Of Aliments, Archives and Authors- The ARANZ Lecture 2011

The ARANZ Lecture 2011 is a fine food festival, a cornucopia of coffee houses, critiques and catering. And, as usual, it’s free.

Two leading New Zealand authors, Susette Goldsmith (Suzy’s - a coffee house history, Quill, 2010) and David Burton (New Zealand Food and Cookery, Bateman, 2009), will tell the secrets of success in historical researches for their magisterial celebrations of hot beverages around Wellington and the world, and Kiwi comestibles since the year dot.

David Burton is the feared/admired restaurant critic for Wellington’s Dominion Post and Cuisine magazine, an historian and writer of a number of foodie books from the Raj of India through New Zealand cheese making to colonial French cooking. But it was his massive food and cookery almanac that earned him praise for “unbelievably rigorous research”.

Susette Goldsmith, Taranaki editor and writer, made treasure troves of Kiwi coffee and tea cultures after discovering Alexander Turnbull Library photo collections. Blonde Dutch immigrant, Suzy van der Kwast, founder of Wellington’s iconic “Suzy’s” 1960’s coffee bar, was the peg on which to hang the coffee house history, a “favour for Wellingtonians”, said a reviewer.

ARANZ is the Archives and Records Assn of New Zealand. The ARANZ Lecture, part of Records and Archives Week 2011, is supported by the School of Hospitality and Catering, Wellington Institute of Technology (Weltec), Petone.

The ARANZ Lecture will run at the Weltec City campus, 11 Church Street (off Boulcott Street), Wellington, on Thursday, May 5. Light refreshments from 5.30pm; ARANZ Lecture from 6.00pm.

Lecture is free. Catering koha requested.

Space is limited so, to make sure of a place, please RSVP by close of business, Friday, April 29, 2011 to Anna.Henry@dia.govt.nz.