Celebrating Women’s History Month
by Bernadette Ventura
Women have made huge contributions to the culinary and hospitality industry throughout history and what better time than Women’s History Month to honor just a few of them.
Dating back to the 1747 and considered the most influential cookbook of the 1700’s, English cook Hannah Glasse wrote “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.” The book ran through 40 known editions and by 1805 was published in America. Glasse is credited with introducing international ingredients and flavors, such as those from India, Germany, Italy and the West Indies. Quite an accomplishment considering the time period.
Between 1796 and 1822, American Amelia Simmons, wrote “American Cookery,” the first cookbook published in the United States. American Cookery wrote about food culturally, acknowledging our British heritage, while staking a claim to a new place and new cuisine. Several common food terms and ingredients today such as, “shortening” originated in Simmons’ book. American Cookery was once coined as “another declaration of American independence” and was recently designated by the Library of Congress as one of the “Books that Shaped America.”
Perhaps one of the most influential cookbook writers is Fanny Farmer, who invented the recipe writing format that is consistently followed today. In her book “The Boston Cooking-School Book,” published in 1896, Farmer introduced standardized measuring spoons and cups, and level measurements, replacing arbitrary measurements such as a “piece” or a “teacup.” This led Farmer to be known as “the mother of level measurements.” At the age of 30, Farmer enrolled at the Boston Cooking-School, ultimately serving as its Principal in 1891, followed by the 1896 cookbook. Her later work led to books on diet and nutrition and in addition to lecturing at Harvard Medical School, Farmer taught convalescent diet and nutrition to doctors and nurses.
M.F.K. Fisher wrote about food, or she used food as a metaphor for larger cultural truths. Fisher’s first book “Serve it Forth” was published in 1937, and she said about it, “Look, if you have to eat to live, you may as well enjoy it.” Upon her death, The New York Times called Fisher, “…the writer whose artful personal essays about food created a genre.” Fisher remains the highly respected author of 27 books, hundreds of articles, and was a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. Have a read here.
In her 1945 Chinese cookbook, “How to Cook and Eat in Chinese,” Buwei Yang Chao, coined the terms “stir-fry” and “pot stickers”. Buwei didn’t speak much English but forever influenced the way Chinese food is viewed in the US, moving it beyond the previously limited view of Americans trying to understand the cuisine and helping it become popular.
Edna Lewis, known as the Grande Dame of Southern Cooking, opened Café Nicholson in 1949 on the east side of Manhattan. A pioneer for black women in the field, Lewis became a lecturer for the American Museum of Natural History and in 1972 wrote “The Edna Lewis Cookbook.”
We all know Julia Child and her influence remains endless. Perhaps she is most famous for her book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” published in 1961, and “The French Chef,” her television show that launched in 1963. Julia studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in 1949 was the only woman in her first class. Child won multiple awards throughout her career including a Peabody and 3 Emmys. In 1993, she was the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Hall of Fame. Today, Julia’s home kitchen and tools can be seen the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Bon Appetit!
Pioneering restaurateur Ruth Fertel bought a New Orleans restaurant called Chris Steak House in 1965. By adding her first name in the possessive, TADA! Ruth’s Chris Steak House was founded. Fertel was a single mother and self-taught in all aspects of the restaurant business. From humble beginnings, Fertel created one of the largest international chains we know today.
Farm to Table is a concept and practice we know well today and in 1971, it was Alice Waters that brought the idea to life when she opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. From the beginning, she insisted on ingredients that were local, organic and sustainably grown. Alice is the founder of “The Edible Schoolyard Project,” which teaches sustainable food education to children in 57 countries. In 2015, President Obama awarded Waters with the National Humanities Medal.
Over the next 50 years, women have continued to grow and influence the culinary and hospitality arenas. To cite just a few:
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken were the first female chefs on the Las Vegas strip when in 1999 they opened their popular LA Mexican restaurant, Border Grill;
In 2005 Cristeta Comerford became the first White House Executive Chef. Comerford grew up in Manilla where she started her career in fine dining followed by training and cooking internationally. After serving as Sous Chef for 10 years, Laura Bush promoted Comerford into The White House lead position;
In 2008, Stephanie Izard was awarded the coveted title of Iron Chef after winning season 1 of Iron Chef Gauntlet. Izard went on to receive Food & Wine’s Best New Chef designation in 2011 and in in 2013 won a James Beard award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Izard is the founder of Chicago restaurants Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, Duck, Duck Goat and Cabra, all in Chicago;
Nancy Silverton, founder of restaurants Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza and Chi Spacca, was the first female chef to win a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pasty Chef in 2014;
Nina Compton was designated Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2017 and in 2018, was the first black woman to win a James Beard award for Best Chef: South. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Compton started her career at Daniel a 3-star Michelin rated restaurant in NY before founding her own restaurants, Compere Lapin and Bywater American Bistro in New Orleans.
The list of accomplished women in culinary and hospitality field could go on for pages so let’s just say, “thank you” to all the women that have broken down barriers and smashed ceilings. You have made the hospitality industry proud and serve as talented and accomplished role models for our youth.