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

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Part 3 of the documentary series "The journey of food" focuses on the Byzantine period. Several members of the POMEDOR network, especially the historians Ilias Anagnostakis and Béatrice Caseau, contributed to it.

Scenes were shot at the Bocuse Institute during the preparation of the POMEDOR conference diner, where Sally Grainger, who designed the recipes with the input of Ilias Anagnostakis and Andrew Dalby, worked together with the chefs and a team of international students.

Watch the film

Presentation of the series on the Anemon productions website

What are the origins of Greek food? How did geography, climate, biology, economy, society and culture define what we eat in South-East Europe? From Prehistory to Antiquity, and from the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires to the modern era, this 5-part doc series explores the ways in which diet in Greece and the Mediterranean has evolved and constantly redefined the destiny of its peoples. From age-old skills of survival and connectivity to modern-day diet-related epidemics, we travel from Greece to the Middle East, Italy and France, tracing the roots and many facets of a diet that has come to be viewed as a global model for good health.

The proceedings of the final conference of the POMEDOR project "Multidisciplinary Approaches to Food and Foodways in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean" will appear in the series "Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient".

POMEDOR proceedings, recommandations to authors

Podcasts of the communications presented at the conference will also be available in the fall 2016.

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