Video
In a selection of talks and interviews, Fabio Parasecoli discusses on camera his research in food studies, food history, and food design, as well his work as a food writer.
Food: A Systemic Approach
Knowing where our food comes from is important to us as consumers and as citizens, allowing to make more careful choices. During this lecture I gave in Warsaw, Poland, I explore different conceptualizations of the global food system, together with the structures, flows, and stakeholders that compose it.
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Food and Film
In this talk I gave for the Sagan National Colloquium at Ohio Wesleyan University I explore the presence and meaning of food in film.
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Design in Global Brooklyn
What do the fashionable food hot spots of Cape Town, Mumbai, Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv have in common? Despite all their differences, consumers in each major city are drawn to a similar atmosphere: rough wooden tables in postindustrial interiors lit by edison bulbs. There, they enjoy single-origin coffee, kombucha, and artisanal bread. This is ‘Global Brooklyn,’ a new transnational aesthetic regime of urban consumption. I discuss it in this short talk at the World Food Design Day 2021, organized by Fork.
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Italy in the Global Food System
On the occasion of the presentation of my book Food (MIT, 2019) at the NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò I examine how Italy and its culinary culture have become part of the global food system, and what that means for the future.
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Al Dente: A History of Food in Italy
Listen to this short chat with author Michele Scicolone about the history of food in Italy.
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Rice in Italian Food Culture
In this video (in English, with Polish subtitles), I explain the recipe for risotto and make it together with Jarek Walczyk, president of the Polish Chef Club, The video is introduced by Toruń University professor and food historian Jarosław Dumanowski. I also discuss how rice became part of Italian food traditions, with influences from the Arabs and the Spaniards.
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Italian Food Cultures and the Environment
In this video, shot at the University of Minnesota in September 23, 2015, I speak about food culture in Italy and its relationship with the environment in conversation with Dan Philippon, Associate Professor of English and co-convener of the IAS Environmental Humanities Collaborative.
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Gnocchi and the Columbian Exchange
In this video (in English, with Polish subtitles), I give the recipes of gnocchi and make it together with Jarek Walczyk, president of the Polish Chef Club, The video is introduced by Toruń University professor and food historian Jarosław Dumanowski. I also discuss how that dish is a symbol for the Columbian Exchange and of how new products from the New World, such as potatoes and tomatoes, became part of Italian food traditions.
Mediterranean Diet, Intangible Heritage and Sustainable Tourism
Can the traditions and and the food productions connected with the Mediterranean Diet – from agriculture to fisheries – be activated to establish sustainable forms of tourism? I discussed the topic in New York, on January 15, 2019, during the Italian Mediterranean Style: One-day symposium at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.
Food Forward: A Geometry conversation
In an ongoing effort to stay current on today’s food landscape, Geometry sat down with me, to discuss the attitudes and behaviors that are shaping our eating and grocery shopping habits. Here are 5 key insights that came out of that conversation.
City Food: Street Food in Warsaw
In this video (you can see an update on the research project and Mateusz Halawa (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences) are conducting in Poland. Here I share some observations on street food in Polish cities, as part of the international research project City Food.
Click here to see the video
Food Chronicles from the Pandemic: Quasi-Poetry Edition
Researching, writing about, and discussing the impact of Covid-19 on our foodways and the food system, as necessary as it is, does not begin to describe the emotional experiences connected with the new normal of social distancing. Food has taken on different meanings....
Food Chronicles from Covid-19 Poland
Photo: courtesy of FOR Solutions Poland is on lockdown, like many other countries in the world. The consequences on the economy, which until recently had shown the highest growth rates in Europe, are devastating. Inevitably, the pandemic has deeply affected the Polish...
Food chronicles from the Covid-19 captivity (1)
A collection of random thoughts that popped up during my power walks, accompanied by more structured reflections and brain flare-ups caused by, or at least correlated to, the ridiculous amount of media we are consuming these days (well, at least I am). As graffiti...
Food (systems) in the time of Coronavirus
What will the global food system look like as the Coronavirus pandemia spreads? What is the impact on stakeholders and infrastructures? It is definitely too early to have answers, but it may be time to start thinking ahead. As we are still experiencing the onset of...
Gentefied: Mexican Food Culture in the US, Gentrification, and Migration
Who doesn’t love tacos? But again, what is a taco? What are our expectations for what has become an American staple? Who determined them? And have all expectations equal importance and visibility on the food scene? These are some of the topics that constitute the...
With my Hands in the Gnocchi Dough: a Cooking Demonstration
When cooking, I often use no recipe. I rarely can tell quantities. I can more or less explain what I am doing, but it is just a way to rationalize and make sense of movements and gestures that I have internalized. Both the embodied and the rational aspects of my...
Traveling in Poland through Place and Time
Poland keeps on providing remarkable surprises. Its food scene is changing surprisingly fast, an impression that was confirmed during my last stay in January. The revaluation of local specialties and the rediscovery of the country’s culinary past creates opportunities...
Food, History, and Time: How the Past is never Past
Thinking about the past helps us define ourselves. And understanding how we locate ourselves in time and how we create connections between our perceptions of the past, our experience in the present, and our expectations of the future, can provide insights on the...
Food, Heritage, and Intellectual Property
My chapter in Food heritage and Nationalism in Europe, edited by Ilaria Porciani, reflects on how connections between tradition, heritage and intellectual property have been activated in the global food market. In the chapter, I also discuss the role and function of...
What garbage are you? Food waste and recycling in Shanghai
As China is changing its recycling policies, cities are trying to adapt to the new regulatory landscape. Community initiatives are considered central in teaching citizens how to rethink their relationship to garbage and food waste, just as their levels of consumption...