Its the Autumn Harvest at Rouse Hill House & Farm_Artwork (c) Sydney Living Museums
Wrapping an eel in Gymea leaf and paper bark, ready for the barbeque at the Eel Festival at Elizabeth Farm. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
Our free, family-friendly Eel Festival celebrates Parramatta’s namesake, the eel, and its significance to the local Darug people the Burramattagal, who for generations have gathered during eel season to feast, trade and share stories.
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The Cook and the Curator is turning five! Continue reading
Joanna Nicholas, curator, Sydney Living Museums. Photo © Stuart Miller for Sydney Living Museums
Joanna Nicholas is Curator in the House Museums Portfolio, responsible for Vaucluse, Elizabeth Bay and Rose Seidler Houses. She is passionate about the immersive experiences house museums can provide for visitors – the power of their collections, gardens and grounds. Continue reading
Fred from Fred's Bush Tucker with an eel for the fire. Photo (c) James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
This year’s Eel Festival at Elizabeth Farm was a great success! Continue reading
Hyde Park barracks intern, Kim Connors examining bones from the barracks archaeology. Photo © Fiona Starr Sydney Living Museums
Kim Connor is an Honours student in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sydney. Her thesis, ‘Feeding the confined’ is an analysis of the animal bone from Hyde Park barracks in order to investigate the diet of the women of the Immigration Depot and the Destitute Asylum (1848-1886).
By studying the bones, I’m discovering other unofficial ways that the women supplemented and varied their diets. One of the big surprises has been how much evidence there is for meat that wasn’t on the official ration: rabbit, chicken and other fowl, oysters and even crab! Explaining why there is a difference between the archaeological record and the historical sources is key to understanding how these institutions worked, and the experience of the women who lived there.
Kim also writes about historical food for her blog Turnspit & Table with ‘an anti-miserablist approach to historical cooking’ and is a regular participant in the Historical Food Fortnightly.
And the winners are... © National Trust NSW (detail)
We are very delighted that Eat your history, stories and recipes from Australian kitchens has received a National Trust New South Wales 2016 Heritage Award in the publication category. Eat your history received Highly Commended in a rich field of inspiring publications. Continue reading
Christmas goodies at the 2015 artisan food market at the Hyde Park Barrack. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
Its that time of year again! Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Cook and the Curator, and best wishes for 2016! Continue reading
Latoya Schadel, Sydney Living Museums Visitor & Interpretation officer. Image courtesy Latoya Schadel
We have guest bloggers on The Cook & the Curator this week and next from the kitchens at Vaucluse House –
Latoya Schadel has been an enthusiastic lover of history since the tender age of seven when she visited Elizabeth Farm for the first time, dressed as a convict-lass. Since then she has (grown up and) completed a First Class Honours in History at the University of Sydney, specialising in the Australian ‘history wars’ and their impact on children’s literature. For the last two years she has been a proud member of the House Museums Portfolio at Sydney Living Museums as a Visitor Interpretation Officer, and hopes to instill her love of the past in a new generation of seven year olds – and beyond!
Leila Wallace, Sydney Living Museums’ Visitor and Interpretation officer, Photo © Sydney Living Museums
We have guest bloggers on The Cook & the Curator this week and next from the kitchens at Vaucluse House –
If you are looking for Leila, you will find her either in the staff kitchen creating authentic pickles and preserves for the Colonial Kitchen display at Vaucluse House; in the cellars hosting holiday ‘crafternoons’; writing stories for the newsletter and website; or Instagraming anything with a bit of old world charm. Originally from a science background with specialisations in environmental conservation and natural heritage, Leila has found her calling as a Visitor Interpretation Officer at Sydney Living Museums. With her love of farm yard animals, beautiful vistas and a passion for nature, there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.