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
Sabores del Pasado: Exploring the Origins of the Miami Cuban Restaurant Culture
Thursday, April 29, 6:00-7:30 pm
Ann Arbor District Library – Downtown Branch
Fourth Floor Meeting Room
343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
This presentation will be in-person and live-streamed on the AADL YouTube Channel.
VIEW THE LIVE STREAM HERE
Register to receive a reminder of the event
Throughout U.S. history, restaurants have served a number of vital roles in immigrant communities: they are places where immigrants find work, reminisce about home, build community, and spur economic growth. South Florida’s Cuban immigrant community provides an excellent example of these phenomena. In fact, restaurants are one of the many factors that have led to the economic and political success of Miami’s Cuban American community. Join us as we explore the origins of Miami’s Cuban restaurant scenes—moving from the streets of Havana to Miami’s Calle Ocho corridor and beyond—as well as how these restaurants have served food with a side of politics over the years.
The presenter’s family ca. 1959 at Rancho Luna restaurant in the Wajay district of Havana, Cuba (from presenter’s personal collection)
About the speaker
Allyson Pérez is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. She holds an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College and an M.A. in Gastronomy: World Food Cultures and Mobility from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. Her research focuses on Cuban restaurants in Miami as community centers where culture, identity, and politics are built among the immigrants who own, run, and patronize them in the past and present, using a mix of ethnographic, oral history, and archival methods.
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.
