Highbrow Magazine - cookbooks https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/cookbooks en Betty Crocker: Why Generations of American Women Identified With a Fictional Character https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/17090-betty-crocker-why-generations-american-women-identified-fictional-character <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 11/23/2021 - 14:17</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1bettycrocker_1950sunlimited-flickr.jpg?itok=beNEkxq6"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1bettycrocker_1950sunlimited-flickr.jpg?itok=beNEkxq6" width="374" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Though she celebrates her 100th birthday this year, Betty Crocker was never born. Nor does she ever really age.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">When her face did change over the past century, it was because it had been reinterpreted by artists and shaped by algorithms.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Betty’s most recent official portrait – painted in 1996 to celebrate her 75th birthday – was inspired by a composite photograph, itself based on photographs of 75 real women reflecting the spirit of Betty Crocker and the changing demographics of America. In it, she doesn’t look a day over 40.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">More importantly, this painting captures something that has always been true about Betty Crocker: She represents a cultural ideal rather than an actual woman.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Nevertheless, women often wrote to Betty Crocker and saved the letters they received in return. Many of them debated whether or not she was, in fact, a real person.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">In my academic research on cookbooks, I focus primarily on the way cookbook authors, mostly women, have used the cookbook as a space to explore politics and aesthetics while fostering a sense of community among readers.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But what does it mean when a cookbook author isn’t a real person?</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2bettycrocker_monstersforsale-flickr.jpg" style="height:600px; width:596px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Inventing Betty</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">From the very beginning, Betty Crocker emerged in response to the needs of the masses.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">In 1921, readers of the <em>Saturday Evening Post</em> were invited by the Washburn Crosby Co. – the parent company of Gold Medal Flour – to complete a jigsaw puzzle and mail it in for a prize. The advertising department got more than it expected.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">In addition to contest entries, customers were sending in questions, asking for cooking advice. Betty’s name was invented as a customer service tool so that the return letters the company’s mostly male advertising department sent in response to these queries would seem more personal. It also seemed more likely that their mostly female customers would trust a woman.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">“Betty” was chosen because it seemed friendly and familiar, while “Crocker” honored a former executive with that last name. Her signature came next, chosen from among an assortment submitted by female employees.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As Betty became a household name, the fictional cook and homemaker received so many letters that other employees had to be trained to reproduce that familiar signature.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The advertising department chose the signature for its distinctiveness, though its quirks and contours have been smoothed out over time, so much so that the version that appears on today’s boxes is hardly recognizable. Like Betty’s face, which was first painted in 1936, her signature has evolved with the times.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Betty eventually became a cultural juggernaut – a media personality, with a radio show and a vast library of publications to her name.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3bettycrocker_wikimedia.jpg" style="height:600px; width:441px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>An outlier in cookbook culture</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As I explain to students in my food and literature courses, cookbooks aren’t valued solely for the quality of their recipes. Cookbooks use the literary techniques of characterization and narrative to invite readers into imagined worlds.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">By their very nature, recipes are forward-looking; they anticipate a future in which you’ve cooked something delicious. But, as they appear in many cookbooks – and in plenty of home recipe boxes – recipes also reflect a fondly remembered past. Notes in the margin of a recipe card or splatters on a cookbook page may remind us of the times a beloved recipe was cooked and eaten. A recipe may have the name of a family member attached, or even be in their handwriting.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">When cookbooks include personal anecdotes, they invite a feeling of connection by mimicking the personal history that is collected in a recipe box.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Irma Rombauer may have perfected this style in her 1931 book <em>The Joy of Cooking</em>, but she didn’t invent it. American publishers started printing cookbooks in the middle of the 18th century, and even the genre’s earliest authors had a sense of the power of character, just as many food bloggers do today.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4bettycrocker.jpg" style="height:546px; width:394px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>An American ideal</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But because Betty Crocker’s cookbooks were written by committee, with recipes tested by staffers and home cooks, that personal history isn’t quite so personal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As one ad for the <em>Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book</em> put it, “The women of America helped Betty Crocker write the Picture Cook Book,” and the resulting book “reflected the warmth and personality of the American home.” And while books like <em>Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book</em> open with a friendly note signed by the fictional homemaker herself, the recipe headnotes carefully avoid the pretense that she is a real person, giving credit instead to the women who submitted the recipes, suggesting variations or providing historical context.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Betty Crocker’s books invited American women to imagine themselves as part of a community connected by the loose bond of shared recipes. And because they don’t express the unique tastes of a particular person, Betty Crocker books instead promote taste as a shared cultural experience common to all American families, and cooking as a skill to which all women should aspire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The “Story of Two Brides” that appears in Betty Crocker’s 1933 pamphlet “New Party Cakes for all Occasions” contrasts the good “little bride” who “has been taking radio cooking lessons from Betty Crocker” with the hapless “other bride” whose cooking and shopping habits are equally careless. The message here isn’t particularly subtle: The trick to becoming “the most wonderful little wife ever” is baking well, and buying the right flour.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Betty today</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Despite its charming illustrations, the retrograde attitude of that 1933 pamphlet probably wouldn’t sell very many cookbooks today, let alone baking mixes, kitchen appliances or any of the other products that now bear the Betty Crocker brand, which General Mills now owns.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But if Betty Crocker’s branding in the supermarket is all about convenience and ease, the retro stylings of her newest cookbooks are a reminder that her brand is also a nostalgic one.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Published this year, for her 100th anniversary, the <em>Betty Crocker Best 100</em> reprints all of Betty’s portraits and tells the story of her invention. Rather than using the logo that appears on contemporary products, the front cover returns to the quirkier script of the early Betty, and the “personal” note at the opening of the book reminds readers that “it’s always been about recognizing that the kitchen is at the heart of the home.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As Betty is continually reinvented in response to America’s evolving sense of self, perhaps this means valuing domestic labor without judging women by the quality of their cakes, and building community between all bakers – even those who won’t ever be good little brides.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Author Bio:</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Elizabeth A. Blake is an Assistant Professor of English at Clark University.</em></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>This article originally appeared in </em></strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/betty-crocker-turns-100-why-generations-of-american-women-connected-with-a-fictional-character-168443" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><strong><em>The Conversation</em></strong></a><strong><em>. It’s published here with permission under a </em></strong><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><strong><em>Creative Commons license</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Image Sources:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--Monstersforsale (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51514834@N00/50023083042" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--1950s Unlimited (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakta2/8214484121" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>--Ladies Home Journal, 1948 (</em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ladies%27_home_journal_(1948)_(14581942908).jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikimedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></span></span></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/betty-crocker" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">betty crocker</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cookbooks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cookbooks</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cooking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cooking</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cakes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cakes</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pastries" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pastries</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/betty-crocker-cookbooks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">betty crocker cookbooks</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-women" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american women</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-housewives" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american housewives</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Elizabeth A. Blake</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:17:46 +0000 tara 10762 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/17090-betty-crocker-why-generations-american-women-identified-fictional-character#comments The Psychology of Comfort Food https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10600-psychology-comfort-food <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 04/15/2020 - 20:34</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1comfortfood.jpg?itok=c7D_ObDO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1comfortfood.jpg?itok=c7D_ObDO" width="480" height="318" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Amid the global spread of COVID-19 we are witnessing an increased focus on gathering food and supplies.</p> <p> </p> <p>We’ve seen images of supermarket shelves emptied of basics such as toilet paper, pasta, and tinned foods. Messages to reassure people that there would be continued supply of provisions has done little to ease public anxiety.</p> <p> </p> <p>Being able to exert some control over the situation by gathering goods to store for lockdown is one way individuals seek to manage anxiety and fear, and feel protected. But why do we seek out certain foods, and should we give in to cravings?</p> <p> </p> <p>On the one hand, newly stocked and plentiful pantries, fridges and freezers reassure us that food is readily available and puts supplies within easy reach. At the same time, feelings such as loneliness, anxiety, depression, and stress may increase as we retreat and become housebound. So we may be more vulnerable to what is referred to as “emotional eating” during this challenging time.</p> <p> </p> <p>Reaching out for food to comfort oneself is an attempt to manage or alleviate negative emotions. A person’s tendency to emotionally eat can be measured using questionnaires such as the [Emotional Eating Scale, which asks about eating in response to anxiety, depression and anger.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2comfortfood.jpg" style="height:396px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>From an early age, infants learn to associate feeding with being soothed and social interaction. In everyday life, food is often used to enhance mood or “treat” ourselves. Eating tasty food releases dopamine in our brains, which is strongly associated with desire and wanting for food.</p> <p> </p> <p>Eating sweet and fatty foods may improve mood temporarily by making us feel happier and more energetic while also satisfying our hunger. However, if comfort eating becomes a habit, it often comes with health costs, such as weight gain.</p> <p> </p> <p>Research by Mantau and colleagues in 2018 found emotional eating is most likely to occur in response to stress and in individuals who are trying restrict their food intake (“restrained eaters”). These factors were more important in explaining people’s food choices than biological factors such as hunger.</p> <p> </p> <p>Other studies have also shown that trying to suppress food urges can be futile and have the opposite effect to the desired outcome. For example, dieters have been found to experience strong cravings for the very foods they were trying to restrict.</p> <p> </p> <p>Employment insecurity, financial difficulty and hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting the lives of many people. Past  research has shown that poverty is associated with psychological distress, including higher rates of depression and lower mental well-being. Again, people’s ways of coping with this distress could have further ramifications for their health.</p> <p> </p> <p>Research shows those in lower socioeconomic circumstances were more distressed, and more likely to turn to emotional eating as a way of coping. This emotional eating was, in turn, associated with increased body weight.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3comfortfood.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This suggests it is not distress or biological makeup but people’s ways of coping (using food) that may be critical in explaining why some people gain weight in response to stressful life events. People with a history of socioeconomic disadvantage may also find it harder to cope with emotional distress, perhaps due to factors such as lower social support. As a result, they may be more vulnerable to using food as a way of coping.</p> <p> </p> <p>Baking has become a strong theme on social media. The #BakeCorona hashtag has taken off and #QuarantineBaking has over 65,000 posts.</p> <p> </p> <p>Research suggests there are likely benefits from engaging in cooking. The psychosocial benefits of baking have been shown to include boosts in socialization, self-esteem, quality of life, and mood. Cooking with children may also promote healthy diets.</p> <p> </p> <p>By providing and sharing food with other people, baking may strengthen social relationships and make us feel closer to our loved ones. This may explain why it’s become so popular in these times.</p> <p>                                                                                                                                                     </p> <p><strong><em>This is an excerpt from an article, </em>The Psychology of Comfort Foods<em>, that was originally published in <a href="https://theconversation.com/us" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">The Conversation</a>. Read the rest <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-comfort-food-why-we-look-to-carbs-for-solace-135432" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">here</a>. </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bios:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joanne-dickson-320253" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><strong>Joanne Dickson</strong></a> is Associate Professor of Psychology at Edith Cowan University.</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-hardman-109457" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><strong>Charlotte Hardman</strong></a> is Senior Lecturer in Appetite and Obesity at the University of Liverpool.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Copyright © 2010–2020, The Conversation Media Group Ltd.</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>(DISCO content marketplace)</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><em>--Keri Liwi (Unsplash, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Creative Commons</a>)</em></p> <p><em>--Louis Hansel (<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1538826051293-02b4da7acc5f?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&amp;ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=759&amp;q=80" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Unsplash</a>, Creative Commons)               </em></p> <p><em>--Yonko Kilasi (<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1555420460-5551f716b44c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&amp;ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=750&amp;q=80" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Unsplash</a>, Creative Commons)</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/coronavirus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">coronavirus</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cooking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cooking</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/baking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">baking</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cakes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cakes</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pasta" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pasta</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/comfort-food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">comfort food</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/emotional-eating" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">emotional eating</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stress</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/anxiety" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">anxiety</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/preparing-food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">preparing food</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cookbooks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cookbooks</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/restaurants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">restaurants</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Joanne Dickson</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 16 Apr 2020 00:34:58 +0000 tara 9487 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10600-psychology-comfort-food#comments Jenn Segal and the Art of Food https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9808-jenn-segal-and-art-food <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 02/03/2019 - 15:16</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1segal.jpg?itok=zi5mQdA6"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1segal.jpg?itok=zi5mQdA6" width="359" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Around two years ago, while searching for a rice pilaf recipe on Google, I stumbled across chef Jenn Segal’s website, <a href="https://www.onceuponachef.com/">Once Upon a Chef</a>. Thereafter, I spent a full two hours perusing the wide array of recipes – from Chinese dishes to standard Italian classics to delectable desserts – and I have cooked a number of Segal’s recipes, which are all foolproof.</p> <p> </p> <p>A classically trained chef from the Washington D.C. area, who also lived and cooked in France and once worked at the renowned L’Auberge Chez Francois,  Segal’s philosophy centers around the easy access, culinary joy – and above all – diverse and delicious tastes of food.</p> <p> </p> <p>In her cookbook (also named <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Chef-Cookbook-Family-Approved/dp/1452156182">Once Upon a Chef</a>)</em>, published in April 2018 to much acclaim, foodies can discover 100 easy-to-follow, family-friendly recipes that won’t break the bank.</p> <p> </p> <p>I recently interviewed Segal about her cooking career, her blog and cookbook, and all things culinary-related.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What inspired you to become a chef? Was this a childhood ambition?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>You’d think that I grew up in the kitchen tied to my mother’s apron strings. That was definitely not the case! I was a child of the 1970s, and my mom was that “supermom” who did it all. Somehow, she managed to raise two daughters, keep a clean, happy house, and run a successful company.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2segal.jpg" style="height:560px; width:451px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>But when it came to cooking, she was not interested. Dinnertime was a stressful chore — a “gotta do” rather than a “love to do.” But, funnily enough, my mom is the person who led me to a career as a chef. From the time I was very young, she always encouraged me to pursue something I loved for my career — all it took was going off to college and spending a semester abroad in France for me to figure out that food was it.</p> <p> </p> <p>In Tours, France, I lived with a French family and my host mother, Martine, loved to cook. Her kitchen was always bustling with activity: a roast chicken sputtering in the oven, a whistling teapot, or apples and caramel sizzling on the stove. Martine taught me how to cook and speak French at the same time.</p> <p> </p> <p>We made simple things, like vinaigrette, crêpes, and her specialty, tarte tatin, the classic French upside-down caramelized apple cake. As a farewell gift, Martine gave me a French cookbook called <em>Les Recettes Faciles</em>. When I got back to Washington, DC, while my friends were busy studying and bar-hopping, I wandered around Georgetown’s gourmet markets and cooked my way through the book, despite the fact that I lived in a tiny studio apartment with a closet-sized kitchen. I spent the next year trying to scheme a way to return to France, even as my parents made it abundantly clear that they weren’t going to subsidize any more of my adventures.</p> <p> </p> <p>Resourceful (read: clueless) youngster that I was, I signed up to work as a summer au pair in Paris. There was a small stipend, and I got to work with kids and live in Paris. The au pair experience was an all-too-early taste of motherhood for sure, but the job did have one thing going for it: Every morning, after I dropped the kids off at their activities, my host mother, Valerie — another avid cook — would send me from block to block to pick up meats from the boucherie, fresh baguettes from the boulangerie, and seasonal produce from the open-air markets. I also spent my evenings helping Valerie in the kitchen. Before the summer was over, I learned how to cook, eat, and entertain the Parisian way.</p> <p> </p> <p>After graduating from college, I spent one year working in a mindless office job. One year of cubicle living was more than enough for me to realize that I had to follow my heart and go to culinary school.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Who are some of your favorite chefs?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>There are many, but the cookbooks I cherish most come from Dorie Greenspan, Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson, David Lebovitz, Anne Burrell, Nick Malgieri, and Joanne Chang.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3segal.jpg" style="height:485px; width:619px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>How did the cookbook come about? How long did the start-to-finish process take?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I worked in the restaurant business in my20s, but after getting married and having kids, I left the industry to be a stay-at-home mom. Eventually, when my youngest started kindergarten, I got the itch to go back to work and to start cooking more than just buttered noodles and chicken nuggets.</p> <p> </p> <p>I had always dreamed of writing a cookbook – and it seemed like a great way to work from home and raise my kids -- so I wrote a cookbook proposal. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that I had zero chance of getting published as an unknown. I decided to start a food blog instead. It seemed like a great way to hone my recipe development skills and also get myself “out there.” And the best part was that there were no barriers to entry. I came up with the name “Once Upon a Chef,” registered my domain, and began posting recipes every week.</p> <p> </p> <p>Eventually, I forgot about the book and the blog became my passion. But still lurking in the back of my mind was that dream to write a cookbook with beautiful photos and stories. Six years into blogging, I got an out-of-the-blue email from a literary agent who asked if I was interested in developing a cookbook. I was thrilled! From there, the book took exactly three years to bring to market.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What are some of your all-time favorite foods/dishes to cook and eat?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I often spend all day in the kitchen testing recipes, so when it comes time to eat, I love simple things like grilled cheese – but it has to be made with good bread and Gruyère.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Are there any cookbooks that are staples in your library?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>See my answer above above, but I am also a big fan of <em>Cooks Illustrated</em> – a wonderful resource for all things cooking-related.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4segal.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What is your background? You grew up in the D.C. area, but where did you attend school/university?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I have spent my whole life in the D.C. area. I grew up in Reston, VA; attended George Washington University in DC; went to culinary school at L’Academie de Cuisine in MD; and now live in Potomac, MD.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Which restaurants have you worked for?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>My first cooking job was at L’Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls, VA. From there, I went to Sam &amp; Harry’s – a fine dining steakhouse chain that also included The Caucus Room and Music City Roadhouse. I worked for a restaurant PR firm as well, so I had the opportunity to work with many top chefs and restaurants in DC.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Do you believe that food TV has helped Americans develop a more diverse taste for food and other cuisines?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I suppose so but, to be honest, I don’t really watch much food TV. That said, I did watch <em>Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat</em> on Netflix and it’s wonderful.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What is your favorite foodie/culinary city (a) in the U.S., and (b) in other parts of the world?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Of the places I’ve been, I’d have to say L.A. and Paris – but there are still so many places I’d love to go.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Tara Taghizadeh is the founding editor &amp; publisher of </em>Highbrow Magazine<em>.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/once-upon-chef" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">once upon a chef</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jenn-segal" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jenn segal</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cooking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cooking</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cookbooks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cookbooks</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/recipes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">recipes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/foodies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">foodies</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Tara Taghizadeh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Courtesy of Jenn Segal</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 03 Feb 2019 20:16:44 +0000 tara 8525 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9808-jenn-segal-and-art-food#comments