CRAFT Launches New Conversation Series
The Center for Regional Agricultural, Food, and Transformation (aka CRAFT) is always cooking up something interesting here at Chatham. This month, students in the Master of Food Studies program are facilitating The Food Lovers Elective, a conversation series featuring keynote speakers focused on food beyond the dinner table. We spoke with students Ani Steele MAFS ‘22 and Frankie Williams MAFS ‘22 to learn a little bit more about this exciting series.
Ani Steele (she/her/hers), MAFS ‘22
CRAFT Student Outreach & Research Coordinator
Frankie Williams (she/her/hers), MAFS ‘22
CRAFT Workshop Assistant
What is the series and how did it come about?
Ani: As the Student Outreach and Research Coordinator, I’ve just been really trying to think about how CRAFT can engage with the Chatham community as a whole. At first, I thought of doing a podcast and it eventually shifted to this conversation series. I really wanted to give students a chance to pair what they’re learning in class with someone who is doing this in real life and get a professional experience in an engaging way. So, we’re hosting three segments; Cheers Queers, Foodiemation, and Culinary Tourism each with a guest speaker who is a professional in some aspect of the food world. It’s a really good way of showing how food is more than just the plate you eat every day; food is interwoven into our lives in so many different ways.
What’s the goal for this new series?
Frankie: One of the biggest takeaways from my program at Chatham has been how much food is a part of our daily lives and how it connects us in so many different ways. With this conversation series, we’ll get to explore more of the avenues through which we connect with food.
A: One thing that I really love about food is that it gives you the opportunity to create and build upon community. I really hope that this series can help build community among all three Chatham campuses where we are all coming to the table and enjoying this “food” together.
Any segment that you’re particularly excited about?
F: I’m excited for Foodiemation, the segment I’m moderating. My goal with the segment’s speaker, Sidney Clifton, Senior VP of Animation and Mixed Media of Jim Henson Company, is to get into the animator’s mind on how they make animated food appear so appetizing. I’m excited about both the conversation we’re going to have and bringing a black female professional in a high position into our series. However, if I had to choose one conversation series to attend, I would suggest the final one. We are going to wrap up everything we talked about and have some cocktail recipes and appetizers to celebrate the conversations we’ve had throughout the series.
A: I would agree, it will be a nice review and a nice opportunity for the audience to interact with the student moderators. It will be like having our food and eating it too!
What’s next for the conversation series?
A: We’re hoping to do this three times a year. Something we’re looking to do is open it up to students of all majors, undergrad and graduate, to propose topics related to food that they want to explore. We want to make sure it is inclusive and accessible to all students. If any students are currently interested, they can send an email to us here at CRAFT.
The Food Lovers Elective: A CRAFT Conversation Series
Friday, March 5th: Cheers, Queers: Exploring LGBTQ+ Spaces in the Food System
Join Ralph Morrow and Darin Smith, owners of 5801 Video Lounge as they discuss queer spaces in food and nightlife in Pittsburgh.
Friday, March 12th: Foodiemation: The Intersection of Animation and Food
Join Sidney Clifton, Senior VP of Animation and Mixed Media of Jim Henson Company as she speaks on her experience with animation and food.
Friday, March 19th: Taste of Place: A Discussion on Culinary Tourism
Join in on the conversation with Rebecca Mackenzie, the CEO and President of the Culinary Tourism Alliance in Ontario, Canada.
Friday, March 26th: Stop and Smell the Rose´: Sipping and Debriefing our Inaugural Series
Join the student moderators from the series to snack, drink, and recap CRAFT’s first conversation series!