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Edna Lewis

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Chef

The Resume

    (April 13, 1916-February 16, 2006)
    Born in Freetown, Virginia
    Famous for compiling Southern cuisine into cookbooks
    Worked at Café Nicholson as a chef (1949-1954)
    Wrote 'The Edna Lewis Cookbook' (1972), 'The Taste of Country Cooking' (1976), 'In Pursuit of Flavor' (1988), and 'The Gift of Southern Cooking' (2003; with Scott Peacock)
    Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award, International Association of Culinary Professionals (1990), James Beard Living Legend Award (1995), Lifetime Achievement Award from Southern Foodways Alliance (1999), and Barbara Tropp President's Award, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (2002)
    Subject of the documentary 'Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie' (2006)
    Died in Decatur, Georgia

Why she might be annoying:

    She worked for the communist newspaper The Daily Worker.
    She participated in political demonstrations.
    During the 1950s, she tried pheasant farming in New Jersey, only to lose all her birds to a 'sleeping sickness' within one year.
    She opened a Southern-style restaurant in Harlem that went bankrupt after only one year. (1967-1968)
    Despite her influence on cuisine, she is a lesser-known figure among culinary enthusiasts.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She introduced the chocolate soufflé into the menu, and it has remained to this day.
    She had two stillborn siblings and two more who died young of pneumonia.
    She endured a lot of discrimination during her time at New York City.
    Many of her clients at Café Nicholson included bohemians and various celebrities.
    She made dresses for Marilyn Monroe and Richard Avedon's wife Dorcas.
    Her cookbooks have rekindled interest in Southern cuisine and made it more dignified.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 81.25% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 141 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying