Inventing Tradition: good Maine food
Registration for the dinner is now full, please call 207-773-5051 to be added to the waiting list
Host Committee
- Jill and Sheldon Goldthwait
- Barbara Goodbody
- Julianne and John Opperman
- Hon. Chellie Pingree and Donald Sussman
- Tamara Risser and Erik C. Jorgensen
- Ann Waldron
- Margaret and Peter Webster
- Judy and Douglas Woodbury
Enjoy a delicious dinner of good Maine food while you learn from food historian Sandy Oliver and Maine historian Tad Baker how food, fiction and history intertwine—in Kenneth Roberts’ writing, and in Good Maine Food, the recently reissued classic of Maine cookery.
When Kenneth Roberts wrote about the food of his childhood in Trending into Maine, it kicked up a storm of recipes and recollections from readers. Roberts asked his niece and secretary, Marjorie Mosser, to assemble a cookbook of traditional Maine recipes, and Good Maine Food is the result. Roberts’ personal favorites are included along with those of his readers, occasionally seasoned by his characteristically pungent comments.
First published in 1939, with each new edition Good Maine Food expanded to include regional dishes from around the country, recipes Roberts picked up during his time in Italy, and recipes that Mosser thought everyone should have. A sometimes wild mix of trendy, traditional, and the tried and true, Good Maine Food provides a wonderful lens on Maine’s history and on the work of Roberts, a bestselling writer during the first half of the 20th century, known for his entertaining historical fiction often set in Maine. The 2010 edition, published by Down East, contains an introduction by Sandy Oliver.
Tickets are $85 apiece or a table for 8 for $680. To reserve an entire table please call Karen Myrick at 207.773.5051. The price includes a four course dinner of good Maine food, including wine, interspersed with commentary by Sandy Oliver. Historian Tad Baker will give a short introductory overview about Kenneth Roberts.
Hors d’oeuvres will be served beginning at 6:30 pm and a cash bar will be available. Dinner will begin at 7:15 pm.
Copies of Good Maine Food will be available for sale.
About Maine Humanities Council
The Maine Humanities Council is an independent, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the people of Maine deepen their understanding of themselves, their communities, and the world. The Council works with volunteer literacy programs, educators, school systems and libraries to promote the power and pleasure of ideas through its programming; the Council also provides grants supporting projects in community history, exhibits, workshops and other areas of study. Your generous sponsorship will help MHC serve thousands of Maine residents improve their reading skills, become better teachers and engage in civil discourse about the myriad of challenges we face today.
