Curator Receives Food Honor

Though many individuals spend semesters and even years studying the history of people and places, no one takes the time to learn about the history of an entity that they are in contact with every day--food.

That is, nobody except for Barbara Haber, curator of books for the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College.

Haber, in part because of her research on the history of food, was named as one of eight 1997 inductees into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation.

"I feel that food is so mundane that we tend to overlook it in terms of its significance," Haber said. "I see food and its history as a real prism for understanding people and culture."

Haber said she writes about the history of food and frequently speaks about food at national and international conferences.

She is also the founder of the Radcliffe Culinary Friends, an organization that offers practical programs for culinary professionals and educational programs related to food history.

The Beard Foundation recognized Haber for building "a rich collection of culinary materials and for supporting the growth and development of food history as an academic subject," according to a press release issued by the Foundation.

"I was kind of surprised but delighted," Haber said in response to being inducted by the Foundation.

Haber said she believes she received the award because "people really like the fact that a serious place is taking food history seriously."

Haber will attend the "Academy Awards of the Food World," a gala celebration at the New York Marriott Marquis featuring food prepared by 29 of the nation's leading hotel chefs on May 5, 1997.