4805 Edgemoor Ln
Bethesda, MD 20814
USA
The Culinary Historians of Washington Are Pleased to Present
Susan Benjamin
A Survey of Food History and Changes
as they Relate to Candy…with a Tasting!
Sunday, November 12, 2017
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
To be held in: Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD
Discover the little-known history of sweets and how they shaped the nation. In her presentation
CHoW member Susan Benjamin will start with the Native Americans and move through
enslavement, the Industrial Revolution, war rations and today’s candy favorites. She’ll discuss
our mixed emotions about candy—love, hate, guilt, and nostalgia—which originated in the mid-
1800s. You’ll sample the candy from historical flavors of roots and resins to retro classics like Pixy
Stix.
Benjamin is the founder of True Treats Historic Candy, in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the
nation’s only research-based candy company, listed by Food Network Magazine and delish.com, as
one of the nation’s top 50 “Sweet Spots.” She has researched communications and the history of
culture for almost 40 years and is the author of ten books. She has worked as a journalist, college
professor, and communications strategist for Fortune 500 companies and other large
organizations, including a Clinton and later George W. Bush White House initiative. She presents
at museums, historical societies and other venues nationwide, including the Smithsonian
Museum of American History. A lifelong entrepreneur, Ms. Benjamin now devotes her attention
to researching the history of sugars and sweets.
Her tenth book, Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Favorite Pleasure
(Prometheus, 2016), made the Smithsonian’s “Best of Books about Food for 2016.” Her articles
and op-eds have appeared in the Chicago Tribune and Miami Herald, as well as other newspapers,
magazines, and on-line publications. She has also appeared on National Public Radio, NBC
News, Voice of America, ABC News Hour Radio, CNN and many more.
