Part 1: Her life and times

Edna Lewis: Her life and times

One of the aspects of U.S. cuisine that is often ignored abroad is its variety across regions and cities, due to the different waves of immigrant that settled in the country since its origin. In the previous modules we discussed the impact of French cuisine and ethnic restaurants on the culinary arts in the U.S. It would take a whole course to survey – however briefly - the diversity deeply rooted in the food customs all over the country, even at a time when corporate business, industrialization, and globalization appear dominant. In this unit we will examine Southern foodways and, in particular, the African-American traditions that developed in that area since the 17^th century. To do so, we will look at the life and work of Edna Lewis, one of the most famous African-American chefs and cookbook writers from the past few decades.

To fully understand her relevance, it is very important to examine the cultural and social context in which she lived and worked. Fabio Parasecoli briefly introduces her background, which will be further explored in the next section of this unit.

Edna Lewis was born and grew up in rural Virginia. Culinary historian Michael Twitty illustrates Edna Lewis’s upbringing in the South.

Very young, Edna Lewis moved to Washington and New York City, where she first worked as a seamstress and later she made a name for herself in the culinary world. Food researcher Tonya Hopkins describes Edna Lewis’s career in the New York City restaurant world, from Café Nicholson in Manhattan’s Upper East Side to Gage and Tollner in Brooklyn.

Chef Joe Randall, Chair of the Edna Lewis foundation, explains Edna Lewis’s relationship with Southern food, farm-to-table cooking, and the profession of the chef.

Let’s hear her in an Interview from 1994.

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