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42 MYROUSESEVERYDAY JULY | AUGUST 2016
the Cocktail issue
Who is James Beard?
The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, nurture
and honor America’s diverse culinary heritage through programs
that educate and inspire.
I n 1970, I was visiting the Time-Life Books test kitchen in
New York City when I observed a gentleman stirring a pot of
roux that seemed to be bubbling up like a witch’s brew. Uh-oh,
I thought to myself. Was he using self-rising flour and thus this
gonflé (swollen and puffy) mixture?
The jovial fellow pulled the pot off the fire (thank goodness) and
introduced himself as James Beard.The name didn’t ring a bell, but
it appeared he was someone important. It was during dinner that
evening that I learned he was a much-published cookbook author
and bon vivant. I found him to be absolutely charming.
A few years later I was asked by Ella Brennan (whom I met while
working as the local consultant for the Time-Life Books’ Foods of
the World Series on American Cooking: Creole and Acadian) to come
to work at Commander’s Palace.
My first reaction to her invitation was an absolute “no.” I knew that
restaurants are open days and nights, weekends and holidays and I
wasn’t ready to give up my social life, but Ella was persuasive.Within
a week, I was set up in the catering department and thus began my
long friendship with the matriarch of the Brennan often
had late afternoon chats on the patio sipping on Sazeracs discussing
the cuisines of south Louisiana. It was during one of these cocktail
James Beardby Marcelle ienvenu
hour visits that James Beard
came up in conversation. It was no
surprise that Ella knew not only the
renowned Mr. Beard but also Julia Child
and Jacques Pepin—my culinary idols. And in fact, my cookbook
collection began with books by Child and Beard.
My interest in Beard progressed further when the late Patrick
Angelico, a colleague at Commander’s Palace, mentioned that he
collected Beard’s books.Our friendship led us to find some of Beard’s
out-of-print books to add to our culinary libraries. (One I cherish is
Hors d’Oeuvre and Canapés, his first book, published in 1940.)
As I became more involved in the world of gastronomy, I made it a
point to learn about the players who were involved in shaping and
redefining American cuisine during the 60s, 70s and 80s.
This is what I know about Mr. was born in 1903 in Oregon
and was exposed to good cooking as a youngster. Not only did his
mother operate a boarding house, but he and his family also spent
summers at the beach on Oregon’s coast gathering shellfish and wild
berries, and cooking meals with whatever they could find. As a young
man, his interests turned to the theater rather than cuisine.
He travelled abroad for several years and studied voice and theater,
but returned to the United States in 1927. When he realized being
in the theater was not lucrative, he began a catering business,
opening a food shop called Hors d’Oeuvre, Inc. in 1937, and he
finally realized that “his future lay in the world of food and cooking.”
The James Beard Foundation website tells us that during the war years,
Beard “served with the United Seaman’s Service, setting up sailors’
canteens in Puerto Rico, Rio de Janeiro,Marseilles and Panama.”
After returning to New York in 1945, he became very involved
in the culinary world, and by 1955 had written several influential
cookbooks. In 1946, he appeared on television’s first cooking show on
NBC. Through the years, he contributed articles in magazines such
as Woman’s Day , Gourmet and House & Garden and consulted with
restaurateurs and food producers. He established the James Beard
Cooking School in 1955 and continued to teach for the next 30 years.
Beard, Julia Child and Craig Claiborne unknowingly began the
revolution of American gastronomy in the post-war years. (A must-
read for those interested in American culinary history is The United
States of Arugula: HowWe Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp.)
James Beard died at 81 on January 21, 1985, leaving the country
with a “legacy of culinary excellence and integrity to generations of
home cooks and professional chefs.”
After Beard’s death, Julia Child prodded his friends and colleagues
to do something with his house. On November 5, 1986, the James
Ella Brennan — photo by Frank Aymami