Political Appetites: Women as Culinary Activists and the Power of Food in Revolutionary America

Led by Nancy Siegel, PhD, Professor of Art History & Culinary History, Towson University. She will provide a historical recipe tastings, specifically Liberty Tea; Federal Cake; Washington Pie; and Election Cake. Dr. Siegel will sign copies of her book Political Appetites: The Power of Food in Revolutionary America which will be available for purchase.

More information on Dr. Siegel and her work:

Food has long carried political meaning, and its significance in revolutionary America is no exception. In Political Appetites: Women as Culinary Activists and the Power of Food in Revolutionary America, art and culinary historian Nancy Siegel uncovers a richly layered story in which meals, ingredients, and even kitchenware helped Americans define what democracy should look—and taste—like. From tea boycotts and homemade Liberty Tea to Washington Pie, Election Cake, and Mammoth Cheese, ordinary foods became vehicles for protest, persuasion, and celebration in the years surrounding the Revolution and the Early Republic. Join us for this lecture which will trace the political meanings embedded in the meals people cooked, the gardens they nurtured, and the tableware they used as part of a vivid portrait of a dynamic society learning to express its ideals through the everyday acts of preparing and eating food.

Nancy Siegel is Assistant Dean and Professor of Art History & Culinary History at Towson University where she specializes in American landscape studies, underrepresented women artists of the 19th century, print culture, and culinary history of the 18th and 19th centuries. She provides historical cooking demonstrations, tastings, and lectures widely on landscape and food histories in addition to serving as an art and culinary consultant for museums and non-profit institutions. This lecture is based upon her book, Political Appetites: The Power of Food in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026) available now for preorders and the documentary Feeding the Revolution (WMHT/PBS).