The second public dialogue that accompanies the “Taste Taiwan: Taiwanese Delicacies x Food Literature” special exhibition will take place on April 6th, from 7-9 pm, in the gallery of Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles. The featured speakers are Jiao Tong, widely regarded as the “Godfather of Food Literature of Taiwan”, and Pin-Hui Liao, professor of literature of UCSD. The public talk, titled “Taste of Formosa,” will explore the identity of Taiwanese delicacies, as well as its rapidly growing global presence, signified and bolstered by the recently announced Michelin food guide for Taipei, Spring 2018. A half hour session of Taiwanese delicacies tasting will precede the public talk.
According to Taiwan Academy, ever since Jiao Tong published his poetry anthology titled “The Total Sexual Reinvigoration Recipe,” he had considers himself to be misidentified as a gastronomist by accident.. However, Jiao continued on the “misguided” path of gastronomic literature, with critical acclaim and great success. From there, he founded a gastronomy magazine, held annual gastronomic literary selections, and contributed to the field for more than two decades. His works include The Taste of Taiwan, The Belly of Taiwan, and The Tongue of Taiwan, compiled into the anthology “Taste of Formosa.” Through his many years of exploration in the food literary world, Jiao always strived to discover the universal truths shared between all people through eating, as well as the heart and soul of food and how it affects everyone, as well as to promote a true appreciation and fresh perspectives that considers the creation of foods through the scope of art.
While professor’s Ping-hui Liao field of study is vast, food literature is among one of them. Published in 2004, her book titled “Ways of Eating: Savoring Postmodernity” employs light-hearted language to discuss exotic foods of all different countries and their respective histories, interspersed with their presence in films and novels. Liao also honed in on Taiwanese food culture’s distinct state of postmodernity, an example of a complex, non-conforming state, the result of the diaspora of all different groups of Taiwanese people and their distinct cultural and historical differences. However, through the sharing one another’s diverse food cultures, all these different cultural groups eventually come to be interconnected and support one another, coming together to form the unique melting pot that is the food culture of Taiwan now widely known internationally.
Jiao Tong and Ping-hui Liao have crossed path multiple times in the literary field, mentioning and writing in the Forewords of “The Taste of Taiwan” and “Belly of Taiwan” for each other. They share a friendship and are both crucial influencers in promoting and globalizing the Taiwanese food culture internationally.
To attend this event, patrons must present their RSVP ticket to gain entry. RSVP tickets are available online at EventBrite, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-taiwan-food-literature-of-jiao-tong-tickets-44427914087 to reserve your RSVP ticket for the event. Tickets are limited. Taiwan Academy’s gallery space is located at 1137 WEstwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024. We encourage interested parties to reserve their tickets as the space will be limited.