Presented as part of the Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit Series
Featuring Lidia Bastianich, acclaimed chef, restaurateur, best-selling author, and Emmy-winning TV personality, in conversation with Corby Kummer, executive director of the Food & Society Program at the Aspen Institute. Lidia Bastianich is renowned for highlighting the rich connections between food, family, culture, and identity. She will share stories from her culinary journey, from humble beginnings to international acclaim, and discuss how cooking traditions bring generations together, preserve cultural heritage, and foster community. The conversation will also touch on the evolving place of food in society, the importance of sustainable practices, and the ways meals shared at the family table can bridge divides and strengthen bonds.
Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 5:30 pm

Aspen Society members-only reception with speakers from 5:00 – 5:45 pm. Please contact [email protected] to inquire about membership.

While attendance at the event is free and open to everyone, registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Register here.

Parking
Parking is very limited. Please carpool, walk, bike, or ride RFTA.

You can purchase her latest book “Lidia’s From Our Family Table to Yours” here. Books will also be available for purchase at the event. Book signing to follow.

A personal collection of more than a hundred favorite family recipes—from Crespelle with Herb Pesto and Penne with Sausage, Mushrooms and Ricotta Vegetable Polpette, to Lidia’s Simple Roast Chicken and Mimosa Cake—from the best-selling, award-winning “doyenne of Italian cooking” (The New York Times)

Lidia Bastianich is an Emmy award-winning public television host, best‐selling cookbook author, successful restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. Most importantly, she has accomplished all of this by marrying her two passions in life—her family and food—to create multiple culinary endeavors alongside her two children, Joseph and Tanya.

Corby Kummer is executive director of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute, a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science, and a senior editor of The Atlantic. He is the author of “The Joy of Coffee” and “The Pleasures of Slow Food,” the first book in English on the Slow Food movement, and has been restaurant critic of New York, Boston, and Atlanta Magazines and food and food policy columnist for The New Republic. Every week he is a featured commentator on food and food policy on WGBH’s Boston Public Radio. He has received six James Beard Journalism Awards.

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