After so many difficult months, we were happy to meet with some of you "in real life" again at our AIECM3 "grand messe" conference on medieval and modern Mediterranean ceramics in Granada last November - and sorry to miss all those who could not attend.

Let's hope there will be more opportunities in 2022, and that we may keep an hybrid version of our forthcoming meetings, with both the option of remote attendance and the obvious advantages of live sessions (including the food & drink "off" ones!).

2022 will see a new version of the POMEDOR website - you may not notice the difference, but the (Drupal) system badly needed an upgrade. In the meantime, we are going to be late in relaying information - thank you for your patience.

... talks about Byzantine food and gastronomy in the Greek newspaper "TO VIMA".

Read the article

The POMEDOR conference was a fruitful and friendly event, bringing together for 3 days in Lyon historians, archaeologists, archaeological scientists, museum curators and ... cooks!
 

Welcome to the POMEDOR conference!

Our team in front of the Vivier Castle, Paul Bocuse Institute: from right to left Nicole Flores, Jacques Burlot, Aybüke Öztürk, Shadi Shabo and Lucie Courbe.
 

Conference Sessions

During 3 days, historians, archaeologists, archaeological scientists... were presenting their research and debating. See the program of the communications and posters.
 

Lunches and coffee breaks

Participants had brought for the coffee breaks nice "goodies" from all over!

... and the highlight of the conference: the Byzantine dinner at the Bocuse Institute!

Ilias Anagnostakis, historian of Byzantium at the National Hellenic Foundation of Athens, Andrew Dalby and Sally Grainger, food historians and experimental archaeologist, designed the recipes, based among others on texts written in the 12th c. by Eustathios of Thessaloniki. The dinner was realized as a pedagogic project for 50 international students, in collaboration with a team of the Paul Bocuse Institute, including Maxime Michaud, Alain Dauvergne, Jean Philippon and Philippe Rispal. The dinner was under the patronage of chef Régis Marcon. See the menu (design Alain Dauvergne).
Replicas of Byzantine pottery were made on this occasion by potter Jean-Jacques Dubernard.

Oinogaron was served in a replica of a chafing dish, based on a model found in the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors in Constantinople.

A table beautifully dressed thanks to Alain Dauvergne.

Sea food monokythron light broth, stuffed quail, and kollyba and diplos spouggaton soufflé omelette for dessert.

A summary of the history of medieval Eastern Mediterranean pottery: Byzantine White Wares, main "Middle Byzantine Production", Port Saint-Symeon Wares...

Prosfora bread made with moulds manufactured in a monastery of mount Athos ... and with a plastic one found in the market of the old city of Crusader Acre.

Andrew Dalby introducing the dishes and wines to us, and chef Jean Philippon with his students.

Preparing the dinner

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Photos: L. Courbe, N. Flores, A. Shapiro, Institut P. Bocuse, Anemon Productions, S. Zelenko

A Byzantine dinner will be created on the occasion of the POMEDOR conference in May, at the Paul Bocuse Institute in Ecully near Lyon (France).

This event is a joint creation by the food historian and experimental archaeologist Sally Grainger, with the scientific advise of Andrew Dalby and of Ilias Anagnostakis, our POMEDOR colleague and friend, historian of Byzantium with an in-depth insight into food and foodways, together with a team of the Bocuse Institute & School, as representatives of the French gastronomy!

The dinner will be presented by food historian Andrew Dalby.

This event is under the patronage of French chef Régis Marcon.