Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original

by Sara B. Franklin (editor)

Edna Lewis (1916-2006) wrote some of America's most resonant, lyrical, and significant cookbooks, including the now classic The Taste of Country Cooking . Lewis cooked and wrote as a means to explore her memories of childhood on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, a community first founded by black families freed from slavery. With such observations as "we would gather wild honey from the hollow of oak trees to go with the hot biscuits and pick wild strawberries to go with the heavy cream," she commemorated the seasonal richness of southern food. After living many years in New York City, where she became a chef and a political activist, she returned to the South and continued to write. Her reputation as a trailblazer in the revival of regional cooking and as a progenitor of the farm-to-table movement continues to grow. In this first-ever critical appreciation of Lewis's work, food-world stars gather to reveal their own encounters with Edna Lewis. Together they penetrate the mythology around Lewis and illuminate her legacy for a new generation.

The essayists are Annemarie Ahearn, Mashama Bailey, Scott Alves Barton, Patricia E. Clark, Nathalie Dupree, John T. Edge, Megan Elias, John T. Hill (who provides iconic photographs of Lewis), Vivian Howard, Lily Kelting, Francis Lam, Jane Lear, Deborah Madison, Kim Severson, Ruth Lewis Smith, Toni Tipton-Martin, Michael W. Twitty, Alice Waters, Kevin West, Susan Rebecca White, Caroline Randall Williams, and Joe Yonan. Editor Sara B. Franklin provides an illuminating introduction to Lewis, and the volume closes graciously with afterwords by Lewis's sister, Ruth Lewis Smith, and niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue.

Genres: Food, Biography, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food Writing, American History, Foodie

272 pages, Hardcover

Published April 13, 2018

Reviews

[roxi Net · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of Edna Lewis through a food show (if I remember correctly), then was intrigued by her story. I read a bit more about her recipes and her influence on southern food, yet with this book by Ms. Franklin, I learned quite a bit more (Ms Lewis sewed for Marilyn Monroe - what?!) Stories told by people influenced by Ms Lewis (and including some recipes) this book is a lovely dedication to someone who may be a household name in many parts, but should be a name in so many more homes.

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treasure and gem... The many essays shared by those lucky enough to have known or worked with Edna, allow us a dive into the vast culinary wisdom and life journey this remarkable woman’s legacy left. Her time with us has forever changed how we understand food...

[Margery Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was kind of disappointing. mostly people saying she was great

[P Teall Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edna Lewis is fun to read - this not as much. It was repetitive and unfocused.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the most powerful pieces in Sara Franklin's compilation were Caroline Randall Williams' How to Talk about Miss Lewis? and Patricia Clark's Looking for Edna. Williams writes of her own family's history in Harlem, in Tennesse and how her life intersected with Edna Lewis'. Williams writes of how the women who preceded her and raised her and told stories to her shaped her life and outlook. I loved her writing. Patricia Clark's piece was about an author's voice and how an editor or co-author shapes that voice and alters or elevates intent and authority. Clark made me question a lot about that editorial process presumed to express the author's voice but in the case of Edna Lewis, may have subverted it to consumer demand.

Sara Franklin's interview with Nathalie Dupree, I Had of Course, Heard About Her was also telling for so many reasons not the least of which were stories about Judith Jones, about Edna Lewis' Afrocentric pride and power and the legacy of slavery. Dupree commented that Edna Lewis died poor, no saved wealth, minimal royalties, limited social security. Dupree speaks with a plainness and intimacy that makes me want to know more of her.

I was put off by most of the selections that considered the persona of Edna Lewis but not the person, writing of food without the context of Edna Lewis' heritage and the long history of race and injustice. These essays were towards the front of the work. I was also less enchanted by academics using language that confused and concealed rather than clarified. I understood the language and I understand the tendency of a specialized group to use its own vocabulary but it seems pretentious, similar to saying "utilize" when "use" does just as well.

[Melissa Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking through the voices of writers, chefs, food historians, friends and family, Sara Franklin brings together a new set of perspectives on the late Edna Lewis. Lewis’s own books are classics of the art of cooking and eating. Francis Lam, reflecting on the menus based on meals in Lewis’s home town of Freetown, Virginia, says “the very acts of cooking and serving and eating food are worthy of occasion. It is a story of refinement, not in the fine-china sense but in the sense of being meticulous and careful about the way the people of Freetown raised and grew and trapped and foraged and prepared their food, because their lives were worth that. The pleasure of that was due them.” Edna Lewis treated her food, and the people who came to eat it with deep-boned respect. It is wonderful to read that respect being returned in kind by the food world, with homage paid to the African American chefs responsible for most of the Southern food-ways.

The first half of the book is a collection of essays written by people who knew or met Lewis. The second half is a much more scholarly collection, focusing in on various aspects of Lewis’s family background, the culinary and botanical roots of Virginian cooking. While there are a few “Edna Lewis”-inspired recipes in this book, it is much more an opportunity to dive deeply into the life, times and legacy of a fascinating woman.

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edna Lewis is a significant food luminary - not a celebrity chef - but one of the first people who cooked "seasonally" and "farm to table" before either of these terms was conceived and bandied about by every chef and food critic. She is revered as a trailblazer of regional cooking by knowledgeable food heavyweights such as Alice Waters, Craig Claiborne, James Beard, and they were influenced by her. I first learned about Miss Lewis (as she is best known) from reverential articles I read in Gourmet magazine (maybe in the 1980's). So when I heard about this book, I was eager to read it.

I liked the concept of this book, but the essays written by a variety of food authors and chefs became repetitive. How many times do we need to read about her childhood, young adulthood, life in New York, cooking techniques, and the books she wrote? The editor should have given each writer guidelines so the essays as a group were not the same researched history of this talented, humble, pioneer of Southern cooking.

[Sterling Hardaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8/5. Reading an anthology series of essays to get to know a public figure you don’t know too much about is something I’ve never done before so this was certainly a cool look into Edna Lewis, a chef and food writer that I had only known when she was referred to with reverence on episodes of Top Chef. On one hand, there’s no better way to learn about someone’s influence, impact, and upbringing than through the friends, former colleagues, and people she inspired and I really enjoyed how it included recipes inspired by Edna Lewis with their own spin. I think a minor weakness is that there where essayists where sharing the same stories or adjectives about Lewis and wonder if the book could have done with 3 or 4 less essays to avoid that redundant feeling. Alas, definitely an interesting and thoughtfully compiled anthology series to honor Lewis, just maybe don’t read it straight through like I did!

[East Greenbush Community Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating insight and tribute to an American icon, cook and cookbook author Edna Lewis. Recommended for fans of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution and The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South.

Available on Hoopla: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/1...

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a woman who first became known for her recipes and writing a cookbook many generations ago. She really was someone who put down on paper the way true American way of cooking. Here is a book of essays written by different people about her influence as a chef, author, or an activist. I really only knew the cooking part having a collection of cookbooks and have one that has some of her recipes in it. That was how I first heard about this amassing woman. I found this to be a very good book to read. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[roxi Net · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of Edna Lewis through a food show (if I remember correctly), then was intrigued by her story. I read a bit more about her recipes and her influence on southern food, yet with this book by Ms. Franklin, I learned quite a bit more (Ms Lewis sewed for Marilyn Monroe - what?!) Stories told by people influenced by Ms Lewis (and including some recipes) this book is a lovely dedication to someone who may be a household name in many parts, but should be a name in so many more homes.

[Eli Pollack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays directly, and somewhat tangentially, related to the Chef Edna Lewis. Some essays are very engaging and some seem more academic; some deal directly with her food, some with her race and some with her effect on other chefs.
But, overall, worth reading and interesting insights into the time and place. If I had been smarter and more aware I could actually have eaten at one of her restaurants.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book introduced me to a chef of whom I not been acquainted before. In a series of commentaries on Edna Lewis and her contribution to culinary knowledge and history. I enjoyed this book, however there is quite a bit of overlapping information from the individual contributors.

Copy of this book was compliments of Net Galley

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good history on this amazing lady with a few recipes included. I found her story to be very interesting and the writing/research was outstanding. I have heard of Ms. Lewis and it was a treat to read her story. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

[Ruth Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Terri Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about this intriguing woman, parts of her history, and her experiences gathering and preparing food. Each essay gives us an interesting and thoughtful glimpse of Edna and her life.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Yonan's rcipe for sorghum syrup gingerbread cake

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written so entertains informative a wonderful tribute to Edna Lewis.#Net Galley.
Edna Lewis,

[Kim Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edna Lewis at the Table With an American Original 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Edna Lewis (1916-2006) wrote some of America's most resonant, lyrical, and significant cookbooks, including the now classic The Taste of Country Cooking. Lewis cooked and wrote as a means to explore her memories of childhood on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, a community first founded by black families freed from slavery. With such observations as "we would gather wild honey from the hollow of oak trees to go with the hot biscuits and pick wild strawberries to go with the heavy cream," she commemorated the seasonal richness of southern food. After living many years in New York City, where she became a chef and a political activist, she returned to the South and continued to write. Her reputation as a trailblazer in the revival of regional cooking and as a progenitor of the farm-to-table movement continues to grow. In this first-ever critical appreciation of Lewis's work, food-world stars gather to reveal their own encounters with Edna Lewis. Together they penetrate the mythology around Lewis and illuminate her legacy for a new generation.

The essayists are Annemarie Ahearn, Mashama Bailey, Scott Alves Barton, Patricia E. Clark, Nathalie Dupree, John T. Edge, Megan Elias, John T. Hill (who provides iconic photographs of Lewis), Vivian Howard, Lily Kelting, Francis Lam, Jane Lear, Deborah Madison, Kim Severson, Ruth Lewis Smith, Toni Tipton-Martin, Michael W. Twitty, Alice Waters, Kevin West, Susan Rebecca White, Caroline Randall Williams, and Joe Yonan. Editor Sara B. Franklin provides an illuminating introduction to Lewis, and the volume closes graciously with afterwords by Lewis's sister, Ruth Lewis Smith, and niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue.

I found the life of Edna Lewis fascinating, her quiet dignity, amazing knowledge and her master chef abilities all coming from a humble background.

This book touches on her life through the memories of others. Unfortunately the reader has a hard time unscrambling whose memory and place in time is being referenced.

All in all I enjoyed the book regardless that it was a slow, uneven read.

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you NetGalley!

[Dawn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful tribute to a genius in her craft. One of the best in farm to table cooking this book is terrific.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book introduced me to Edna Lewis, chef extradinaire of Southern cooking, who died in 2006 but left an important legacy behind. There are a few recipes here but this isn't a cookbook. It contains various tributes and stories about Ms Lewis. I found the book interesting and generally quite a worthwhile tribute to an amazing pioneer in her field.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2018 Read Harder - Essay Collection