Edna Lewis, Chef

Edna Lewis (1916–2006) grew up in Freetown, Virginia, a community founded by families freed from slavery, including her grandfather. The family grew, raised and preserved almost everything they ate.

New York

Lewis moved to New York as a young woman and worked as a seamstress and at other jobs. In 1949 she became the chef at Café Nicholson on the East Side, opened by John Nicholson. Her roast chicken, soufflés and simple Southern dishes drew writers and artists; the restaurant became a fashionable gathering place.

Writing

With editor Judith Jones, Lewis wrote The Taste of Country Cooking (1976), organised by the seasons and the rhythms of farm life in Freetown. It showed Southern cooking as a sophisticated, seasonal cuisine grounded in local ingredients and technique. She later cooked at Gage & Tollner in Brooklyn and co-wrote The Gift of Southern Cooking (2003) with chef Scott Peacock.

Influence

Lewis is now recognised as a pioneer of farm-to-table and seasonal cooking and of the dignity of Southern and African American foodways. She received numerous honours, and a U.S. postage stamp was issued in her honour in 2014.

Why she is in the Hall of Makers

Lewis connects the museum's farm-to-plate chain with the craft of the line cook. Her lesson for culinary students: respect ingredients, learn technique thoroughly, and cook with the seasons.

Further reading

Edna Lewis, The Taste of Country Cooking (1976); Sara B. Franklin, ed., Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original (2018).