Scottish food heritage symposium explores tea’s cultural and societal impact
Published: 24 March 2025
At this month’s annual Scottish Food Heritage Symposium experts will explore how this simple beverage helped transform Scotland’s largest city.
From humble origins to cultural cornerstone, tea ignited a remarkable social revolution across Scotland’s landscape.
At this month’s annual Scottish Food Heritage Symposium experts will explore how this simple beverage helped transform Scotland’s largest city.
Glasgow’s tea rooms were established in the late 19th and early 20th century as the city’s growing temperance movement took hold and offered an alternative to the pub drinking culture. This shift offered women spaces to meet their friends and also transformed tea from a luxury for the rich to a pleasure accessible to ordinary people.
Miss Kate Cranston, one of the most renowned tearoom proprietors, was a firm advocate for the temperance movement and the daughter of a Glasgow tea merchant. However, her creative flair and love of design lead to a long and productive working relationship between her, Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife, artist Margaret Macdonald. They created a series of “art tearooms” with differently themed and decorate spaces for everyone to enjoy.
In a fitting tribute to tea’s cultural significance and the part Miss Cranston’s tea rooms played, this year’s symposium will be held at Mackintosh at the Willow, the original Willow Tea Rooms building. Within these historic walls, scholars and enthusiasts will immerse themselves at the symposium in all aspects of Scotland’s enduring relationship with tea.
Dr Lindsay Middleton, a food historian and a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts & Humanities said: “Tearooms and tea revolutionised how Scots socialised. They created artistic spaces centred around tea rather than alcohol, particularly transforming social opportunities for women as both customers and entrepreneurs. Tea is inherently part of Scottish identity, but its rich history points to Scotland’s links with the rest of the world.
"At the symposium we are keen to explore that history and showcase how the now-humble cup of tea came to be so culturally ubiquitous. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mackintosh at the Willow and the National Trust for Scotland to deliver the 2025 annual Scottish Food Heritage Symposium, which will highlight how the history of Scottish food and drink can be used as a tool for learning and connecting with our cultural and culinary heritage.”
Organised by the University of Glasgow’s College of Arts & Humanities Food Catalyst and Tenement Kitchen, the day-long event will explore everything from the temperance movement that fuelled tearoom culture to the darker history of sugar and empire, alongside investigations into how quintessentially Scottish confections – from shortbread to empire biscuits – became embedded in national identity.
Peter Gilchrist of Tenement Kitchen said: “It feels like there is more excitement around the topic of Scottish food heritage; people want to talk about their food memories, share family recipes and find out more about where exactly their food comes from.
“The symposium provides opportunities for researchers, raises the profile of Scotland's culinary past and offers education for enthusiasts. Considering the venue of this year's event and the 850th anniversary of Glasgow, tea is the perfect subject for a symposium. Tea has been an intrigue part of Scottish life and Glasgow trade for centuries. What’s really exciting this year is that we get to celebrate female entrepreneurship as part of the programme of events. How many people know that the tearoom was invented by a Glasgow woman?”
Throughout the day, attendees will experience the symposium within the stunning architectural setting of Mackintosh at the Willow, from the impressive canopy and skylights of the Front and Back Saloons to glimpses of the sumptuous Salon de Luxe - spaces that were revolutionary for early 20th-century Glasgow.
Oliver Braid, National Trust for Scotland’s Creative Learning Manager at Mackintosh at the Willow, said: “The Scottish Tea Room phenomenon of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is increasingly recognised for its cultural and culinary significance, shaping Scotland’s food, drink, and social histories of gender, race and class. We are delighted to collaborate with the University of Glasgow to expand our educational offerings for students of all ages and deepen understanding of our heritage. We also warmly welcome Perilla Kinchin, the leading expert on Glasgow Tea Rooms, to share her insights at this year’s symposium.”
Among the programme highlights:
- Perilla Kinchin, author of Taking Tea with Mackintosh: The Story of Miss Cranston’s Tearooms, will guide attendees through the remarkable story of how one woman’s vision for sophisticated, alcohol-free gathering spaces changed Glasgow forever.
- Explore Japanese tea ceremonies, Chinese tea provenance and how these international traditions have been interpreted in Scotland.
- Historical talks examining tea smuggling, the dark history of sugar as a product of Caribbean slavery, and how sugar became part of Scottish cultural identity.
- The Art of Afternoon Tea: Discover the creative confections – including shortbread and the empire biscuit – inspired by tearoom culture and the historical recipes that defined Scottish tea-taking rituals.
The sold out 2025 Scottish Food Heritage Symposium will take place on Friday 28 March 2025 at the Mackintosh at the Willow.
About Tenement Kitchen
Tenement Kitchen is a Glasgow-based organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting Scotland’s culinary history. Through events, workshops, and research initiatives, Tenement Kitchen explores the stories behind Scotland’s food heritage.
About the University of Glasgow: Scottish Food and Drink Histories Partnership Lab
The University of Glasgow is one of the world’s leading research institutions, committed to advancing knowledge and fostering cultural understanding. Via the Arts & Humanities Partnership Catalyst: Food and the Scottish Food and Drink Histories Partnership Lab, Dr Lindsay Middleton has partnered with Tenement Kitchen to preserve and celebrate Scottish food heritage.
About Mackintosh at the Willow
Mackintosh at the Willow is the original Willow Tea Rooms building, is the only surviving tearoom in the world founded by Edwardian entrepreneur Kate Cranston and designed by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Its restoration and conservation was the subject of a BBC Scotland feature length documentary, Mackintosh’s Tea Rooms, in 2018. Now under the stewardship of the National Trust for Scotland, it remains a beacon of Glasgow’s art and design heritage, with a popular and dedicated learning programme annually supporting 4000 learners at all levels, making it the perfect setting for this year’s symposium. Activities at Mackintosh at the Willow, including this Symposium, are made possible due to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
First published: 24 March 2025