Contents
Edna Lewis
Preserving Black Southern food traditions in The Taste of Country Cooking.
The Taste of Country Cooking · In Pursuit of Flavor
- Born
- 13 April 1916
- Birthplace
- Freetown
- Died
- 13 February 2006
More people
Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis was an American chef and author whose writing placed seasonal ingredients and rural Black Southern experience at the centre of American food culture.
Early life
Freetown upbringing
Grew up in a Virginia community founded by formerly enslaved people.
Learning to cook
Learned seasonal cooking through family and community life.
Career
- 1940s
New York restaurant
Became the cook at Café Nicholson.
- 1972
First cookbook
Published The Edna Lewis Cookbook.
- 1980s
Food preservation
Helped organise the Society for the Revival and Preservation of Southern Food.
Selected work
The Taste of Country Cooking
Recipes and memories arranged around the seasons in Freetown.
In Pursuit of Flavor
A practical account of ingredients and technique.
The Gift of Southern Cooking
Co-authored with Scott Peacock.
Beyond work
Creative work
Also worked as a seamstress before her culinary reputation grew.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Biographical data and references ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
Photo: unknown. Copyrighted image; source credit retained · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.