Catching up on recent accolades, Culinary Historians of New York honored Betty Fussell in October with the Amelia Award for Lifetime Achievement in Culinary History. From CHNY:
Named in honor of Amelia Simmons, the author of “American Cookery” (1796), the first cookbook written in America, the Amelia is represented by a trifle bowl, designed to showcase the classic English dessert made (at least in modern recipes) from sponge cake, fruits, custard, and whipped cream, the cake generously soused with sherry or another tipple. Helen J. Saberi, in volume 50 of “Petits Propos Culinaires,” muses that, “Trifles offer a rare combination of sensual and intellectual pleasures.” That, of course, also defines excellence in culinary history.
Continue reading to learn more about the award — and Simmons’ own trifle recipe.
In honor of Betty’s many contributions to food and gastronomy, CHNY put together a lively panel discussion at Astor Center on a subject Betty has championed throughout her career: How is our agricultural past shaping the way we eat today? The discussion covered the future of heirloom seeds and heritage breeds and lessons learned from large-scale commercial agriculture.
Panelists included Patrick Martins, founder of Slow Food USA and co-founder of Heritage Foods USA; Diane Ott Whealy, co-founder and vice president of education of the Seed Savers Exchange; and Judith LaBelle, president of Glynwood, an organization whose mission is to help communities in the Northeast save farming.
The discussion was moderated by Karin Endy, founder of Edible Resources, which provides consulting services to food companies and non-profits on sustainability and corporate responsibility, and chair of The Culinary Trust, the philanthropic partner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
At this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards, Betty Fussell was inducted into the Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America. Other inductees included David Burke, chef and entrepreneur; John T. Edge, journalist and director of the Southern Foodways Alliance; Dorothy Hamilton, founder of the French Culinary Institute; and Clark Wolf, of Clark Wolf Company, a food and restaurant consulting firm.
Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef had been nominated for a book award in the category of writing and literature, along with In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, and Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, by Fuchsia Dunlop. In Defense of Food took the honors.
Jane Grigson was inducted into the Cookbook Hall of Fame based on her body of work, including The Art of Charcuterie, Good Things and Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. After an introduction by Stanley Tucci, Betty offered these remarks:
It is a personal honor to tell you about Jane Grigson, a leading woman in food in the twentieth century. I never met her — she died in 1990 — but I was grateful to be the first recipient of the Jane Grigson Award for Scholarship given by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Jane Grigson’s writings, quite simply, changed the way we think about food.
In her exemplary book, Good Things, she praised fish, mushrooms and fruit, simple French-country food and simple English country cooking. She taught us that good eating equaled good living, and that good cooking was the highest form of art.
“Cooking something delicious,” she wrote, “is much more satisfactory than painting pictures or throwing pots… Food has the tact to disappear, leaving room and opportunity for more masterpieces to come.” We are all in her debt. And the James Beard Foundation honors her memory with induction into its Cookbook Hall of Fame.
Interested in learning more about the James Beard Awards? All of this year’s nominees are listed here. Ann & Peter Haigh, who host the food, wine and travel program On the Menu, interviewed a number of guests and award recipients throughout the night. You can hear Betty about 13 minutes in (launch mp3). And the James Beard Foundation Blog covered it live — you’ll find related posts here.
Raising Steaks has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the category of writing and literature. The awards ceremony will be held May 4 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. Betty Fussell also will be one of five new inductees into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America.
The other inductees this year are: David Burke, chef/entrepreneur, New York City; John T. Edge, journalist/director, Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford, Miss.; Dorothy Hamilton, founder, The French Culinary Institute, New York City; and Clark Wolf, founder and President of Clark Wolf Company, a food and restaurant consulting firm, New York City.
The theme this year is “Women in Food,” and the reception will be overseen by female chefs, winemakers, mixologists, and sommeliers.
In other book news, “Raising Steaks” is an International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award finalist in the category of literary food writing. The winners will be announced at the 2009 IACP International Conference in Denver on April 4.
