National Bitter Melon Council

May 5, 2006

Bitterware Party was a social gathering at a private residence in Jamaica Plain, MA hosted by Lisa Davis and NBMC Advisory board member and Midwest Regional Ambassador of Bitter Melon Jan Sutton, mimicking the format of a Tupperware party and collecting Bitter Melon growers, members of the art community, agriculture activists, and local residents.
A 4-course meal prepared by Ms. Davis and Richard Sutton was served while Jan Sutton made a short presentation about the origins of Bitter Melon and its health, flavor, and creative qualities, and then gathered participants together to play a question and answer game. Each person took a question out of a bowl, read it, and answered it to the best of their ability. The Q&A sparked discussion ranging from whether or not a farmer’s feelings can affect the produce that s/he grows to a conversation about how one can age more sweetly.

The Bitterware Party is an initiative created by Jan Sutton who first began hosting Bitterware parties as a way of sharing the experience of Bitter Melon with her friends and neighbors in and around Victoria, Minnesota, many of whom had never tasted the bitter gourd. She incorporated questions into the experience which she found sparked engaging dialogue among those she invited, allowing them the opportunity to share insights and personal experiences with each other in this neutral context.

The Bitterware Party is an interrogation into the structure of the Tupperware party, an event hosted by a consultant or demonstrator of Tupperware (a brand of home food-storage products) in which the consumer becomes the product marketer and product marketing is also used as a way of relationship and community building. These events often take place at home or in the workplace. The consultants are usually consumers of the product who host these promotional events in exchange for free merchandise awarded based on the sales from the party. The parties are also opportunities to socialize, support and build relationships as well as promote the product.

The Bitterware Party however, applies this structure without applying the product or monetary reward. In these social gatherings, Bitter Melon is used as a way to spark conversation among people, opening dialogue about similarities, differences, world views and personal outlooks in the service of building community. Bitter Melon is featured in the dishes prepared at the event (usually by the host/s); conversation may (but is not required to) include background information about the gourd and it’s myriad health and flavor qualities. The event also includes a question and answer session, which includes questions relating to the concrete and abstract qualities of Bitter Melon.