This is an archived event from Culture Days 2025.
Images
Food in Translation
In-person
Culinary & food History & heritage Interdisciplinary Writing & literature Public Art Students Storytelling InterculturalDate and time
Location
University of Toronto Faculty of Information - Room BL404
140 Saint George Street
Toronto, ON
Access
Free, and accepts optional pay-what-you-may donations for admission.
Offered in English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean.
Wheelchair accessible and has gender-neutral washrooms.
About
Honouring International Translation Day, and inspired by The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, the workshop focuses on the sensory memories of food that are tied to personal lived experience. Through collaborative storytelling, we will not only explore the translation of recipes from one language/culture to another, but also translate embodied culinary knowledge to textual documentation.
Learning outcomes and objectives:
1. Reflect on how food memory can be translated across languages and cultures.
2. Practice describing food through sensory details beyond taste and smell.
3. Explore how personal culinary experiences can be reimagined through writing and storytelling.
4. Document a recipe in ways that foreground sensory qualities (appearance, smell, texture, environment, emotions).
5. Experience the act of “translation” not only as a linguistic process, but as an embodied and creative act.
Presented By Jingshu Yao of Leftover Ingredients & Found in Translation Bookshop.
Links
- Food in Translation Registration foundbook.ca
Organizer
Found in Translation Bookshop and Leftover Ingredients
Cordelia Shan (MI student, writer, zine-maker, bookseller) is the co-owner of Found in Translation Bookshop, an indie bookshop that shares global stories with local readers, celebrating diverse voices through curated translated works that connect and inspire.
Jingshu Yao is a writer and community artist based in Toronto. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Information. Jingshu’s ongoing workshop series “Leftover Ingredients” investigates the role of recipes in passing down community heritage.