Food, Memory and Meaning
The stories behind the food we remember most.
A guided exploration of the recipes, meals, traditions and memories that connect us to the people and places we love.
Six weeks • Online or in person
A guided exploration of the recipes, meals, traditions and memories that connect us to the people and places we love.
Six weeks • Online or in person
Maybe you have a recipe box full of stories you haven't written down. Maybe there's a recipe your mother made that exists only in your memory.
- A holiday meal that meant everything.
- A dish your grandmother taught you to make.
- The smell of something cooking that instantly takes you back to childhood.
- A recipe scribbled on an old piece of paper.
- A meal that marked a celebration.
- Or maybe there are recipes everyone assumes will always be around—but nobody has written down the stories behind them.
Food is rarely just food.
- It's memory.
- It's family.
- It's culture.
- It's celebration.
- It's comfort.
- It's connection.
And those stories deserve to be preserved.
What We'll Explore:
Over six weeks, we'll use food as a doorway into your life stories.
We'll explore memories connected to:
You'll receive prompts to help you uncover the stories behind the food. You'll write.
You'll reflect. You'll share through Story Circle. And you'll hear other people's stories—which may unlock memories of your own.
This isn't a cooking class
And you don't need to be a great cook.
You don't even need a collection of treasured recipes.
You simply need memories.
Because we're interested in the stories behind the food, not whether you can make the perfect pie.
Over six weeks, we'll use food as a doorway into your life stories.
We'll explore memories connected to:
- family meals
- recipes and recipe traditions
- celebrations
- holidays
- childhood
- people we've loved and lost
- places we've lived
- changing family traditions
- food that represents who we are
- the meaning behind the meals we remember
You'll receive prompts to help you uncover the stories behind the food. You'll write.
You'll reflect. You'll share through Story Circle. And you'll hear other people's stories—which may unlock memories of your own.
This isn't a cooking class
And you don't need to be a great cook.
You don't even need a collection of treasured recipes.
You simply need memories.
Because we're interested in the stories behind the food, not whether you can make the perfect pie.
And There's something else you'll begin creating.
As you explore your food memories, we'll also look at how you might organize the recipes and stories you've uncovered into a family legacy recipe book.
Not just:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
Bake at 350°.
But:
You may leave with more than just recipes.
You may rediscover:
And perhaps the beginnings of something your family can treasure for generations.A recipe book with the memories still attached.
As you explore your food memories, we'll also look at how you might organize the recipes and stories you've uncovered into a family legacy recipe book.
Not just:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
Bake at 350°.
But:
- Who made it?
- Where did the recipe come from?
- When did your family make it?
- Who was sitting around the table?
- What did it mean?
You may leave with more than just recipes.
You may rediscover:
- people you haven't thought about in years.
- places you can still picture.
- traditions you thought you'd forgotten.
- stories your family doesn't know.
And perhaps the beginnings of something your family can treasure for generations.A recipe book with the memories still attached.
Hello! I'm Angie, Your Facilitator For This Class
|
As a Birren Center trained Guided Autobiography Facilitator, when I first heard about food-based autobiographical writing, I was intrigued. I couldn't think of a single food-related story that I could possibly write about, but decided to give it the "Old College try" and see what might come of it.
I couldn't be more glad that I did because I was surprised by all the stories that flowed out of me from reading the themed prompting questions and hearing other's stories! Sometimes food was the main character and other times it played only a minor supporting role but it was an interesting new way to remember my past through a different lens. It didn't take long for my Certified Legacy Specialist brain to kick in and I just had to start integrating this into a legacy project of some kind. A Legacy Recipe Story Book! Yes, that's just what this class needed. So for those that want to take it one step farther, I included what equates to another class within this one with all of the steps to create the foundation for your own Legacy Recipe Story Book / Magazine. I hope you'll join me for a 6 week adventure of Food, Memory and Meaning |
This Workshop Is For You If.....
Your recipes tell a story.Let's make sure the stories don't get lost.
- Food is connected to important memories in your life.
- You have family recipes you want to preserve.
- You want your children or grandchildren to know the stories behind your family's food traditions.
- You've lost someone whose recipes or cooking are part of your memories.
- You enjoy hearing other people's stories.
- You want a creative way to explore your own life.
- You'd love to create a family legacy recipe book but don't know where to start.
Your recipes tell a story.Let's make sure the stories don't get lost.
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
Week One: Introduction
This lesson will include an intro to sensory writing, examples and getting to know the group through writing exercises.
Week Two: The Flavor of Home - Belonging and Rootedness
What tastes like "home" to you? This theme explores the deep connection between food and our sense of belonging, examining how certain flavors, dishes, and eating rituals anchor us to place, culture, and identity.
Week Three: Breaking Bread Together Food and Human Connection
Food is fundamentally social. This theme examines the relational aspects of eating: the meals shared, the tables gathered around, the conversations over coffee, potlucks and dinner parties, the restaurant dates and family celebrations.
Week Four: Seasons of the Appetite - Food Across the Life Cycle
Our relationship with food changes as we age. This theme traces the evolution of appetite, taste, and eating practices across the lifespan, from the first foods of infancy through childhood pickiness, teenage appetites, young adult experimentation, midlife changes, and elder eating.
Week Five: Desire, Deprivation, and Abundance
Food carries moral weight in our culture. This theme explores the emotional and psychological territory of desire, denial, guilt, pleasure, and abundance around eating.
Week Six: The Teacher in the Kitchen - Learning, Mastery, and Food Knowledge
Behind every good cook lies a story of learning. This theme explores food as a site of education, skill development, failure, and mastery.
BONUSES
*Seven Phases of preparations for creating your own Legacy Recipe Book
*Sensory Writing Tips
*Exercises and Prompts to Help With Memory Recollection
*Food Memory Writing Craft Tips
*Family Interviewing Guide
*Recipe Contribution Guide
This lesson will include an intro to sensory writing, examples and getting to know the group through writing exercises.
Week Two: The Flavor of Home - Belonging and Rootedness
What tastes like "home" to you? This theme explores the deep connection between food and our sense of belonging, examining how certain flavors, dishes, and eating rituals anchor us to place, culture, and identity.
Week Three: Breaking Bread Together Food and Human Connection
Food is fundamentally social. This theme examines the relational aspects of eating: the meals shared, the tables gathered around, the conversations over coffee, potlucks and dinner parties, the restaurant dates and family celebrations.
Week Four: Seasons of the Appetite - Food Across the Life Cycle
Our relationship with food changes as we age. This theme traces the evolution of appetite, taste, and eating practices across the lifespan, from the first foods of infancy through childhood pickiness, teenage appetites, young adult experimentation, midlife changes, and elder eating.
Week Five: Desire, Deprivation, and Abundance
Food carries moral weight in our culture. This theme explores the emotional and psychological territory of desire, denial, guilt, pleasure, and abundance around eating.
Week Six: The Teacher in the Kitchen - Learning, Mastery, and Food Knowledge
Behind every good cook lies a story of learning. This theme explores food as a site of education, skill development, failure, and mastery.
BONUSES
*Seven Phases of preparations for creating your own Legacy Recipe Book
*Sensory Writing Tips
*Exercises and Prompts to Help With Memory Recollection
*Food Memory Writing Craft Tips
*Family Interviewing Guide
*Recipe Contribution Guide
