Barbara Haber

Last updated

Barbara Haber is a culinary historian and speaker. She is the former book curator of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University. Haber is credited with expanding the library's focus on women's social history to include food-related books and cookbooks, as well as fiction and memoirs, despite critics that were originally against it. [1] [2] [3] She has authored and co-written books on subjects related to culinary history.

Contents

Life and career

Haber was born and raised in Milwaukee. [4]

In 1968, she began a part-time job at a then-small women's history library, the Schlesinger Library. [5] For over 30 years, Haber curated books and organized events at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard University. [6] [5] During her time at Schlesinger, she expanded the library's collection from 8,000 to about 80,000 books—16,000 of which were food-related books or cookbooks. [7]

Her addition of cookbooks to the library was initially controversial. [5] [3] The debate on whether cookbooks should have a substantial role in the library's collection started in 1943, and up until the late 1980s, the library generally did not allow the purchase of cookbooks. [8] [7] Critics were concerned about adding cookbooks to a feminist library. Speaking about the controversy, Haber said, "For some reason, cooking, more than any other household chore… was the symbol of the patriarchy." [5] In the early 1990s, culinary history was not seriously considered as an academic subject. [3] During that time, however, Haber was a supporter of creating academic studies on the role of food in culture and establishing more formal degrees on subjects like "Culinary History". [9]

In 1989, Julia Child added to the library's collection, donating 500 rare cookbooks from the American Institute of Wine and Food. [5] In 1997, the James Beard Foundation honored Haber with a Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America award. [10]

Her 2002 book, Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals, drew on materials in the Schlesinger Library to explore a range of culinary history topics, [11] including its connection to society, politics, and economics. [12] Haber retired from the Schlesinger Library in 2003 to pursue writing full-time. [5] [3]

With Arlene Voski Avakian, Haber co-authored From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies, a culinary history book published in 2005. [13] In 2005, Haber joined the James Beard Foundation awards board of governors. [14] She later became a Committee Chair of the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. [15]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beard</span> American chef

James Andrews Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, Oregon, and lectured widely. He emphasized American cooking, prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty books, and his memory is honored by his foundation's annual James Beard Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookbook</span> Book of recipes with instructions

A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.

Sally Gerber is the daughter of Daniel Frank Gerber who established the baby food enterprise Gerber Products Company.

Sara Moulton is an American cookbook author and television personality. In an article for The New York Times, Kim Severson described Moulton as "one of the nation’s most enduring recipe writers and cooking teachers...and a dean of food television and magazines".

The James Beard Foundation is a New York City–based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The programs run the gamut from elegant guest-chef dinners to scholarships for aspiring culinary students, educational conferences, and industry awards. In the spirit of James Beard's legacy, the foundation not only creates programs that help educate people about American cuisine, but also supports and promotes the chefs and other industry professionals who are behind it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Ruhlman</span> American author and entrepreneur

Michael Carl Ruhlman is an American author, home cook and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Fussell</span> American writer (born 1927)

Betty Ellen Fussell is an American writer and is the author of 12 books, ranging from biography to cookbooks, food history and memoir. Over the last 50 years, her essays on food, travel and the arts have appeared in scholarly journals, popular magazines and newspapers as varied as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Saveur, Vogue, Food & Wine, Metropolitan Home and Gastronomica. Her memoir, My Kitchen Wars, was performed in Hollywood and New York as a one-woman show by actress Dorothy Lyman. Her most recent book is Eat Live Love Die, and she is now working on How to Cook a Coyote: A Manual of Survival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beard Foundation Award</span> Annual awards for culinary professionals in the US

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awards are presented at a dinner in New York City; the chef and restaurant awards were also presented in New York until 2015, when the foundation's annual gala moved to Chicago. Chicago will continue to host the Awards until 2027.

Helen Jean Anderson was an American cookbook author and editor.

<i>Betty Crocker Cookbook</i> Cookbook by General Mills

The Betty Crocker Cookbook is a cookbook written by staff at General Mills, the holders of the Betty Crocker trademark. The persona of Betty Crocker was invented by the Washburn-Crosby Company as a feminine "face" for the company's public relations. Early editions of the cookbook were ostensibly written by the character herself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Ketcham Wheaton</span>

Barbara Ketcham Wheaton, born in Philadelphia in 1931, is a writer and food historian. Since 1990, she has been the honorary curator of the culinary collection at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, one of the largest collections in the United States of books and manuscripts relating to cooking and the social history of food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Kenji López-Alt</span> American chef and food writer

James Kenji López-Alt is an American chef and food writer. His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, became a critical and commercial success, charting on the New York Times Bestseller list and winning the 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for the best General Cooking cookbook. The cookbook expanded on López-Alt's "The Food Lab" column on the Serious Eats blog. López-Alt is known for using the scientific method in his cooking to improve popular American recipes and to explain the science of cooking.

Arlene Voski Avakian is an Armenian-American academic specializing in women's studies and food history.

Michael Solomonov is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019. Solomonov was also awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011, Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017 from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pati Jinich</span> Mexican chef and author (born 1972)

Patricia Jinich is a Mexican chef, TV personality, cookbook author, educator, and food writer. She is best known for her James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated public television series Pati's Mexican Table. Her first cookbook, also titled Pati's Mexican Table, was published in March 2013, her second cookbook, Mexican Today, was published in April 2016, and her third cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, was published in November 2021.

Ashley Christensen is an American chef, restaurateur, author, and culinary celebrity. She is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the chef + proprietor of AC Restaurants, a hospitality group that operates Poole's Diner, Fox Liquor Bar, Beasley's Chicken + Honey, Death & Taxes, Poole'side Pies, and AC Events. A two-time James Beard Award winner, she is widely credited for helping to put Raleigh's food scene on the map.

In the 1950s, commercial cookbooks gained popularity in the United States. These cookbooks frequently suggested the use of packaged food and electric appliances, which had become more available due to the post-war economic boom. Cookbooks reflected these changes. Betty Crocker and Julia Child became popular icons in American culture through their cookbooks and the media during this era. Cookbooks also reflected many cultural trends of the 1950s, especially typical gender roles and racial identities. Many cookbooks were addressed to the white, middle-class housewife who cooked for her family in their suburban home. These cookbooks often excluded African-American, immigrant, and rural women. For them, handwritten cookbooks served as both personal histories and a means to express their views on politics and society. Meanwhile, advertisements promoted the racial stereotype of the “black mammy” that de-feminized African-American cooks in white households. Ethnic immigrants were also debased as European Americans baked their distinct cuisines into generic casseroles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Tipton-Martin</span> Food and Nutrition Journalist and Cookbook Author

Toni Tipton-Martin is an African-American food and nutrition journalist and author of several cookbooks, including Jubilee. She serves as the editor-in-chief for Cook's Country. She received the Julia Child Award in 2021, and two James Beard awards.

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Young (author)</span> Chef and Cookbook Author

Grace Young is an American cookbook author, activist, and food historian specializing in Chinese cuisine and wok cookery. She received the Julia Child Award from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and James Beard Humanitarian of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation, both in 2022, for her culinary achievements.

References

  1. ↑ Julian, Sheryl (18 October 1988). "New Julia Child library wing whips up rich batch of women's culinary history". The Spokesman-Review. pp. F9. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Moore, Galen (5 February 2003). "Schlesinger Library's Haber has a taste for books about food". The Boston Globe. p. E2. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Blue, Agnes (2003-01-26). "She put food in its place, to help tell women's tale". The Boston Globe. p. 359. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  4. ↑ Collins, Myrna (2002-06-05). "Author makes the connection between food history and the history of women". The Post-Crescent. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Potier, Beth (2003-01-16). "Barbara Haber brought books and cooks to Schlesinger Library". Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27.
  6. ↑ Williamson, Cici (1999-05-26). "Haber's library effort garners award". Northwest Herald. p. 41. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. 1 2 Allen, Erin (October 2006). "Food and Feminism: Haber Speaks on Culinary History". Library of Congress Information Bulletin. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Willoughby, John (10 May 1995). "Feminists Find History in the Kitchen". The New York Times. p. C4. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. ↑ Kleiman, Dena (20 November 1991). "A University Offers Food For Thought". The New York Times. p. C1. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Barbara Haber | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org.
  11. 1 2 Lem, Ellyn (2006). "From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals". The Journal of Popular Culture. 39 (1): 170–172. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00219.x. ISSN   0022-3840.
  12. ↑ "FROM HARDTACK TO HOME FRIES: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals". Publishers Weekly. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. 1 2 Rossi-Wilcox, Susan M. (2006). "From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies: Critical Perspectives on Women and Food". The Journal of Popular Culture. 39 (5): 922–923. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00324.x. ISSN   0022-3840.
  14. ↑ Moskin, Julia (2 February 2005). "Beard Awards Break From Foundation". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "JBF Awards Policies and Procedures". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.