionally shared among the poor become popular among the wealthy? This presentation will focus on media coverage of wild leeks or “ramps” which had historically been used as early spring sustenance by foragers throughout the Appalachian region of the eastern US. In the 1990s, Martha Stewart introduced her readers and viewers to the pungent plant that is sometimes described as a cross between garlic and onions. No longer known as stinky food for stinky people, ramps became a sought-after item for middle-class shoppers at farmer’s markets in New York City.
March 29, 2016
"Culinary Chemistry: A Campus Cuisine Cook-off"
Dr. Matt Queen & Michele McMullen, Registered Dietitian, MSU Billings Biological & Physical Sciences Department
Program Description: Local Billings chefs will face off in a no-holds-barred Iron Chef-style cook-off while MSUB chemistry professor Queen and dietitian McMullen explain the molecular magic.
»» Dr. Queen/Ms. McMullen Lecture
April 5, 2016
"Food Memories"
Seabring Davis, Cookbook author, Founding editor of Western Art & Architecture, Former editor of Big Sky Journal
Program Description: The recipes that travel with each of us through our lives are like time stamps. Food can connect us to the nostalgia of a recipe passed down from grandmothers, back to an unforgettable meal shared with friends, into history and culture of the world or to our present day dinner tables. Travel with food writer, Seabring Davis, from Montana to memory, marking the ways in which food imprints on our minds and our palettes. Davis is the author of A Taste of Montana: Recipes from Big Sky Country (2015 High Plains Book Award Culinary winner) and also of A Montana Table: Recipes from Chico Hot Springs Resort.
April 12, 2016
"Native Foods"
Reno Charette, MSUB Director of American Indian Outreach
April 19, 2016
"On the Menu: What Billings Restaurants Served in Years Gone By"
Stella Fong, Wine and food educator, writer, & community volunteer
Program Description: The food served in the Magic City's restaurants has evolved since the city's founding in 1882. The arrival of people from around the world demanded diverse offerings and so the railroad brought in oysters, salmon and European cheeses and cured meats. The every day eateries created dishes that reminded them of home such as chop suey and egg foo young, milk toast and meatballs and spaghetti. But always a good steak could be found in the largest city in Montana.
