Claudia Kousoulas and Ellen Letourneau will share stories from their book, A Culinary History of Montgomery County, MD, that explore local historical foodways—how we grow, sell, prepare, and serve food. Recipes, cookbooks, what we ate and how we ate reveal new understandings of community and culture. From the varied diet of Indigenous peoples to our current industrialized, global food chain, the book traces how food has shaped the county. This talk and slide presentation particularly explores cookbooks written a generation apart by Elizabeth Ellicott Lea and Maria Brooke Watkins, and how each collection of recipes reflects life in Montgomery County in their times.

Foodie Fridays, organized by Montgomery Parks Community Garden Program, is a monthly speaker series from June to September that highlights food-related topics in Montgomery County.

Events are held on the fourth Friday of the month, from 6:30-8:30pm. Attendees can check in and enjoy refreshments from 6:30-7:00pm. Speakers begin promptly at 7:00pm and a Q&A follows the presentations.