Speaker: Mark Kurlansky, New York

Sunday, May 4, 2025

(Note: Date changed to first Sunday because the second Sunday is Mothers Day.)

2:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Zoom Meeting)

(Members will receive a link and passcode.)

SPEAKER BIO:

Mark Kurlansky was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He has written 40 books and has been translated into 35 languages. His books include non-fiction, children’s books, young adult books, one translation of a classic French novel, and six books of fiction.

He has written numerous books on food history including Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Salt: A World History, and The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. In 2024, People Magazine selected Salt as one of the 15 best books of the 21st century. Mark has received a number of awards for food writing including the James Beard Award, the Glenfiddick award, Bon Apetit’s Food Writer of the Year, and other awards such as the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. His newest book, Cheesecake, is the story of how the attempt to introduce Cato’s ancient Roman cheesecake—the oldest written recipe—to a single Manhattan block disrupts the neighborhood.

Before turning to journalism, Mark worked in New York as a playwright, having a number of off-off Broadway productions. He has taught and guest lectured all over the world.

TALK DESCRIPTION:

Mark Kurlansky’s talk will be about the history of cheesecake from Cato’s Roman recipe—the oldest written recipe, to Greeks, to central Europe, to British cheesecake introduced to the U.S., to the history of New York cheesecake, to a few modern developments in Basque country and Japan.