Cleora Butler (1901–1985) was a chef, caterer and cookbook writer based in
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
.
She is the author of the 1985 book ''Cleora's Kitchens: The Memoir of a Cook and Eight Decades of Great American Food'', a memoir about her life as a house cook in Tulsa.
''Gourmet'' magazine named ''Cleora's Kitchens'' the best cookbook of the year.
Beginnings
In 1985, Cleora Butler published a memoir and cookbook entitled ''Cleora’s Kitchens: The Memoir of a Cook & Eight Decades of Great American Food.'' In her memoir, she describes her childhood experiences of visiting her grandparents during the summer to pick fresh fruits that her grandmother would turn into jams, jellies, and wines that she would enjoy tasting during the holidays. She also reflects on times when her grandfather would give her and her brothers sugar cane that he had grown to make molasses. At the age of ten, when left at home by herself, the mischievous Cleora prepared biscuits from a recipe pamphlet she had found. This was her first time attempting to cook. To her recollection, the biscuits were very tasty.
It's memories like these that molded Cleora Butler's cooking career.
References
External links
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Cleora Butler at the Legacy Quilt Project– Museum of Food and Drink
Hidden Kitchens: Talking Recipes: Cleora Butler's Baked Fudge- National Public Radio
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African-American people
1901 births
1985 deaths
American cookbook writers
Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Chefs from Oklahoma
American women food writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
American women non-fiction writers