These collections of interviews are concentrated on the history of gastronomy, food and culture. Preserving the oral tradition is an important tool in preserving the past.
As Studs Terkel (an American collector of Oral History has said: I am called an oral historian which is something of a joke. Oral history was here long before the pen, long before Gutenberg and the printing press. The difference is I have a tape recorder in my hand.
Oral histories allow many voices to be documented, some of which may not otherwise be heard and in turn provide a living window on people's lives and experiences as they were lived.