"Medieval Round Table with Prof. Paul Freedman + Chef David de Coca
About this Event
A discussion between Paul Freedman, a specialist in the history of food, and Chef David de Coca, owner of Sa Llagosta on the island of Menorca, and an expert on cooking historical dishes, on the intersection between food history and food preparation. What are the rewards of cooking historical recipes? What are the challenges of presenting them to a contemporary audience? How can academic research help chefs in presenting traditional cuisine? How can chefs help historians think about the history of food?
Chef David de Coca is a Spanish chef and the creative force behind Sa Llagosta, a renowned seafood restaurant in the port town of Fornells, Menorca (Spain). With a culinary philosophy centered on seasonality, sustainability, and simplicity, Chef de Coca has earned international recognition for reinterpreting regional recipes with a contemporary and ethnographic sensibility. Over the years, he has collaborated with internationally acclaimed chefs, including Michelin-starred figures, and his work has been featured in both national and international media. Passionate about culinary heritage and cultural storytelling, he frequently participates in public-facing events that explore the intersection of tradition, innovation, and identity through food.
Professor Paul Freedman specializes in medieval social history, the history of Catalonia, comparative studies of the peasantry, trade in luxury products, and the history of cuisine. His study of Catalan attitudes toward its medieval history is the theme of The Splendor and Opulence of the Past (2023) which is centered on a group of clerics in the eighteenth century who wanted to rescue the memory of Catalonia’s past during the period of Spanish, Bourbon hegemony, and also advocated a program of modernization of the Catalan economy that would lead Spain into closer relations to the European culture of secular progress. Additional books on food by Professor Freedman include Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination, American Cuisine and How it Got this Way, and Why Food Matters.
This program is free and open to the public as well as to attendees of the Haskins Society Conference. Please RSVP here to confirm your attendance.
For general directions to the program venue of Lakeside Pavilion, please CLICK HERE.
For transportation, parking, and walking directions on campus to Lakeside Pavilion, please CLICK HERE.
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