1. Culinary Archaeology
with Daniel Serra
Memento – Past Food can offer you a wide range of lectures and workshops about
different aspects of food history from the Viking Age to the 17th
century in Scandinavia
and Europe. All our courses and workshops are being led by Daniel Serra. Daniel is one of
Sweden's foremost experts on the Viking Age Cuisine.
Memento can offer the following lectures and workshops:
Lectures
The Viking Age food culture – to reconstruct a food culture without any recipes
In this lecture a thorough background to the Viking Age food culture is given – e.g.
ingredients, cooking methods and eating. A closer look upon regional, seasonal and
economical differences in preferences at the time will also be investigated. Finally the
lecture will also touch upon some of the myths about food from the period in an attempt
to dispel them.
Food in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Though only two cookbooks remain from the period 1300-1650, several sources can still
give us an idea of food preferences and cooking in this period in Scandinavia. In this
lecture you will get a background to the Medieval and Renaissance food in Europe, how
conditions and preferences would have influenced the Scandinavian cuisine at the time
and what the sources hint at. The lecture will also go through the changes in the cuisine
as Europe gain new ingredients from across the globe.
Other possible lectures could be ”Food in war and travels in medieval Europe”, ”The role
of food in the history from antiquity to the 19th
century”, ”Food and health during the
Middle Ages” etc. Lectures can also be made to fit a subject specific to your organisation,
exhibit or other themes.

2. Workshops, courses and other arrangements
Hands-on workshop (e.g. Viking Age, Medieval, Renaissance, 17th
century)
In this workshop the particpants will together cook through a menu from the chosen
period. The participants will be given Daniel's interpretation of the dishes, a number of
small lectures on specific subject and will themselves then cook the food for a meal they
will eat together after the workshop. (The dinner can very well be aimed to feed a
somewhat larger group that just the people participating in the workshop. If possible the
cooking can be done using only authentic methods.)
Source criticism in practice (aimed at teachers or older school students)
In this course the participants are given a brief lecture on medieval food culture. After
that they are divided into smaller groups and given a handful of simple recipes on the
original language (i.e. medieval English). They are given some time to interpret these
dishes, and will then proceed to cook them within the group. In a communal dinner they
will then compare what the different groups have cooked in order to show how something
as simple as a recipe can be interpreted differently by different people. The differences
between the interpretations and how they influenced them will then be discussed during
the meal. This course is preferably aimed at a group with both culinary and history
students, or as a joint project between the culinary and history departments.
Cooking competition (Iron Age Chef)
This arrangement is suitable for a medieval fair, a larger event or as a team building event
within an organisation. The competition will have the participants use a set assembly of
ingredients in order to cook as authentic a meal as possible within the given time period
set by the organisers (e.g. Iron Age, Viking age, Medieval, Renaissance) The participants
will be cooking in smaller groups or individually and are judged both on authenticity and
palatability. If not aimed at re-enactors this competitions is preferably combined with a
lecture of the food at the time. Daniel will be responsible for making a selection of
ingredients that offers both possibilities and limitations within the given time period, to
follow up on and comment upon the participants and in the end be part of the jury that
judges the dishes for authenticity of the dishes.
Many events, courses and arrangements are preferably created together with the museum,
event or organisation in question, and can be made to fit a certain theme or exhibition.
Please get in touch in order to discuss ideas or some general thoughts.

3. About Daniel Serra
Daniel Serra discovered his interest in
historical food when he started to study
archaeology in the early 90's. As a student he
experimented with ancient Roman, Medieval
and Renaissance recipes. As he graduated he
and a friend started a medieval catering in
which they both served food and facts.
In 2003 he was accepted as a PhD student with the aim to research the Viking Age food
culture. Parallel to his ongoing work on a doctoral thesis in the subject he has been
working actively with experimental archaeology in order to get a better understanding of
the cooking methods and culinary possibilities of the Viking Age and Medieval cuisine.
He has done several lectures, workshops and other arrangements at various museums,
including spending a full season at both Glimmingehus renaissance manor and Loftr
Viking museum where he reconstructed food from the corresponding period in public.
His research has far produced two cookbooks. In 2009 the medieval cookbook ”En sås av
ringa värde” based on a Danish 13th
manuscript was published. In 2013 much of his
research and interpretations on the Viking Age cuisine was presented in ”An Early Meal –
a Viking Age Cookbook & Culinary Odyssey”. The book was nominated best historical
cookbook at the IACP-awards in Chicago 2014 and has been popular with museums and
re-enactors alike.
Prices and practicalities
The prices vary depending on the type of event, but should also cover travel expenses and
accommodation. However since travelcosts from Sweden can be rather expensive, those
will be divided between each museum or event so that it will be easier to carry the cost.
Contact information:
+46(0) 703058530
daniel@memento.st
daniel.serra@ark.lu.se
http://www.facebook.com/PastFood
http://eldrimner.wordpress.com