Fall 1993 Joan Reardon gave a memorable, intimate talk on her experiences in Bordeaux accompanied by a wonderful dinner put on by Chef Michael Carmel and his students at the Kendall College's culinary school.

May 1994 We and the Chicago Historical Society sponsored a symposium devoted to the foods of the Colombian Exposition. Jan Longone of the Wine and Food Library came from Ann Arbor; Frank Cassel, an eminent historian of the great Chicago event were the main speakers. It was a thought provoking session capped by Eve Jochnowitz's (from the New York Culinary Historians) delightful survey of the New York World's Fair of 1939.

Fall 1994 Louis Szathmary spoke to an audience of 120. He sketched the history of dining in Chicago illustrated with wonderful slides of old restaurants. The lecture ended with an exhortation: no one had ever studied the history of dining in Chicago, nor in any other city that he knew ... and he knew many. With the city's rich culinary heritage slipping out of memory, he said, the Culinary Historians should begin this important work. Expanded to mean social and cultural history of food, this has become our organization's main research goal.

1995 featured thoughtful programs, which included meetings in ethnic restaurants (Peruvian, Mexican and Chinese, etc.), to discussions of ethnic food stores by Evelyn Thompson.

1996 Louis Szathmary presented a grand lecture on cookbooks published in Chicago. The Chinese (Lunar) New Year was celebrated with a discussion, demonstration, and tasting of Chinese dumplings at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC). Dapeng Ren, an historian of Chinese culinary history, created and discussed northern versions of the dumplings. The staff of The Phoenix restaurant (Archer Avenue in Chinatown) did the southern tradition, Dim Sum.

July 1997 Jim Walsh, founder of Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate presented a the history of chocolate, the growing of coca trees, and the climatic impact on the flavor of the final product. This results in chocolate vintages similar to wines, in that each year's crop gas a different flavor intensity: 1993 a wet year had an earthly flavor; 1994 a dry season had a yield with a fruity, wine-y note; and 1995 had an extremely low rainfall resulting in a buttery finished chocolate "like the trade winds, silky and smooth."

October 1997 A reception and dinner for renowned cookbook author Marcella Hazan was held at A Tavala Restaurant. The evening featured a slide presentation on Italy's culinary heritage and a book signing by Marcella Hazan. Dan Bocik, chef-owner of A Tavola, showcased his signature dishes.

November 1997 Food Scientist and cookbook author Shirley Corriher spoke on foods of the Americas" that dealt with foods that were native to the Americas at the time of Columbus. Shirley has been a guest on TV and radio programs, as well as, featured in Gourmet magazine and the Chicago Tribune. She also signed copies of her new cookbook, Cookwise.

December 1997 Dr. Bruce Kraig, president of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, and his wife, Jan Thompson, shared the podium to reveal how a food documentary is made. The couple showed clips from their PBS documentaries on the foods of China, Mexico and India.