James Beard (cook)

James Beard signing books (1981)

Hors d'oeuvres served at James Beard House, 2007

James Andrew Beard (born May 5, 1903 in Portland , Oregon , † January 21, 1985 in New York City , New York ) was an American cook and cookbook author .

Life

Together with MFK Fisher , Craig Claiborne and Julia Child, he is considered to be one of the personalities who significantly influenced American culinary art and food culture between 1930 and 1970. James Beard is considered to be the person who introduced the American middle and upper classes to French cuisine , especially in the 1950s . His life's work includes twenty books and numerous articles on food culture. In his memory, the James Beard Foundation was established in 1986 , whose annual awards are considered the Oscars of the kitchen .

Unlike MFK Fisher, Craig Claiborne and Julia Child, James Beard did not gain his first formative culinary experience abroad. His mother, who was a talented cook, ran a hotel in Portland that employed a Chinese cook named Let, among others. James Beard accordingly grew up under the influence of two very different culinary traditions. Both his mother and Let had a very wide range of fresh foods in Portland. Between 1923 and 1927 James Beard lived in Europe, where he mainly got to know French bistro cuisine . He returned to the United States in 1927. At first he worked as an actor and also appeared in radio spots. He improved his irregular salary as an actor as a cook and eventually set up a catering service in New York with friends . The company opened at a time when cocktail parties were popular. It was customary to serve small bites and canapés with the drinks . The company made a name for itself primarily through a range of products that differed greatly from the competition. In her short biography Beards, Betty Fussel describes them as he -man stuff : artichoke bottoms filled with caviar, the salmon rolls, onion rings in brioche dough and similar products of upscale cuisine , which were even more unusual at the time . Accordingly, James Beard's first cookbook Hors d'œuvres & Canapés , published in 1940, dealt exclusively with dishes that could be served at such parties. Even Cook it outdoors , which was published two years later, occupied a niche in the American cookbook market and is considered the first American cookbook that dealt seriously with a culinary arts, which took place outside a normal kitchen. After the end of World War II , he appeared on the first commercial cooking show produced for the American market. His best known cookbook, James Beard cookbook , was published in 1959.

James Beard has occasionally been criticized for his close collaboration with the food industry. Among other things, he worked closely with the company Omaha Steaks , which markets meat and seafood.

literature

• Betty Fussel: Masters of American Cookery: MFK Fisher, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child , University of Nebraska Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8032-6920-X .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lint, p. 34.