Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin

media release: “Extra! Extra! Eat All About It! Recipes and Culinary Curiosities from Historic Wisconsin Newspapers”

By Jane Conway and Randi Julia Ramsden

7 pm, Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., Madison, WI

Historically, newspapers have always been more than a medium covering current events. Many featured columns dedicated to everything related to the house and garden. While these parts of the press are largely overlooked by researchers analyzing historical events and trends, these pages hide a wealth of historic recipes just waiting to be cooked again. Covering dangerous cooking endeavors to frustrating conversions of units lost in time, Conway and Ramsden will discuss researching recipes from historic Wisconsin newspapers and the process of bringing them into the 21st century kitchen. This presentation will offer a “taste” of their new book with a dash of local culinary history through a unique lens. 

Jane Conway has a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Oregon. Randi Julia Ramsden has a master’s degree in American studies from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. For two years, Conway and Ramsden worked together on the National Digital Newspaper Program at the Wisconsin Historical Society. In 2019, they began researching, cooking, and writing for the Cooking Up History series, which appeared on the WHS website and social media platforms and which provided the basis for their book EXTRA! EXTRA! Eat All About It!

This meeting is free and open to the public. For more info, visit https://www.chewwisconsin.com/