New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, ex-resident of the Ville Lumière and author of Paris to the Moon and The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, joins us for an evening celebrating the philosophy of food in France and how it has evolved over two centuries—from the King’s table at the Palace to the bourgeois tables of star-rated restaurants. Gopnik has been writing for The New Yorker since 1986. He is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award for essays, reviews, and criticism, and a winner of the George Polk Award for magazine reporting. He lives in New York City with his wife and their two children.

This is a Jean Bodfish Brown Lecture. The Jean Bodfish Brown Fund celebrates the spirit and honors the memory of Jean Bodfish Brown by funding a program featuring an exceptional French artist every year. Jean Bodfish Brown was president of the Alliance Française de Chicago from 1990 to 1992 and before her untimely passing in 1993 at age 52 was an active and dedicated Alliance member, serving on the Board of Directors in various capacities. We recognize her generosity and contribution in helping to make the Alliance the model cultural institution it is today.