
“They Came Bearing Bread: The Hard Lives of the Porteuses de Pain” By Jim Chevallier
The Culinary Historians of San Diego present “They Came Bearing Bread: The Hard Lives of the Porteuses de Pain” by Jim Chevallier. For over a hundred years, bread porters, almost always women, hand-delivered bread in French cities. The “porteuses de pain” were a familiar part of French life, portrayed in images, statues, novels and plays, mentioned among familiar morning sights, and often considered to have hard lives.
Author Jim Chevallier will explore how they were viewed, their working conditions, their social roles and family lives, their appearance as both victims and criminals in legal cases, their medical issues and the varied ways they inspired painters, sculptors, photographers, and writers.
Join us at 10:30am-noon on Saturday, March 19, 2022, for this LIVE public lecture in the Neil Morgan Auditorium, downtown San Diego Central Public Library. This in-person event is free and open to the public.
10:30am – 12:00pm
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Neil Morgan Auditorium
San Diego Public Library
330 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101
We are holding our public meetings LIVE at the Downtown San Diego Central Public Library. Although no longer required, the library currently suggests all in attendance to wear masks.
About Jim Chevallier
Jim Chevallier’s food history career began with exploring the history of the croissant and the baguette, soon expanding into the wider subject of French bread history, and now the history of Parisian and early medieval food In 2019, Choice magazine named his “A History of the Food of Paris” an Outstanding Academic Title for that year. His history of French bread, Before the Baguette, is a Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner for 2020. His most recent book is “They Came Bearing Bread: The Hard Lives of the Porteuses de Pain.”
About the Culinary Historians of San Diego
Culinary Historians of San Diego (CHSD) is a nonprofit organization that provides the public with a history of food and drink and their roles in society, both locally and worldwide. Membership in this non-profit organization supports both CHSD activities and the culinary collection of the San Diego Public Library.
Speaker
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Jim ChevallierAuthor, Culinary Historian
Jim Chevallier’s food history career began with exploring the history of the croissant and the baguette, soon expanding into the wider subject of French bread history, and now the history of Parisian and early medieval food In 2019, Choice magazine named his “A History of the Food of Paris” an Outstanding Academic Title for that year. His history of French bread, Before the Baguette, is a Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner for 2020. His most recent book is “They Came Bearing Bread: The Hard Lives of the Porteuses de Pain.”