CHAA Meetings
The Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor generally meet on the third Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. Eastern, September through May. Meeting invitations are sent to members and other interested individuals, but all are welcome to attend. Our monthly talks are hybrid: an in-person audience gathers at the Ann Arbor District Library, and a virtual audience gathers online via the library’s YouTube channel. Please check this website for the date and location and format of each meeting, as these will vary.
Members receive emailed information regarding meetings in advance and a reminder on the day of each meeting.
See upcoming programs and links to past programs.
Next program
Sunday, January 18, 2026, 4:00-5:30 pm
Ann Arbor District Library – Downtown Branch
Fourth Floor Meeting Room
343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
View the event online here.
Register to receive a reminder of the event!
Expat Cookbooks: Expressions of Identity and Community While Living Abroad
Expatriates have a foot in their home country and another foot in the country where they’re (perhaps temporarily) residing. Dan Freidus will discuss items from his collection of over 1,500 expat cookbooks, showing how these books provide snapshots of expat lives and communities. The books featured will include those from military families on overseas bases, missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers, international school PTAs, American women’s clubs, petroleum workers, and other groups, as well as some by individuals.
About the speaker
Dr. Daniel Freidus of Ann Arbor has been an avid book collector and cook for 50 years. He only combined the two interests seriously about 10 years ago, after a cookbook from an Episcopal church in Egypt grabbed his attention. His plan is to find a home for the expat cookbooks in a library where they will be more accessible to scholars in the wide variety of disciplines for which they could be useful.
Dan has spoken about his various book collections to a number of bibliophilic organizations. Originally from the New York area, he had a 20-year career as an Academic Advisor at the Univ. of Michigan.
Join Us!
Our membership year runs from September to September. The annual membership is $25. You can print out the membership form here. We also accept membership dues via credit card (with or without PayPal). Click on the membership link at the top of this page for more information.
The Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor (CHAA), founded in 1983 by Jan Longone and friends, is an organization of scholars, cooks, food writers, nutritionists, collectors, students, and others interested in the study of culinary history and gastronomy.
The mission of the group is to promote the study of culinary history through regular programs open to members and guests, through the quarterly publication Repast, and through exchanges of information with other such organizations.
Monthly meetings of the CHAA are normally held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from September through May on the third Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. (unless otherwise announced).
Membership in CHAA is open to anyone interested in culinary history. Dues are $25.00 for an individual or couple and include a subscription to Repast. The membership year is from September to September. For those who cannot attend meetings, a yearly subscription to Repast is $20.00.
Repast is the official quarterly publication of CHAA. Besides announcements of future meetings and reports of past meetings, it also contains feature articles, book reviews, a calendar of upcoming events of culinary interest, and special events. For information about contributing articles, placing information, announcements, or other regular features, contact the Editor.
