CHEW Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Sixteen years ago, former Wisconsinite Shirley Cherkasky called up Terese Allen, a local food writer (and current contributor to Edible Madison), with an idea to start a culinary historians group in Madison similar to the one Cherkasky co-founded in Washington, D.C. The pair gathered some like-minded conspirators, received 501c3 status in 1999 and became affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society as a specialized historical group. The Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW) began meeting officially in 2000 and have had nine to ten meetings a year ever since. Incredibly, every meeting topic since October 2001 is listed on their website, chewwisconsin.com.

“We were really odd back then,” Allen says with a laugh. “People would look at you askance when you said you’re involved in a culinary history group, but now it’s not so strange, with all the interest in food today.”

Topics span the world, but most are Wisconsin-based—supper clubs, fish boils, taverns, beer, corn, dairy, and on and on. Presenters include club members, local artisans, food-focused historians, graduate students. “Really a mix of people coming from different walks of life,” says Allen.

There have been too many presentations for Allen to pick a favorite, but some memorable ones include how the hot dog became a symbol of American culture by Bruce Kraig, author and professor emeritus at Roosevelt University in Chicago; Japanese home traditions by author Sarah Marx Feldner; a history of chocolate and tasting by local artisan Gail Ambrosius; and a history of marshmallows with artisan-made samples by Shirley Cherkasky. Allen says the group has had presentations about cheese “six, maybe eight times.” Admittedly, I expected more than that over the course of 15 years, but hey, there’s more to Wisconsin’s (and the world’s) food history than cheese!

Though the monthly presentations are open to the public, paying members receive extra benefits: deals on special events such as culinary tours, a newsletter, food book lending library, discounts at all Wisconsin historical sites and on membership to the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the highlight of the year, a members-only annual potluck that Allen says is a “tremendous thing,” and understandably so—a potluck is destined to be tremendous among such a group.

CHEW meetings are the first Wednesday of each month, 7:15 p.m., at the Goodman Community Center (unless otherwise posted). Coming up in April, Temple University Professor Judith Fisher will speak on the social and literary life of tea in England, with finger sandwiches and scones to taste, plus teacups and teapots from that time period. May will feature Cynthia Clampitt, author of Midwest Maize, who will speak about the history and culture of corn in the Midwest. Sounds like CHEW’s anniversary year is off to a great start.