Farrell Monaco is award-winning Classical archaeologist and foodwriter whose research centers on food, food preparation, and bread in the Roman Mediterranean. Educated at the University of Leicester in Britain, she has worked as a team on Roman food archaeology projects at Monte Testaccio (Rome, Italy) with CEIPAC (University of Barcelona); The Pompeii Food & Drink Project (Pompeii, Italy) with an American university consortium, and Investigating the Archaeology of Death at Porta Sarno Necropolis (Pompeii, Italy) with Universidad Europea de Valencia.
Outside of her academic foci, Farrell is known for her public education work and experimental archaeology projects where she recreates Roman recipes using instruction and ingredients sourced from the archaeological, literary, and pictorial records. She writes regularly on the role of food and food preparation in Roman daily life on her site Tavola Mediterranea, and publishes in both English and Italian. Farrell has also written exclusively for Atlas Obscura and BBC Travel. Her work has been featured prominently by National Geographic, Popular Science, The Atlantic, the BBC, The Guardian, The Economist, Esquire Magazine, SAPIENS Magazine, Verve Magazine, Saveur Magazine, Eating Well and Milk Street. In November of 2020, Farrell co-produced, wrote and presented a video on the history of the date palm fruit with The Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA).
In 2019, Farrel launched 'The Old School Kitchen', a public education programme that continues the immersive process of exploring Roman food archaeology through lectures and food preparation workshops for participants in public, museum, and educational settings. Recent bookings include CA 2022 (Swansea University) (UK), NYU London (UK), University of Southern California (USA), EATALY Los Angeles (USA), The Italian Chamber of Commerce-West (USA), The University of Leicester (UK), The State University of New York (USA), The Rivers School (USA), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), The Dallas Museum of Art (USA), The Walters Museum (USA), The Terroir Symposium, Castello di Potentino (Italy), Spazio Sinopie (Italy), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze (Italy), and Museo Civico Archaeologico d'Anzio (Italy).
In 2019, Farrell Monaco was awarded the John Wacher Dissertation Prize in Roman Studies by the University of Leicester, and the Best Special Interest Food Blog Award by Saveur Magazine. In 2021, Farrell was awarded the Vaughan Prize for Community Engagement with Outreach by The University of Leicester.
Farrell is currently awaiting publication of her first book chapter in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Experimental Approaches to Roman Archaeology. In March of 2022, she joined the ranks of Buddy Valastro, Tartine, and Nancy Silverton by launching her own online bakery - Pistrinum by Tavola Mediterranea - in partnership with Goldbelly, Inc. All proceeds from the recreated Panis Quadratus loaves are donated directly to Forum dei Giovani, a youth charity association in Pompeii, Italy.
Farrell currently sits on the Media Relations Committee of the Society for American Archaeology, is an active member of EXARC, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society for Classical Studies, and the Italian American Chamber of Commerce-West. She resides in Malibu, California with her husband and three dogs.
Press, Podcasts, and Media Coverage can be accessed at: Tavola Mediterranea Press and Podcasts.
Photo: Farrell Monaco - Photo by Anais Benoudiz.
