Scottish Alliance for Food

 

Date & Time: Tuesday 29th April 2025, 1pm

Join us to hear from Dr Lindsay Middleton and Dr Ana Tominc about using different media to communicate about food. Lindsay will be speaking about Scottish food heritage and using podcasts as a tool for education and communication, while Ana will be introducing her new book "Communicating Scotland through Food" and engaging with food through social media. 

Register now for free

Dr Ana Tominc: Communicating Scotland through Food  

Dr Ana Tominc is Reader in Media and Communications, and currently the Associate Head of Division of Media, Communications and Performing Arts at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Ana has been interested in food culture and communication since her PhD (Lancaster, 2012) where she studied culinary discourse on the case of Jamie Oliver. Later, she was involved in the development of and teaching the MSc Gastronomy degree at QMU, where she taught food, communication and culture between 2014-23. She is interested in and has published research on discourse, identity and food in the UK and Europe wider. She is the founder and chair of the biennial Conference on Food and Communication and has recently set up, together with Professor Ashli Stokes, a new book series Food, Media, and Communication at Peter Lang. Her edited collection “Food and Cooking on early TV in Europe” (Routledge, 2022) was shortlisted for Outstanding Achievements Award 2023 by MeCCSA. During 2022-25, she was President of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS). 

This talk, which is based on the topic of the forthcoming edited collection with the same title (Peter Lang, with Ashli Stokes and Maryam Ishaq), will discuss how food constructs, supports or challenges our ideas of a nation and national identity. In particular, the talk will focus on Scotland from devolution to today to discuss various narratives around food in various contexts, from tourism to politics and education. 

 

Dr Lindsay Middleton, Communicating Food: Scottish Food, History, and Media  

Dr Lindsay Middleton is a literary historian of nineteenth-century food writing, and Knowledge Exchange Associate for the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on the literary qualities of recipes and cookbooks, analysing the representation of culinary technologies in order to understand how nineteenth-century authors situated themselves in the past, present, and future. She has a special interest in Scottish food history, and works with a range of researchers and industry stakeholders to create impact and partnership opportunities. She is interested in the ways that Arts and Humanities research can help transform the Scottish food industry, and food's potential as a cultural product.  

People love talking about food, and sharing the stories, experiences and traditions that they associate with it. The history of food can teach us about ourselves, the places we inhabit, and provide insights into far wider cultural debates around politics, gender, technology and health. In this talk, Lindsay will discuss Scottish food heritage, the ways in which it can be used to open discussions, and the value of championing and protecting our culinary history.  

 

SCAF Webinar Series

We host a series of online webinars every 6 weeks to showcase the depth and breadth of work relevant to the alliance. Webinars are held either during the working day at 1pm, or in the evening, at 7pm. Each webinar will feature two speakers presenting for ~20 minutes, followed by a discussion and Q&A.

We are looking for speakers! Whilst we aim for a research and innovation focus, we would like to feature the work across sectors and disciplines within the broader topic of food. Early career members are particularly encouraged to come forward.

Register yourself or nominate someone to speak at a webinar

 

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First published: 26 February 2025