Grating the Nutmeg 212. Ingredients for Revolution: Feminist Restaurants featuring Bloodroot Restaurant
Connecticut Explored and our podcast, Grating the Nutmeg, have featured many of the heritage trails that mark the important histories and sites of Connecticut's people. Preservation Connecticut has undertaken a survey of LGBTQ+ heritage sites across the state. Now, Grating the Nutmeg and Preservation Connecticut have teamed up to bring you a three-episode podcast series that pairs new research on LGBTQ+ identity and activism with accounts of the Connecticut places where history was made. The episodes include a thriving vegetarian cafe-bookstore run by lesbian feminists in a working-class former factory town, a transgender medical researcher working on an urgent public health issue in the center of Connecticut politics, and a gay, Jewish, best-selling children's book author in affluent Fairfield County.
In this episode, Dr. Alex Ketchum, author of Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses, published by Concordia University Press in 2022, reveals the history of women-owned restaurants in the 1970s and 1980s that had a feminist mission. In a first-ever overview of feminist cafe subculture, Ketchum's book details the role eateries played in social justice movements, including women's and LGBTQ+ liberation, and food justice. And we will highlight Bloodroot, the almost 50-year-old lesbian-feminist bookstore, collective, and vegetarian restaurant in Bridgeport.
Dr. Ketchum is Assistant Professor at McGill University's Institute for Gender, Sexuality, Feminist Studies, and the Director of the Just Feminist Tech and Scholarship Lab, co-editor of Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022), and creator of The Feminist Restaurant Project: thefeministrestaurantproject.com
Follow Dr. Ketchum on her social media pages- bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aketchum22.bsky.social @aketchum22.bsky.social
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.alexketchum/ @dr.alexketchum
To find out more information on Bloodroot Restaurant, check out these sources:
Restaurant Website
Public Broadcasting Interview with the founders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtxLyIqYhxQ
Documentary Trailer "A Culinary Uprising: The Story of Bloodroot"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh2K7RAeBf4
This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was supported by Preservation Connecticut, preserving the state's heritage for 50 years and a Quick Grant from CT Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, programs, and collaboration with other organizations. CTH is supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources.
Connecticut Landmarks LGBTQ+ Archives
The archival collections of East Haddam's Palmer-Warner House include the diaries and letters of previous residents Frederic Palmer and his partner Howard Metzger. On view during the museum's open hours through August 23,2025, "Letters of Unity" explores the evolution of LGBTQ+ communication over more than a century through the stories of Frederic, Howard, and other members of LGBTQ+ communities. From love letters to social media and personal diaries to protest flyers, this display showcases how love, resistance, and solidarity have been expressed through various mediums. Purchase tickets at https://ctlandmarks.org/properties/palmer-warner-house/
The Palmer-Warner House will host a thought-provoking free community panel discussion on queer independence on Saturday, July 12 from 1 pm-4 pm. This panel will offer the opportunity to connect with diverse voices from across generations as they reflect on past, present, and future LGBTQ+ resilience, self-determination, and community support. Don't miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and celebrate the strength of queer identities. Register at https://114536.blackbaudhosting.com/114536/Queer-Independence-Discussion-Panel
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This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/ Follow GTN on our socials:
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Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!