Wilbur Mitcham (December 10, 1923 - June 15, 2003) was an American chef.
Early life
Mitcham briefly served in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
as a field artilleryman during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
but was medically discharged for health reasons. Upon his discharge from the Army he went to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In New York, he studied cooking under an Asian chef.
Career
Mitcham returned to Macon and landed a position as a short order cook with Len Berg's Restaurant in 1943. "Chef", as he was so affectionately known by his constituents and friends, served as the senior chef cook of Len Berg's Restaurant for over 60 years until he took ill.
[
] He cooked for
Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...
,
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...
and Joe Dimaggio.
Personal life
Mitcham was married for over 60 years to Annie Mae Leonard. He died on Father's Day 2003.
Mitcham is featured in the boo
“Remembering Len Berg's Restaurant” He Fathered and raised 13 children. He was the father of
Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey
Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey is an African-American women, African-American woman who is known as an instrumental figure in the civil rights movement. Bailey was one of the first to began desegregation at A. L. Miller Senior High School,an all-white f ...
an
“The Gay Preacher’s Wife”author
Lydia Meredith and is featured in her book.
Further reading
* Campbell, Will D. (1995)
The Stem of Jesse The Costs of Community at a 1960s Southern School. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. pp. ix, 212 pp 110–111; 24 cm.. . Miller, p. 111.
References
External links
Wilbur Mitchamfrom the Georgia Encyclopedia
Remembering Len Bergs Restaurant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitcham, Wilbur
1923 births
2003 deaths
African-American people
American male chefs
Chefs from Georgia (U.S. state)
United States Army personnel of World War II
People from Macon County, Georgia
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people