Tutti a Tavola: a Talk on Italian Food and Culture

One of the “Out of the Classroom” WHREA Community Lecture Series talks will be repeated this Saturday, June 30 at the Warren Public Library at 2 pm for those who may have missed it.

The lecture, entitled “Tutti a Tavola–the ties that bind Italian food and culture” was first presented at Long Hill Library on Saturday, June 16 where it was very well received. Professoressa Patti Grunther who teaches Italian at Watchung Hills Regional High School spoke for about an hour to 45 local community members who afterwards indulged in Italian goodies donated by local Italian restaurants and delis. The same talk will be repeated and again light refreshments will be served at the event.

"Prof. Grunther," as she is known around the Hills, lived for more than 20 years in Italy, is married to an Italian and is raising two bilingual, bicultural children. Her talk focuses on how Italian culture is tied to and expressed through Italian eating rituals and habits. Prof. Grunther has a master's in applied linguistics and her research and M.A. thesis delved into how Italian and American caregivers diversely indoctrinate their children into their cultures through the language they use and by their relationships to food.

Much of the lecture consists of a series of amusing stories that illustrate how and why Italians eat the way they do and how this contrasts with American culinary practices.