Peter Clark Kump (October 22, 1937 – June 7, 1995) was an American figure in the culinary arts. The founder of Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, he also co-founded the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

with

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, ...

Biography

Kump was born in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

in 1937. In 1953, his family relocated to Switzerland. He received a bachelor's degree in speech and drama from Stanford University and a master's degree in fine arts from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. Initially, his career was based in theater. He began a theater company after graduating from Stanford called Comedia Repertory Company on the San Francisco Peninsula. After 5 years he left to attend Carnegie Mellon University where, after taking the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Class, was asked by Ms Wood to be on her teaching staff teaching speed reading in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and to members of President Richard M. Nixon's staff in the mid-1960s. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1967, becoming the national director of education for Evelyn Wood. His involvement in the culinary world began with cooking classes at James Beard's culinary school, taking classes from Beard,

Diana Kennedy Diana Kennedy MBE (; 3 March 1923 – 24 July 2022) was a British food writer. A primary English-language authority on Mexican cuisine, Kennedy was known for her nine books on the subject, including ''The Cuisines of Mexico'', which changed h ...

Simone Beck Simone "Simca" Beck (7 July 1904 – 20 December 1991) was a French cookbook writer and cooking teacher who, along with colleagues Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, played a significant role in the introduction of French cooking technique a ...

, and

Marcella Hazan Marcella Hazan (née Polini; April 15, 1924 – September 29, 2013) was an Italian cooking writer whose books were published in English. Her cookbooks are credited with introducing the public in the United States and the United Kingdom to the ...

. The classes prompted him to open his own cooking school, Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, in 1974. In 1979, the school was relocated from his apartment to 307 East 92nd Street. A few days before his death, Kump sold the school to Rick Smilow who then moved it to 23rd Street, opening a few months later. In 2001, Smilow renamed the school The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). In the mid-1980s, Kump was president of the

International Association of Culinary Professionals The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a United States-based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage. History The organizati ...

and the New York Association of Cooking Teachers. In 1985, he co-founded the

with

. After Beard's death, Kump and Child arranged the purchase of Beard’s

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

brownstone, converting it to the headquarters of the culinary arts organization. In 1991, he worked with the Foundation to establish the James Beard Awards. He was the president of the foundation until his death in 1995. He died June 8, 1995 at his home in East Hampton, Long Island of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kump, Peter 1937 births 1995 deaths People from Fresno, California Stanford University alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in New York (state)