You are what you ate
20 July 2010
You are what you ate
Saturday 24 July, 10.00-17.00
Pontefract Castle, Castle Chain, Pontefract, WF8 1QH
FREE EVENT
The event is part of 'You are what you ate: food lessons from the past', a three-year research project funded by a Society Award from the Wellcome Trust. On Saturday 24 July, visitors to the castle will be invited to taste portions of medieval food cooked on the day, and to learn about nutrition and diets then and now.
The aim is to explore how food affected our ancestors as well as how we can learn from the past to improve our health and engage with 21st-century challenges such as obesity.
Dr Iona McCleery, a lecturer in medieval history at the University of Leeds and leader of the project said: "This project will completely transform public perceptions of the past. We'll be looking at things like how fruit and vegetables were at one time considered unhealthy and how we used to have a much spicier diet than we do now."
The event is designed to challenge a whole array of attitudes to both medieval and modern day lifestyle.
Dr McCleery explains: "Members of the public often believe that supermarket smoothies are healthy, that CSI-type forensic techniques can analyse skeletons instantly and that medieval people led short, unhappy lives with no connection to the modern world and no opportunities for entertainment or good health."
Dr McCLeery is collaborating with Professor Janet Cade from the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, Professor Gary Williamson from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, Jo Buckberry at the University of Bradford and Vicky Shearman, Senior Cultural Officer of Wakefield Council.
The 'You are what you ate' project is being undertaken in collaboration with archaeological scientists at the University of Bradford and Wakefield Council, and will present archaeological, visual and textual evidence from the medieval and early-modern periods to initiate debate and reflection on eating behaviours.
Starting in January, McCleery and her colleagues will begin visiting schools in the Wakefield region and hope to take their message to around 6000 school children in total. A series of exhibition and stalls at street festivals are also planned. The aim is to encourage people who wouldn't usually go into museums to think about how the past affects their own eating habits.
The first year of the project will take the theme 'Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice', exploring the relationships between taste, health, appearance, social status, cultural identity and cost. The theme for the second year will be 'The Dark Side of Eating' - focusing on nutritional disease, alcoholism and obesity as well as lifestyle choices, such as vegetarianism and fasting.
You can also catch 'You are what you ate' this September at the York Festival of Food and Drink, and at the Food, Drink and Rhubarb festival in Wakefield in February 2011.
Image: Pontefract Castle by Jono Brennan on Flickr
