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 Studies in the Time of Sovranism
When it comes to the current political climate, I am not even remotely qualified to suggest to anybody how and when to work through their own fears, grief, and anger, or how to navigate the future. Personally, I feel I can’t enjoy the luxury of separating theory and...
Eating and Drinking in Global Brooklyn
Why do many restaurants and cafes around the world all look the same? Why they all seem to display similar upcycled materials, mismatched chairs, blackboards, plants, and menus that at times require some effort to interpret - let alone enjoy? Welcome to Global...
A cookbook for those alone and those in love: negotiating gender and class in socialist Poland (part 2)
A cookbooks author’s passion for food and his need to fit in the cultural and political expectation of his times allow us to peek into the material culture of later 1950s and early 1960s socialist Poland, where class differences were a touchy topic. How could a gay...
A cookbook for those alone and those in love: negotiating gender and class in socialist Poland (part 1)
How could a gay man who loved food express his passion for cooking and eating in socialist Poland? Easy: he created a fictional straight couple and had them write a cookbook meant to help singles (and the soon-to-be-married) improve their quality of life, at least in...
Food, sovranism, and Antonio Gramsci
In many countries around the world, farmers frequently support sovranist leaders and governments whose policies actually damage their business. These loyalties fluster political opponents, who often are not able to explain the how and why of these dynamics. Reading...
A declaration from the gastronomy world of Poland
Sometimes doing research and ethnography in a place also means getting involved in the local politics. Even when your research is about food. A group of people connected to the food and hospitality business have decided to get together and do something to show their...
The Invention of Authentic Italian Food
Building on the myths of tradition and authenticity, Italian food has soared worldwide in terms of cultural prestige and commercial success. Representations in media, as well as changing performances of culinary identities both abroad and in Italy, have contributed to...
Cosmopolitan Snacking: Night Street Food in Warsaw
Street food at trendy night markets in large Polish cities reflects the desire to be worldly by eating the world. The line between a party and a meal is blurred. The food is integrated in a sense of fun and conviviality that marks the reclamation of public spaces and...
Food Heritage: Is It There or Do We Make it?
Food heritage inevitably changes. It does not make sense to turn it into a museum piece that does not reflect the reality of the people from which it emerges. Unlike other intangible aspects of culture that can be maintained outside of everyday life, for special...
A poem against Coca-Cola: welcome to 1950 Stalinist Poland
Food and politics are closely connected: that comes as a surprise to nobody. Certain iconic foods (or drinks) have a special place in our collective imagination. Some may be identified with a nation or a social class, others become symbol of economic dynamics that are...