On September 22, 2022, chefs, food purveyors, and culinary historians discussed New York's historical eating habits, particularly during periods of mass migration. They questioned what happens when communities are created through immigration? What foods do they recreate, and how do they transform when native ingredients are no longer available?

Award-winning cookbook author and culinary historian Grace Young spoke about the foodways of the Chinese community in NYC during the late 1800's. Author and historian Hasia Diner discussed the other immigrant communities that lived next to the Chinese in the Lower East Side during this period of mass migration: the Jews, the Italians, and the Irish. Chef and scholar Scott Barton took us uptown to Harlem to consider how the Great Migration changed the foodways of Harlem, and tasted oysters from Ben “Moody” Harney, founder of Mother Shuckers, a nomadic oyster cart that harkens back to the days when New York City was a bustling port town with oyster carts lining the streets. Moderated by Julia Moskin of The New York Times.

This program is part of “Eat Your Heart Out,” (https://www.mcny.org/eat-your-heart-out) a series of talks and tastings accompanying our new exhibition, "Food in New York: Bigger Than the Plate" (https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/food-.... This program is co-presented with MOFAD (Museum of Food and Drink).