Edna Lewis Foundation

Edna Lewis, the Grande Dame of Southern Cookery, Is Honored in 2012 by Namesake Foundation

ATLANTA – (March 6, 2012) – On January 15, 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida, Chef Joe Randall, of Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School in Savannah, Georgia, announced the official creation of The Edna Lewis Foundation. “The Foundation is dedicated to honoring, preserving and nurturing African American’s culinary heritage and culture,” said Chef Randall, “and to elevating the appreciation of our culinary excellence.” Chef Randall is the newly appointed chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees. Atlanta is the city chosen for the Foundation’s headquarters, a city that is the de facto capital of the south and where Ms. Lewis spent many of her later years.

The Edna Lewis Foundation will host its first fund-raising reception to celebrate the birth of Edna Lewis on Friday, April 13, 2012, 6:30 p.m. at the City Club of Buckhead, 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia. All attendees will receive a copy of the Edna Lewis’ cookbook “The Taste of Country Cooking,” autographed by Edna Lewis Foundation board of trustees. Net proceeds from the birthday celebration will benefit The Edna Lewis Foundation and its programs. For information, contact the foundation chair, Chef Joe Randall at 912-303-0409.

Who Was Edna Lewis?

Edna Lewis, the granddaughter of a former slave, was the author of three seminal cookbooks that, to quote The New York Times, February, 2006, “revived the nearly forgotten genre of refined Southern cooking while offering a glimpse into African-American farm life in the early 20th century.” Ms. Lewis died in 2006 at the age of 89.

Her cookbooks include: The Edna Lewis Cookbook (1972), The Taste of Country Cooking (1976) and In Pursuit of Flavor (1988). Among her many awards were: “Who’s Who in American Cooking,” (Cook’s Magazine, 1986); "Dr. Edna Lewis is lauded as one of the great women of American cooking. A specialist in Southern Cooking, She received an honorary Ph.D. in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University-Norfolk College of Culinary Arts,
May 26, 1996"; “James Beard Living Legend Award” (their first such award, 1999), and being named “Grande Dame” (Les Dames d”Escoffier, 1999).

Ms. Lewis was born in 1916 in Freetown, Orange County, Virginia, one of eight children. Her grandfather, an emancipated slave, helped found the community, hence its name. The family lived on a farm that had been granted to her grandfather and central to the family’s life was food in all its phases: growing, foraging, harvesting and cooking. Without any modern cooking conveniences—everything was cooked over wood and, lacking measuring spoons, baking powder was measured on coins—food preparation called on creativity, resourcefulness and ingenuity.

At 16, after her father died, she left Freetown for Washington, D.C., and then New York City where her culinary journey got off to a rocky start with her first job ironing in a laundry. She had never ironed before and was fired after three hours. She may not have ironed but she had sewed, and quickly found work as a seamstress. She copied Christian Dior dresses for Dorcas Avedon (the wife of photographer Richard Avedon), made a dress for Marilyn Monroe and became well known for her African-inspired dresses.

Café Nicholson

Shortly after her marriage to Steve Kingston, a retired merchant seaman, she met John Nicholson, an antiques dealer who opened Café Nicholson on Manhattan’s East Side. Ms. Lewis was the cook and became known for her mussels, cheese soufflés, Boston lettuce salad and perfectly roasted chicken. The Café became an instant success with the likes of William Faulkner, Marlon Brando, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Marlene Dietrich.

She stayed at the restaurant until 1954 and during her tenure her husband was always critical of the restaurant’s bourgeois nature. He reportedly complained, “This restaurant should be for ordinary people…you’re catering to capitalists.” After leaving the Café she and her husband were involved in several ventures, among them a pheasant farm. They had one adopted son, a native of Africa, Dr. Afeworki Paulos.

The Cookbooks and Cooking

During the 1970s Ms. Lewis broke her leg, and she made the most of her inability to move about freely by writing her first cookbook, The Edna Lewis Cookbook. But it was her second cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, that became her most famous. Her editor for this book was Judith Jones, the Knopf editor who also edited Julia Child. This second cookbook was the first-ever cookbook written by an African American woman about African-American cookery that gained national fame. And many of her chapters on fresh local foods and seasonality predate the locavore movement in America. Her second cookbook was completed during her husband’s illness and subsequent death.

Ms. Lewis returned to restaurant cooking and her last job was as chef at Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn. She retired in 1992. Shortly thereafter, she and a group of friends founded the Society for the Revival and Preservation of Southern food. Dr. Edna Lewis is lauded as one of the great women of American cooking.

Edna Lewis Foundation Mission Statement

Food is LIFE. Every culture, every family, ultimately every living soul understands the nourishment, love and importance of food. Food goes beyond breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food brings together families, seals business deals, builds friendships and lifetime commitments. Food is for the living, although a taste of a beloved family recipe will bring back memories of a loved one that has since gone.

The Edna Lewis Foundation is at the center of African-American’s culinary lives. A chef, cookbook author and teacher, Edna Lewis was a champion of Southern cookery who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. The Edna Lewis Foundation continues in the same vein and will offer a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and promote a deeper understanding of Southern culinary culture and heritage. The programs include educational initiatives; food awards programs, culinary scholarships and publications. In addition to establishing and maintaining The Edna Lewis House in Atlanta, Georgia, as a performance space and cooking school for visiting chefs, the Foundation will create a robust online community and host tastings, lectures, workshops and food-related art exhibits in Atlanta and around the country. The Edna Lewis Foundation is a Georgia non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Edna Lewis Foundation Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees includes: Chair Chef Joe Randall, Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School, Savannah, Georgia; Vice-Chair Chef Marvin Woods, Diaspora Foods International, Atlanta, Georgia; Chef Erika Davis, Simply Erikas Desserts, Atlanta, Georgia; Chef Darryl Evans, City Club of Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia; James Oxendine, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta, Georgia; Chef Earlest Bell, Healthy Culinary Creations, Orlando, Florida; Timothy W. Koerner, John E. Koerner & Co., New Orleans, Louisiana; Chef Duane Nutter, Lushlife Restaurant Group, Atlanta, Georgia; Chef Charlie Hatney, City Club of Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia; Chef Kevin Mitchell, Culinary Institute of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina and Chef Matthew Raiford, Little Saint Simons Island, Georgia.

Edna Lewis Foundation National Advisory Board

The National Advisory Board includes surviving members of Ms. Lewis’ family: Son, Dr. Afeworki Paulos, Cadiz, Ohio, Sister, Mrs. Ruth Lewis Smith, Unionville, Virginia; Niece, Mrs. Nina Williams Mbengue, Aurora Colorado; Dr. Climentine Jones, Chicago, Illinois; Bruce Kraig, Ph.D., Chicago, Illinois; Dr. Rudy Lombard, Chicago, Illinois; Ms. Charlotte Lyons, Chicago, Illinois; Meredith R. Raiford, Ph.D., Washington, D.C.; and Leni Sorensen PhD., Charlottesville Virginia.

Want to Join the Edna Lewis Foundation?

Calling all corporate, food and wine enthusiasts and food and beverage professionals, if you would like to join the foundation and obtain more information on the life and legacy of Edna Lewis, please visit www.ednalewisfoundation.org. For specific inquiries, feel free to email the foundation directly at [email protected]. Please also join the Edna Lewis Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitterfor continuous updates.

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About The Edna Lewis Foundation
Founded in 2012, The Edna Lewis Foundation is at the center of African-American’s culinary lives. A chef, cookbook author and teacher, Edna Lewis was a champion of Southern cookery who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. The Edna Lewis Foundation continues in the same vein and will offer a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and promote a deeper understanding of Southern culinary culture and heritage. The programs include educational initiatives; food awards programs, culinary scholarships and publications. In addition to establishing and maintaining The Edna Lewis House in Atlanta, Georgia, as a performance space and cooking school for visiting chefs, the Foundation will create a robust online community and host tastings, lectures, workshops and food-related art exhibits in Atlanta and around the country. The Edna Lewis Foundation is a Georgia non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. If you would like to join the foundation and obtain more information on the life and legacy of Edna Lewis, please visit www.ednalewisfoundation.org. For specific inquiries, feel free to email the foundation directly [email protected]. Please also join the Edna Lewis Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for continuous updates.

(I thought the post above didn't transmit --- anyway this is nearly the same information in a nutshell)

Edna Lewis, the Grande Dame of Southern Cookery, Is Honored in 2012 by Namesake Foundation

Founded in 2012, The Edna Lewis Foundation is at the center of African-American’s culinary lives. A chef, cookbook author and teacher, Edna Lewis was a champion of Southern cookery who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. The Edna Lewis Foundation continues in the same vein and will offer a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and promote a deeper understanding of Southern culinary culture and heritage. The programs include educational initiatives; food awards programs, culinary scholarships and publications. In addition to establishing and maintaining The Edna Lewis House in Atlanta, Georgia, as a performance space and cooking school for visiting chefs, the Foundation will create a robust online community and host tastings, lectures, workshops and food-related art exhibits in Atlanta and around the country. The Edna Lewis Foundation is a Georgia non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. If you would like to join the foundation and obtain more information on the life and legacy of Edna Lewis, please visit http://www.ednalewisfoundation.org. For specific inquiries, feel free to email the foundation directly [email protected]. Please also join the Edna Lewis Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for continuous updates

For the first time, 10 esteemed black chefs and industry members will come together in Chicago to honor African American culinary icon Edna Lewis at an event called the “South Side Chefs Revival and Homecoming” next month.

https://chicago.eater.com/2019/7/31/207 ... od-culture