FoodCult slide

Get a taste for the project

FoodCult is the first major project to establish both the
fundamentals of everyday diet, and the cultural ‘meaning’
of food and drink, in early modern Ireland.

FoodCult research slide

The recipe for our research

FoodCult comprises seven interdisciplinary
work packages that explore various aspects
of food production and consumption.

Welcome to FoodCult, a five-year project funded by the European Research Council. This project brings together history, archaeology, science and information technology to explore the diet and foodways of diverse communities in early modern Ireland. It will serve as a model for future comparative and interdisciplinary work in the field of historical food studies.

Example of GIS mapping

Learn about the project

FoodCult is the first major project to establish the fundamentals of everyday diet and the cultural ‘meaning’ of food and drink in early modern Ireland.

Dublin Castle household accounts

Discover our research

FoodCult adopts a multiscale interdisciplinary approach to diet and foodways in early modern Ireland, and comprises seven work packages.

Stable isotope analysis

Meet the FoodCult team

The FoodCult project is led by Principal Investigator Dr Susan Flavin, who is supported by expert collaborators in a variety of specialist fields.

Food for thought . . .

“Food is more than itself… it is identity, and culture, and history. It is the most important matter in our lives… it is transcendent.”

Bill Buford

Host institution

FoodCult is hosted by the School of Histories and Humanities at Trinity College Dublin in partnership with the ADAPT Research Centre. The project also benefits from collaboration with experts at partner institutions including: University College Dublin, IT Sligo, Durham University, University of Bristol and Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.

Trinity College Dublin logoAdapt Research Centre logo