Eva Eliscu is a Swedish born culinary consultant and lecturer on the history and customs of the dining table and producer of the San Miguel’s Annual "Food in Film Festival” in Mexico. She was educated in Sweden, Switzerland and the US. She has dual citizenship in both the European Union and the United States and is a permanent resident in Mexico. She is fluent in Swedish, English, survival French and continuing to learn Spanish.

She has experience as a guest speaker aboard Holland America MS and has presented her lectures at International Libraries, gourmet and culinary groups, to food and wine festivals, as well as special interest groups.

Professional Profile:
• Food and Travel Writer
• Producer of Food in Film Festival – San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
• Restaurateur
• World Traveler
• Culinary Consultant
• Special Interest Lecturer For Cruise Ships
• Restaurant Owner and Gourmet Store owner – United States.
• Guided food tours of the Stockholm, Paris and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
• Producer of Annual San Miguel Food in Film Festival
• Author of “Himlagott” a book about tea.

Click here to visit Eva's website >> www.thehistoryofdining.com

THE HISTORY OF DINING LECTURES
For those who love food and are fascinated by history, Eva's presentation takes you on a journey through time from the Greek Symposium to the French Revolution and on. Exploring the political intrigue, symbolism, and traditions throughout the history of the Western world to the dining customs we are familiar with today

1. Table Hopping Through History from A Greek Symposium To Henry Viii Table:
For those who love food and are fascinated by history, this lecture takes us on a journey with an invitation to a Greek Symposium all the way up to the table of the French Revolution. Together we will explore politics, intrigues Symbolism, and traditions around the banquet table.

2. The 19th Century Dining Revolution"
This lecture brings us to Paris France with a seat at Napolean and Josephine's table. Aristocrats had lost power around the dining table. the common man was to change the course of our dining history. Not only in France but of the tables all over Europe. During our visit to Victorian England, we are guests of the well-appointed host and hostess, Charles Dickens and his wife Katherine. Here we have a seat at the table with silver dining tools where we will be introduced to dining in the English manner.

3. Everyday Life and Dining at Chateau Versailles:
Buzzed with spectacular food presentations, music, dancing, fireworks, and gambling. The sound of the rustling of colorful silk and the sparkle of priceless gems. Chateau de Versailles was the French royal residence from 1682-1789 it also housed the official French Government. Depending on the day there were between 3000-10.000 people forming a highly variegated society governed by a strict hierarchy that applied to all. Some were there by right of birth, others by social obligation, others through interest or curiosity, and others simply to earn a living. The high-ranking nobles were constantly present alert to every opportunity to solicit favor from the king. The whole of France gathered around the king. Chateau Versailles allowed a large court to live close to the king. The public areas of Chateau de Versailles were open to everyone all you had to do was to be properly dressed. This meant a hat and a sword for the gentleman. You could rent clothing a hat and a sword at the entrance of the Chateau.

4. History Of Champagne (And The Joy Of Drinking It):
We associate Champagne with celebration and the good of life. Champagne was the beverage of the courts of Europe. Louis XIV rarely drank anything but wine from the region of Champagne. Madame Pompadour had a soft spot for Champagne and Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have claimed, "In victory, you deserve it, in defeat you need it." Meet the men and women who brought Champagne to our table.

5. History Of The Chef, His Kitchen, and The Restaurant:
"A kitchen only comes alive when you cook in it." What made the food scene spring up in Paris? Historians tend to put the creative moment after the French Revolution. Saying chefs were pushed from the aristocrats' kitchens as the mouths they fed lost their heads. Chefs were forced to create a place to prepare and sera a variety of dishes to the public for a change, what we today call a restaurant. The new Restaurer, as they were called, would never have succeeded if there had not been a curiosity and a need for such an establishment.

6. The History of Wine & Bread On Our Table:
Paintings and written documents have us to view and understand how important bread has been to our survival. The wealthy man ate white bread, the merchant ate grain bread and the common poor man ate dark bran loaves. Wine became part of the cradle of the Western thought process when Greek thinkers laid the foundation for modern Western politics, philosophy, science, and law. The Romans made wine a social symbol, a mark of wealth and status of the drinker. The best wine ended up in the wealthy man's goblet.

7. Tea Is the Answer to Everything:
The story of tea is a story of imperialism, industrialization, and world domination - one cup at a time. England emerged as the first global superpower because of its adaptation of a new system of manufacturing - the factory was born and this was the start of the Industrial Revolution. Linking the Imperial expansion from the Far East and the Industrial expansion of Europe was Tea.

8. The Arrival of Coffee and Cacao In 17th Century Europe:
The arrival of coffee and cacao to Europe during the 17th century caused many changes in the lives of Europeans and the people of the British Colonies. The impact of the introduction of coffee and tea was particularly noticeable because the most common beverage at this time, even at breakfast, was weak ale and wine. In crowded cities, these beverages were safer to drink than water. Those who drank coffee and tea instead of ale and wine began their day alert and stimulated rather than relaxed and inebriated. The quality of their work improved and Western Europe began to emerge from an alcoholic haze that lasted for centuries. When the first commercial cargo of cacao beans arrived in Spain in 1585, hot chocolate quickly became part of the Spanish way of life among society's elite. France was next to fall under the chocolate spell.

9. Herbs and Spices and Their Journey To Our Table:
The history of worldwide trade is the quest for spices. Not a day goes by without our taste buds coming in contact with all kinds of herbs and spices. Each one has its background and nature as well as its place on our table and in culinary history. Early on, Europeans developed a fashion in cooking by using spices in their food. Dinner guests presented with highly spiced food meant they were sitting at a wealthy man's table. The peasant, the common man, and the majority of all Europeans including the New Colony were not affected by the shifts and fashion of upper-class taste. They used herbs in their cooking and exotic spices only for religious holiday meals and special celebrations.

10. The Political Table Cloth (History of Table Linen):
Recounting the history of table linen is not only a delightful excuse to "Spin a tale" it also provides a fascinating insight into social rites governing the use of table linen throughout history. It tells us of life's basic everyday acts, to which the household linen is so closely linked. Information concerning linen owned by individuals is available to us from around the 13th century and onwards from documents known as "death inventory". These sources provide a picture assessment of the quantity and type of items found in the linen closet of Medieval kings and nobility and later the wealthy bourgeoisie.

11. Taste, A Food & Dining Adventure
The pleasure of the table is a reflected sensation from various places, such as things, people, and facts. Is eating an intelligent act or is it merely an animal one? What makes it intelligent? Is it the company, your taste buds, or your mind? Is it your social and cultural background or your economic vitality? "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are, or who you are" - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1755 - 1826

She has experience as a guest speaker aboard various cruise ships including Holland America and has presented her lectures at International Libraries, gourmet and culinary groups, to food and wine festivals as well as special interest groups for the past 10 years.