Join internationally acclaimed Polish journalist and author Witold Szabłowski for a fascinating afternoon of storytelling, cooking demonstrations, and tastings.
In a moderated conversation, the author will share stories from his travels across four continents where he tracked down the personal chefs of five dictators known for the oppression and massacre of their own citizens - Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Uganda's Idi Amin, Albania's Enver Hoxha, Cuba's Fidel Castro, and Cambodia's Pol Pot - and listened to their stories over sweet-and-sour soup, goat-meat pilaf, bottles of rum, and games of gin rummy. Once a trainee chef in Copenhagen, Szabłowski brings a rare insider’s perspective on how the story of cuisine can expose conflict, culture, and human resilience in the face of authoritarian rule.
His journalistic passion took him to Russia to interview those who cooked for the regimes there starting from times under tzars through the present. He also visited and wrote about Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Baltics, and his native Poland. His reflective reporting is a sharp but deliciously readable and witty account of life under tyranny and, after it ends, the attempts to adjust to freedom.
🎤 Moderated by Erna Smith
Award-winning journalist, educator, and media scholar, Erna Smith, brings decades of experience in journalism and academia to the conversation. A former editor and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Minneapolis Star, and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, she was on faculty of University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication for nine years and directed the school's summer internship program for graduate students in Cape Town, South Africa. She has also taught journalism at San Francisco State University and the University of Texas at Austin. Her experience of working and teaching overseas will provide depth and sharp context to guide the conversation and audience Q&A.
What to Expect
🎤 Author talk + live Q&A with Witold Szabłowski
👨🍳 Live cooking demonstrations and tastings of dishes inspired by recipes from his books
✍️ Book signing (books available for purchase on-site)
🚗 Parking - Free and plenty
🎟️Free admission — RSVP to reserve your seat!
👥Who Should Attend
- Food lovers & adventurous home chefs
- Fans of investigative journalism & narrative nonfiction
- Readers curious about history, culture, and human stories
- Students, educators & lifelong learners
About the Project and its Organizer
This program is part of How to Feed a Dictator Week, presented by Dot Dot Dot Connect, an Austin-based nonprofit that bridges cultures and communities through literature, film, visual arts, music, and food.
Follow us!
