Alumna Jacqui Newling

Eat Your History!

Jacqui Newling, Le Cordon Bleu Master of Arts in Gastronomy graduate volunteered at the Sydney Living Museums before she took up a permanent position as a museum guide, and later resident gastronomer and curator of the Eat Your History projects. Jacqui’s exploration of food history and heritage through food influenced her dissertation “Foodways Unfettered: Food in Early Colonial Sydney 1788-1795”.

Jacqui delights in combing through old cooking books, deciphering handwritten recipes over a century old, rediscovering lost culinary arts, and experimenting with heirloom produce. Adding to her suite of accomplishments, Jacqui recently published “Eat Your History: stories and recipes from Australian kitchens” a collectic representation of food stories with recipes dating back to the eighteen century.

Jacqui credits her determination and dedication being the reasons she’s doing the thing she loves - whether paid or not!  As a volunteer at Sydney Living Museums she looked for the opportunity to pursue her passion investigating and exploring the heritage of food and as the role evolved she became an integral part of the project.

Jacqui said:

The gastronomy program provided me with a strong grounding in the appreciation of the history and culture of food and drink for which I was then able to explore deeper with an inquiring mind and an unfathomable curiosity. To me, gastronomy is about people - what people - past and present - do to and with food to make it a part of their lives, and what that tells us about our cultural identity.