Meredith Chilton, chief curator at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, will present a lecture entitled Oysters and Champagne: Dining with Casanova. If Giacomo Casanova lived today, he would describe himself as a foodie. He confessed to being "extravagantly fond of good food," a pleasure he considered secondary only to his love of women; the two passions were often intrinsically linked. During his life, a revolution took place in the gardens, kitchens and dining tables, as dining became at once more sophisticated and yet more simple.

This lecture takes you on a gustatory journey from the elegant, intimate suppers organized by Casanova as a prelude to seduction to the austere table of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who advocated a strikingly modern vegetarian diet. Along the way you will encounter rules for carving, new wares made of precious materials and Casanova's secret, carnal way of eating oysters.