What I Had for Dinner Tonight

I had one of the most interesting dinners anyone has ever had.

I spent the evening at a specially prepared dinner, cooked by chef Chris Olson, and served in the diorama exhibit in the Bell Museum of Natural History. (There are no bells in the Bell Museum.) My job was to interrupt the happy diners with every course and explain to them the anthropology and evolutionary biology of what they were eating, plus a Pygmy story, which was possible in no small part because Chef Olson designed the dinner to be interesting in this regard. David Anderson invented a beer for the occasion, and it was lovely.

Eventually I'll write up the entire menu, but this evening I'll need to go to bed too soon and will not have the time or energy. I want to thank my in-laws Mar and Duane for attending the dinner, Shanai Matteson for organizing the whole thing, and all the guests for their very interesting conversation and questions. This also counts as a Dinner with Lizzie event because my dear friend Betsy accompanied me for moral support and because I asked her to come to take her due credit for contributing to the research I was talking about.

Topics ranged from Central Place Foraging to the Origin of Root Eating to the Invention of Cooking and the Evolution of Modern Cuisine. The Diorama hall was an excellent venue, and I was able to work a couple of the dioramas into the conversations.

Most importantly, the meal was totally kick-ass. If the Bell ever does this again, and I think they very well might (different topic presumably) you should go.