The Digital Dinner Party

 As part of the British Academy Virtual Summer Showcase, AVM Curiosities presented The Digital Dinner Party: three courses, inspired by the work of three British Academy researchers.

The pairings began with a cocktail, influenced by the research of Dr Sue Miller, who has been using experimental archaeology to recreate the live sounds of mid-twentieth-century Cuban dance music. This was followed by a live discussion and tasting with Dr Rachel Rich, who discussed the royal recipes of George III and the history of British food, over a ‘pie fit for a king’. Then the final course, a dialogue over dessert, with an edible homage to Dr Emma Bond’s research into the 19th century sugar industry in Greenock, Scotland.

This cook-along and conversation harnessed the wide-reach of digital platforms as spaces for learning and interpretation - with the recipes available online and live feedback on the night that enabled audience interaction. It was a lockdown dinner party like no other, with discussion and delicacies aplenty.

The Recipes:
First course: The Charanga del Norte
Second course: Raised Beefsteak Pie
Third course: Scottish Shortbread

The Digital Dinner Party
Part of the British Academy
Virtual Summer Showcase.
British Academy Zoom | Online
Friday 19 June 2020