Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of

Jewish cuisine 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 ce ...

. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Abraham Beame. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'' has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".

Education

Joan Nathan was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Pearl (Gluck) Nathan and Ernest Nathan. After receiving a master's degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, she earned another master's degree in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. As a newspaper food journalist she has visited, among other places, France and Brazil, uncovering new dishes or researching Jewish cuisine.

Career

Television

She was executive producer and host of ''Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan'', a PBS series based on her cookbook, ''Jewish Cooking in America''.

Cookbooks

Nathan has written ten cookbooks, winning numerous awards for them. Six are about Jewish cuisine and two on

Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israel ...

. Her goal is to preserve

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

traditions by interviewing cooks and documenting their recipes and stories for posterity. In 1985, ''An American Folklife Cookbook'' won the R.T. French Tastemaker Award (now the James Beard Award). ''The New American Cooking'' won the James Beard and IACP Awards for Food of the Americas and Best American Cookbook. She was guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005

Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the F ...

, which was based on the research for her book. Two decades later, in 2005, ''Jewish Cooking in America'' won the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year, and the James Beard Award (again) for Food of the Americas. In 2017, the IACP: International Association of Culinary Professionals honored ''Jewish Cooking in America'' as a Culinary Classic. * ''The Flavor of Jerusalem'', Little, Brown 1975 * ''The Jewish Holiday Kitchen'', Schocken 1979 * ''An American Folklife Cookbook'', Schocken 1984 * ''The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen'', Schocken 1988 * ''Jewish Cooking in America'', Knopf 1994 * ''The Jewish Holiday Baker'', Schocken 1997 * ''The Foods of Israel Today'', Knopf 2001 * ''Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook'', Schocken 2004 * ''The New American Cooking'', Knopf 2005 * ''Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France'', Knopf 2010 * ''King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World'', Knopf 2017 * ''Joan Nathan: A Life in Search of Recipes'', Knopf (coming March, 2024)

Personal life

Israel

She lived in Israel for three years working for Mayor

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek ( he, טדי קולק; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 19 ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Marriage

Nathan was married to the late Allan Gerson, an attorney; the couple has three children and two grandchildren. Nathan divides her time between

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and Martha's Vineyard.

Awards

* 2018, Creativity Moment Award, Moment Magazine * 2015, Grande Dame Award, Les Dames d'Escoffier International * 2011, ith her husband, AllanSpecial Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her contribution to preserving Jewish culture * 2008, MacDowell Fellow, the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowel ...

* 2005, Silver Spoon Award, Food Arts Magazine * 2002, Honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture * 2001, Inductee into James Beard Foundation's ''Who's Who in American Food and Beverage'' * 1998, Jewish Daily Forward "Forward 50" * 1995, Golda Award, American Jewish Congress * 1994, ''Jewish Cooking in America'' received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook and later, the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award

Guest appearances

* ''Good Morning, America'' * ''The Today Show'' * ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'' *

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

* ''The Martha Stewart Show''. * ''All Things Considered'' and ''Weekend Edition''

Other

In January 2009, she began choking on a piece of chicken at the Art.Food.Hope dinner in

but was saved by chef

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

, who performed the

Heimlich maneuver Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver or Heimlich manoeuvre, is a first aid procedure used to treat upper airway obstructions (or choking) by foreign objects. American doctor Henry Heimlich is often credited for its creation. ...

.Colicchio Uses Heimlich Maneuver to Save Cookbook Author
Slash Food, January 19, 2009.

References

External links

A Short History of the Bagel: From Ancient Egypt to Lender's

* ttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8978739 Gefilte Fish: Cooking Up a Seder Staple
Bread of Freedom in Times of Despair

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E6DC1238F936A35751C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Inviting an Old Favorite to the Hanukkah Table
A Delicacy That Is Better When It's Not Served Whole

* ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010200180.html A Toast to a Diplomat With a Cook's Heart
From Hungary, For Hanukkah, From Long Ago

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDF1030F936A35757C0A9609C8B63 It's Passover, Lighten Up
In France, It's Not All Chopped Liver

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DF1230F93BA1575AC0A9639C8B63 Kugel Unraveled
Red, White, and Blueberry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Joan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American cookbook writers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni American television producers American women television producers American food writers Jewish American writers Women cookbook writers James Beard Foundation Award winners American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women