The Geography of Groceries

A Tasteful Series of Talks about What Food Really Means

Served by The Savvy Palates

Session1: Cross Country Cooking

Maine kitchens have gone global, due to the inflow of immigrants who bring their familiar ingredients and dishes with them. Southern Italians long ago brought us their “red sauce” restaurants and today we have Ethiopian and Colombian and Indian restaurants. Do immigrant restaurants serve authentic recipes or ones doctored to our taste? We have an explosion of “foreign” food markets and exotic food sections in traditional supermarkets: where they are, and why all this is so predictable. It’s force of habit meets the urge to get away.

Session 2: Spicing Up Your Life

Almost every culture spices up its food, mixing various weird plant parts into distinct flavors, creating blends like baharat, adobo, berbere, ras al hanout, garam masala, hawaij and ajika. For millennia, spices have been deemed so crucial, wars have been fought over them and empires built on them. Why? And where? We will taste a few pre-mixed blends available in Maine.

Session 3: Eating Local in Maine: what does that mean?

Just because we grow it doesn’t make it local. What is actually native to Maine?

What do we owe the Wabanaki people for their foraging and cooking? Hint: clambakes, beanhole suppers, wild rice and fiddleheads). What is an authentically historic Thanksgiving dinner? Hint: probably not turkey. And how a Penobscot tribal chef is making real local food go gourmet.

The SAVVY PALATES

Our content creator:

Sandy Garson, former caterer, food entrepreneur and food historian, has published many articles and two cookbooks, one award winning. After an orthopedic emergency made her close her successful Maine bakery and catering business, she helped establish a restaurant in Ulan Bator, Mongolia; taught cooking in Kathmandu, Nepal; cooked at a Buddhist monastery in Vancouver, Canada, lectured at New York’s Rubin Museum and was a panelist for MOFAD. As Nana Chef, she taught American children to cook. Lately she teaches Maine seniors how food is the secret ingredient of history.

Our props and plans coordinator:

Gael May McKibben spent most of her life in the art world in Maine, both fine art and fine crafts. She has more recently spent many years volunteering at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USM (OLLI) taking classes, planning events, working on committees and producing food history programs with the Savvy Palates

Our tech genie:

Star Pelsue, a retired special education/behavioral therapist, finds joy in reading, cooking, and traveling. Passionate about supporting those on the Spectrum, she has dedicated her career to helping children. Beyond her professional life, Star is an avid reader and traveler. Her commitment to community is evident in volunteering for AARP Maine, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Ronald McDonald House, Victoria Mansion, and more. With a strong belief in giving back, Star Pelsue exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism, making a positive impact in her community.