Carol Field (March 27, 1940 – March 10, 2017) was an American cookbook author, writer, and librarian. She is known for introducing Americans to the variety of Italian breads with her book ''The Italian Baker''.

Education

Born Carol Helen Hart in Oakland, California, Field attended

Anna Head School for Girls Head-Royce School (Head-Royce or HRS) is a private co-educational college-preparatory K-12 school in Oakland, California. The forerunner of Head-Royce was the Anna Head School for Girls in Berkeley, founded in 1887. Relocated to its current sit ...

and

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1961.

Personal life

She married John Field, an architect who died in February 2017. Together, they had a son named Matt and a daughter named Alison.

Career

Field worked as a librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. She opened Minerva's Owl bookstore with a partner in 1962. After traveling with her husband to Italy, Field learned Italian and began to explore Italian cooking, though her first book, ''Hill Towns of Italy'' (1983), explored the history of towns in the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria. ''The Italian Baker'' was first published in 1985. A year later, the International Association of Culinary Professionals honored the work with an award. After it had gone out of print, a bookseller from New York told her "It's like not being able to find

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

," and Field worked to republish her best known work, releasing it for a second time in 2011. A prolific writer, she wrote for numerous publications including '' Gourmet'' and ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

''. In 1994, ''Italy in Small Bites'' was named the winner of the Italian Book James Beard Foundation Award. Sixteen years later, ''The Italian Baker'' was designated one of the James Beard Foundation's Baker's Dozen, a collection of "indispensable baking books." Field was elected a foreign member of the

Accademia Italiana della Cucina Accademia (Italian for "academy") often refers to: * The Galleria dell'Accademia, an art museum in Florence * The Gallerie dell'Accademia, an art museum in Venice Accademia may also refer to: Academies of art * The Accademia Carrara di Belle ...

in 1993 and the government of Italy named Field a Knight of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

in 2004.

Selected works

*Field, Carol. ''Celebrating Italy''. New York: Morrow, 1990. *Field, Carol. ''Italy in Small Bites''. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993, 2004. *Field, Carol, and Richard Kauffman. ''The Hill Towns of Italy''. San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1983, 1996. *Field, Carol. ''In Nonna's Kitchen: Recipes and Traditions from Italy's Grandmothers''. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. *Field, Carol. ''Focaccia: Simple Breads from the Italian Oven''. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2003. *Field, Carol. ''Mangoes And Quince''. New York: Bloomsbury, 2001, 2008. *Field, Carol. ''The Italian Baker, Revised; The Classic Tastes of the Italian Countryside--Its Breads, Pizza, Focaccia, Cakes, Pastries, and Cookies''. Ten Speed Press, 2011.

Death

She died of a stroke at home in San Francisco on March 10, 2017, aged 76.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Carol 1940 births 2017 deaths American librarians American women librarians American cookbook writers Writers from San Francisco 21st-century American women writers Wellesley College alumni Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Writers from Oakland, California 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American women food writers James Beard Foundation Award winners American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers