Karima Moyer-Nocchi is a professor in the Modern Languages department at the University of Siena and also teaches Food Studies at the University of Rome, Tor Vergata. Her research explores the sociocultural, political, and economic implications of foodways and culinary traditions, focusing in particular on the meaning of authenticity. She is the author of two books: Chewing the Fat - An Oral History of Italian Foodways from Fascism to Dolce Vita (2015), and The Eternal Table: A Cultural History of Food in Rome (2019), an epic culinary history spanning from the pre-Romans to present day. Both reconstruct history with food as the central focus, and, along the way, deconstruct many of the Italian food myths that we take for granted. Moyer-Nocchi was born and educated in the US and has been a permanent resident in Italy since 1990. She currently resides in Umbria.
Karima publishes regularly on her website 'The Eternal Table'. The website was created as a forum to share her love of cooking and food history, and as a repository for updates on her activities in the field of Food Studies.
The two main pathways Karima wants to showcase are her original creations derived from what she refers to as “code-switching cuisine,” that is, the culinary expression of her years of experience in Italy as an American immigrant. A repackaging of the knowledge and skills she's acquired in various culinary traditions, with the techniques, raw materials, and gastronomic concepts of her adopted homeland. It is Karima's personal homage to Italy, and the potential inherent in food to bring cultures together. The second pathway is an arduous labor of love that engages her knowledge of culinary history and her skills as a cook. It is dedicated to resuscitating and breathing new life into the historical recipes of Rome.
What Karima has set out to do is to explore the “big history” of Rome by reconstructing recipes along its vast timeline for the modern kitchen – both for practical purposes, should anyone want to indulge their senses, and as curiosities, outlining the myriad considerations that must be taken into account when transposing historical recipes from the original instructions to the recipe format that we are familiar with today. In so doing, this section provides a usable recipe-based companion to The Eternal Table, and may one day provide the basis for a cookbook. To this same end, the pages there will also include information on the classes, demonstrations, and tasting menu meals that bring this work to the public for those interested in learning more, or simply enjoying a convivial historical dining experience.