BU MET Gastronomy Director Megan Elias Guests on the BBC’s The Food Chain
Dr. Megan Elias, associate professor of the practice and director of MET’s Gastronomy programs, was a featured guest on the BBC podcast The Food Chain. In the episode “The Recipe Collectors,” released March 3, 2022, Dr. Elias—a cultural historian who collects recipes—joins fellow preservationists from Ghana and India to dig into the cultural value of […]
Gastronomy Podcast Opens New Ears to Food Studies
On the podcast Food &, students, faculty, and alumni of the Gastronomy & Food Studies Programs at BU’s Metropolitan College come together to tell stories that illustrate the depth and breadth of food studies, as well as the numerous possibilities the academic field affords. MLA in Gastronomy students Kenrick Mercado and Elizabeth Weiler, who are […]
The Key to Enjoying an Oreo? Nostalgia, According to Gastronomy Director
Popular Mechanics was in search of a quantifiable answer to an uncommon question: What makes Oreos delicious? Students in the BU MET Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy program know that food is both a hard science and a social one, so perhaps it was little surprise when Dr. Megan Elias, who directs the program, […]
Home Economics Historian Elias Weighs in Amid Betty Crocker Controversy
When the Boston Globe investigated a new marketing initiative by Betty Crocker, purportedly designed to encourage women in STEM fields by reconceiving of the kitchen as a home for culinary experimentation, it brought new scrutiny to archaic ideas about gender roles and the kitchen. As the author of “Stir It Up: Home Economics in American […]
Follow the Bread Crumbs: How an 1800s Black Inventor Kickstarted the Industrial Kitchen
A recent Forbes article delved into the life of trailblazing 19th century Black inventor Joseph Lee, who was born enslaved in South Carolina and served as a Civil War blacksmith before finding entrepreneurial success in and around Boston as a baker, caterer, and hotelier around the turn of the century. After the war, Lee traveled […]
How Noodles, Pomegranates Feed Culinary New Year Traditions
A recent USA Today story investigating foods traditionally eaten to celebrate the New Year sought the expertise of MET Director of Gastronomy Megan Elias. As Elias explained, in Japanese and Chinese cultures, noodles, given their length, can symbolize long life and good luck. Because of this, noodles are often enjoyed as the calendar turns to […]
Pandemic’s Most Impacted Meal? Lunch, Says MET Food Historian
As a historian, MET Director of Gastronomy Megan Elias takes the long view of the way society interacts with food. The author and associate professor of the practice put the midday meal in focus with her 2014 tome, Lunch: A History, and was recently interviewed by Quartz to shed light on how she thinks the […]
Cooking Connects Us While Stuck at Home, Says MET Professor Elias
As people in Massachusetts—and around the world—hunker down in their homes to help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19, more people are connecting to the elemental comforts of food. In the Daily Free Press article “Staying at home leaves room to improve diets,” Boston University faculty offer insight on how food unites us, and provide advice […]
Noodles on New Year’s? Gastronomy’s Megan Elias Mentioned on FOX 5
Dr. Megan Elias, associate professor of the practice and director of MET’s Gastronomy programs, weighed in on a FOX 5 New York piece, “New Year’s Day superstitions: Eating black-eyed peas, sauerkraut and donuts, avoiding laundry.” In the article, which highlights a wide variety of New Year culinary customs, Elias noted that noodles are considered to […]
Gastronomy Director Megan Elias Dishes on the Evolution of the Business Lunch
Dr. Megan Elias, associate professor of the practice and director of MET’s Gastronomy program, was quoted in an article appearing on NPR’s The Salt and Wisconsin Public Radio. Entitled “Working In While Eating Out: The Evolution of Doing Business While Dining,” the article examines how eating and working are entwined in our culture—and have been […]