Gilbert Stanley Marks (May 30, 1952 – December 5, 2014) was an American food writer and historian noted for his reference and cookbooks on the subject of

Jewish food Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

. He was the founding editor of ''Kosher Gourmet'' magazine. He moved to Israel and became a citizen in 2012 and died of lung cancer on December 5, 2014, at the hospice at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

Education

Marks was born in 1952 in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

. After graduating from high school at

Talmudical Academy of Baltimore The Talmudical Academy of Baltimore or TA (Hebrew: ישיבת חפץ חיים) is a K–12 yeshiva founded in 1917. Its present campus, located at 4445 Old Court Road, includes a pre-school building, an elementary school building, a middle school ...

, Marks studied at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

, and graduated with an M.A. in Jewish history, M.S.W. in social work and rabbinical ordination from

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

, a Yeshiva University affiliate.

Published works

Marks was the founding editor of ''Kosher Gourmet'' magazine, in 1986, which ran for about six years before closing in the early 1990s. The following books written by Marks have been published: * ''The World of Jewish Cooking: More Than 500 Traditional Recipes from Alsace to Yemen'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1996) * ''The World of Jewish Entertaining: Menus and Recipes for the Sabbath, Holidays, and Other Family Celebrations'' (Simon & Schuster, 1998) * ''The World Of Jewish Desserts: More Than 400 Delectable Recipes from Jewish Communities'' (Simon & Schuster, 2000) * ''Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World'' (Wiley, 2004) * ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food'' (Wiley, 2010) Marks was also among the international team of contributors to ''Meals in Science and Practice: Interdisciplinary Research and Business Applications'' (Woodhead Publishing, 2009).

Awards

''Olive Trees and Honey'' is a 2005

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

winner and a 2006 IACP Cookbook Award finalist. The ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food'' earned Marks a place on the

Forward 50 ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

for 2010, a list of fifty

American Jews American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...

"who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year", in the newly created "Food contributors" category. The book was also nominated for the 2011

for "Reference and Scholarship" and was recognized by ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' as the best reference book of 2010 in the Food category.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Gil 1952 births 2014 deaths American cookbook writers American male non-fiction writers American emigrants to Israel American food writers American Orthodox rabbis Israeli Jews Jewish American writers Jewish cuisine Food historians Yeshiva University alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Writers from Charleston, West Virginia Naturalized citizens of Israel 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews Religious leaders from Charleston, West Virginia Rabbis from West Virginia