Story > About Fran Osseo-Asare > Food Writing and the Sociology of Food

Writing about food and/or culture

• Books:
  • Food Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa (Greenwood Press), 2005
  • A Good Soup Attracts Chairs: A First African Cookbook for American Kids (Pelican Publishing Company) 1993, HB, 2001, PB
  • A New Land to Live In (Intervarsity Press), 1977
• Magazines:
  • "We Eat First With Our Eyes: On Ghanaian Cuisine," Gastronomica, 2, no. 1(winter 2002), pp.49-57
• Encyclopedia entries:
  • "Food and Foodways" in Dennis Hickey, ed. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Popular Cultures, vol 5, Sub-Saharan Africa (series editor Gary Hoppenstand), 2007 (forthcoming)
  • "Sub-Saharan Africa" in Francine Segan, ed., Encyclopedia of Entertaining Through History and Culture (Greenwood), 2008 (forthcoming)
• Reviews:
  • Review of Karen Flynn's Culture and Survival in an African City, in Food, Culture and Society, vol. 9, July 2006.
  • See BetumiBlog [www.betumiblog.blogspot.com] for frequent online book reviews
• Presentations:
  • Upcoming:
  • "The Good Soup Comes from the Good Earth: Cooking of Ghana, Gateway to West Africa," (IACP) Intl. Assoc. of Culinary Professionals national conference, Chicago, April, 2007
  • "Writing About Food" Nittany Valley Writers Network featured speaker, May 8, 2007, Schlow Library, State College, PA
  • Selected presentations
  • "Asanka to Maggi Cubes: Ghanaian Cookbooks as Sources for African Food History," African Studies Association paper, November 19, 2006, San Francisco (upcoming)
  • "Sub-Saharan African Cuisine and Western Prceptions." Paper delivered at joint meeting of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS), Boston, June 8, 2006 (see www.betumi.com for link to slides from presentation)
  • Illustrated lecture and tasting buffet on Ghanaian food history and culture, Culinary Historians of New York, Feb., 2005
  • "Basics and Beyond: Teaching Kids to Cook, Taste and Experience New Cultures Through Food" (IACP--Intl. Assoc. of Culinary Professionals--national conference, Portland, April, 1998)
  • "Sankofa: A Culinary Tour of Africa (with Jessica Harris), IACP conference, Chicago, 1997
  • Selected classes
  • PA/AESEDA class visiting lecturer/cooking class, Penn State University, Oct.19, 2006
  • State College Area High School ESL class visiting lecturer/cooking class, Oct.24, 2006
  • Mt. Nittany Middle School visiting lecturer/cooking class, Nov. 2, 2006
  • Visiting Chef and Instructor,West African Cooking Class, Rodale Test Kitchen, March 13, 1998, Emmaus, PA
  • 'World Class Cuisines" (cooking class) Instructor, State College Area Community Education Class, Pennsylvania USA, Fall 1997 (West African cooking)
  • Alumni Vacation School Faculty member, summer 1997, Penn State ("A Taste of Africa")

« Back to About Fran Osseo-Asare