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
For CHAA Members Only
Sunday, July 13, 2025, 4-7 p.m.
Ladies Literary Club, 218 N Washington, Ypsilanti, MI
Summer Participatory Meal: Food from the ‘Stans
“Food from the ‘Stans” refers to the seven contiguous countries in Central Asia ending in the syllable “stan”: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. (The suffix “stan” is Persian and Urdu for “place of,” or “where one stands,” directly related to the English word “stand”.) The food is varied, colorful and tasty. Some areas, especially the mountainous ones, still feature meat, dairy, and preserved foods that reflect a nomadic heritage, while grain-growing lands gave rise to dishes of pasta noodles and stuffed flatbreads. Spicy rice pilafs became most elaborate in the cities of the classical Persian, Muslim, and Mughal eras. The region is traversed by the Silk Roads, a trade network that fostered cultural exchanges from about 200 BCE until the mid-1400s. Thus, while each of the seven countries has a distinctive culinary history of its own, the imprint of geography, commerce, and conquest has also left them with many shared features of culture and cuisine.
Registration information and more details here.
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.