The University of Dayton is hosting the Food and Culture Festival to celebrate the ways that food, culture and identity intersect.
The event from Feb. 2-7 will host talks and live performances from the Dayton Opera for students and the community as a whole.
These events are coordinated by the Sam Dorf, alumni chair in the humanities. He said they chose food and culture as a theme this year because its something everyone can connect on despite their differences.
"My job here at UD is to celebrate the humanities, the ways in which we tell our stories," he said. "What better way to tell our stories through something that everyone has experience with, which is food. And if we're lucky, something we get to do multiple times a day."
The festival will kick off hosting conversations with local culinary artists on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Roger Glass Center.
Guests speakers include Liz Valenti of Wheat Penny, Matan Mazursky of Mazu Global Street Dining, Dane Shipp of Culture and Nood Bar at the Silos and Justin Simmons of Tony and Pete's.
Hunger and forming conections
Tuesday's panel will focus on food growth, distribution and access at 5:30 p.m. in Sears Recital Hall.
They have invited representatives from the Hall Hunger Initiative, BIPOC Food and Farming Network, the 6888 Incubator and Gem City Market.
“Thinking about what hunger is from a philosophical perspective, right? Or insecurity, why that exists in the world, right? These are just as critical as eating, right," he said. "And so I can't imagine life without the humanities and I can’t imagine life without food. And they're both necessary for a thriving democracy and a thriving community.”
The keynote by Michael Twitty will be delivered 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Roger Glass Center.
"Reading for pleasure is not a luxury, it is necessary. Thinking about our various faith traditions and the faith traditions of others is critical. Eating and enjoying the food we eat is important. Understanding our history, the history of the foods that we engage with is really important."
Dorf said Twitty will dive deeper into the history, myths, and controversies involving Southern Food, race and identity and discuss excerpts from his recent book "Recipes from the American South."
Twitty plans to focus on why Black food history matters.
"We're not just a color, we are phenotype, we are a genotype, and we're an ethnic group," he said. "We have our own history, our unique history. And I think most people know that and understand that. But the fact that there's so much trial and tribulation in Sturm and Drang right now means that we have to revisit that."
Arts and entertainment
All of the events tied to the festival are free to the public aside from three performances by the Dayton Opera on Friday and Saturday. Ticket purchase is required to attend.
"Both shows are about cooking shows. 'Bon Appetit' is two actual episodes of 'The French chef' starring Julia Child. Her actual text, the text of the shows, were set to music by the American composer, Lee Hoiby," said Kathleen Clawson,
artistic director for the Dayton Opera.
The second show, "The Cook Off," is based on a more modern cooking show where three contestants battle to win $100,000 for the best mac 'n cheese.
"It is a story about our connection to food and culture and how we tell our histories through food, but it's also very, very funny," Clawson said. "Mark Campbell is the librettist. Mark Campbell has both a Grammy and a Pulitzer."
Multiple performers will make their debut with the Dayton Opera for performances in the Roger Glass Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Clawson said both shows come from American composers, tying into the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance's 2026 celebration of American music.
“The stage must reflect the community and the world. So these pieces absolutely do that," she said. "I'd like to think that everybody can imagine themselves, see themselves through the characters that will be on stage.”
Dorf said all of the festival's events have been designed to foster conversations and partnerships within the community surrounding food and storytelling.
"We often think of both food and the humanities as luxuries, right? As sometimes an indulgence. And one thing I hope folks think about is that they're needed," he said. "Reading for pleasure is not a luxury, it is necessary. Thinking about our various faith traditions and the faith traditions of others is critical. Eating and enjoying the food we eat is important. Understanding our history, the history of the foods that we engage with is really important."
