from Oxford’s archives to Florence’s kitchens

Imagine yourself sitting in a tiny, busy Italian restaurant, surrounded by the smells of hearty ragù, fresh basil, and the dry scent of warm focaccia in the oven. When the waiter comes, you ask enthusiastically, “What’s on your menu today?”

What is on a menu? I believe this question channels a rich tapestry of perspectives on food. A menu not only shows meals to choose from. It tells you about ingredients and their relationship with each other, their places of origin, and how they travelled to your plate. A menu is also a window into cooking techniques, restaurants’ philosophies, cooks’ individual preferences, and the regions they engage with culinarily.

Here, at lilly’s menu, I seek to look at our food, meals, and little daily snacks differently. Food is full of entangled, local, regional, trans-national and global stories. It is a cultural and historical experience marked by the exchange and trade of ingredients, economic potential, and agricultural techniques. How we eat, with whom we eat, and the time and location we choose to sit down at the table illuminate specific traditions of consumption. Meals also reflect the mechanical and technological evolution of kitchen appliances. With this blog, I like to unravel these different stories and perspectives on food and contemplate their current, past and future meanings.

Who am I? My name is Lilly. I am 25 years old. Originally from Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, I completed a Bachelor’s in History and Art History at the American University of Paris and a Master of Philosophy in Modern European History at the University of Oxford, UK. I enjoy international and transnational history, and I also enjoy food. Why not combine these two passions? I decided to move to Florence and undertake a four-month professional cooking programme at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School. During this programme, I will learn, i.a., a variety of cooking techniques, the selection and preparation of ingredients, caring for kitchen utensils, designing and interpreting recipes and menus, and cooking classic regional and modern Italian dishes. It’s going to be a culinary blast!

With lilly’s menu, I want to create a space to reflect on both – the broader historical, cultural, economic, and social concepts connected to food consumption and the nitty-gritty technical details of preparing specific meals. It’s about combining theory with practice and exploring Florence and Italy through an appetising lens. That being said, I look forward to deconstructing the question “What’s on your menu?” and the door it provides toward the richness of culinary experiences with you together.

Keep an eye on my blog for weekly articles on all things food!

what to expect