Elizabeth M. Williams, a New Orleans native and founder of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, discusses New Orleans, A Food Biography, at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 28, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. Registration is not required.

New Orleans, A Food Biography is the 2018 selection of One Book One New Orleans, a not-for-profit literary organization that promotes reading. Each year, the organization selects one book and creates a curriculum of the selected book and distributes copies to adult education programs throughout the city.

The book takes readers through the history of the city, showing how the natural environment and people have shaped the cooking that is so loved. The narrative starts by describing the indigenous population and material resources, then reveals the contributions of the immigrant populations, delves into markets and local food companies, and finally discusses famous restaurants, drinking culture, cooking at home and cookbooks, and signature foods dishes.

Elizabeth M. Williams is the director of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and President of the National Food & Beverage Foundation. She is one of the founders of SoFAB, which opened in 2008 in New Orleans. Williams grew up in New Orleans in a half-Sicilian family and was immersed in food her entire childhood. She has always been interested in the way that food both reflects and drives culture.

She graduated from LSU Law Center in 1974 and joined the Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. During her service in the Army she lived in Stuttgart, Germany, and ate her way around Europe and parts of North Africa. Later, she lived in Washington, D.C. before returning to New Orleans. She became more and more interested in the intersection of food and law - how the law shapes food policy and thus how, what and even how much we eat.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.