Place Settings: Exploring Food and Status in 1820s York
April 2 – June 1
As members of the political and social elite of the Town of York (as Toronto was then called), Judge Campbell and his wife, Hannah, would have eaten and served the finest foods and followed the latest culinary trends. Fashionable dining demonstrated their social status and helped to build relationships or assert social differences. In Upper Canada, this required access to the best local products, imported luxury goods, and a skilled cook.
PLACE SETTINGS looks at the role played by food in a high-status household in 1820s Toronto. What foods were available and who prepared them? Who did the work in the house, and what did they eat? What lessons are there for our food system and food choices today with respect to sustainability, seasonality, and terroir?
“PLACE SETTINGS is presented by Abby Norman, Lydia Treidlinger, and James Mathien as part of the Master of Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.”
