Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz (17 June 1915 – 27 October 2003) was a British food writer who popularized Latin American cuisine in the United States and the United Kingdom. Initially a writer of poetry and fiction, she began working in the culinary field upon moving to Mexico City with her second husband, and continued to work on the cuisines of the areas to which he was posted as a diplomat. She was nominated for three James Beard Foundation Awards, winning twice.

Early life

Elizabeth Lambert was born 17 June 1915, in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, United Kingdom, she was the middle child of three sisters. Her father was a marine engineer, and because of his job, the family moved to Jamaica when Lambert Ortiz was 8 and then later on to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Her writing career began there, first as a poet following the publication of three books on poetry. She also worked a

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...

in Sydney, before writing reviews of films and television. Lambert married, but her first husband died during the Second World War after volunteering for the Royal Air Force. Lambert Ortiz moved to London in 1949, where she had intended to work as a journalist, but instead wrote a drama for the BBC before writing the novels ''The Sleeping House Party'' and ''Father Couldn't Juggle''. She moved in the mid-1950s to New York City to work with the United Nations on a children's reference book on

marine studies Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

. It was there that she met and married diplomat

Cesar Ortiz Tinoco Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

Culinary career

She moved with her husband when he was posted to Mexico City, where she learnt to speak Spanish and about

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...

from her Ortiz Tinoco's extended family there. She became interested in the evolution of Mexican cuisine, and the effects of colonisation had upon the native recipes. From her time in New York, she had already been in contact with the editor of '' House & Garden'', José Wilson. She commissioned Ortiz to write articles on Mexican food, and introduced her to James Beard. Lambert Ortiz travelled with her husband across Latin America and Asia during the 1960s, with her first

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

, ''The Complete Book Of Mexican Cooking'', published in 1967. She followed this up with ''The Book Of Latin American Cooking'' and ''The Complete Book Of Caribbean Cooking'' over he following few years. She wrote extensively for '' Gourmet'' magazine and several Time-Life publications. She also wrote a ''Complete Book of Japanese Cooking'' in 1976 with

Mitsuko Endo Mitsuko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Mitsuko is generally written with the kanji characters 光 and 子 which, when translated into English can mean "light, child" or "shining, child".http://www.20knames.com/fema ...

while Ortiz Tinoco was posted to Bangkok. After her husband retired in 1980, they settled in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, West London and her cookbooks began to be published in the UK as well as a book on nouvelle cuisine entitled ''A Taste Of Excellence'' in 1986.

Awards

She twice won James Beard Foundation Awards for her cookbooks, in 1968 for ''The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking'' and in 1980 for ''The Book of Latin American Cooking''. Lambert Ortiz was nominated on a further occasion in 1993 for ''The Encyclopedias of Herbs, Spices and Flavorings''. That work instead won awards from

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, '' ...

and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Later life and legacy

Following her husband's death in 1992, she began to become isolated due to increasing poor health due to

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

. She subsequently returned to New York permanently to be closer to her sister. Although she wrote cookbooks on several different cuisines, she is best remembered for her work in Latin America, popularising Mexican cuisine in particular in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Bibliography

* ''The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking'', New York: M. Evans, 1967 **''The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking''; rev. ed. London: Grub Street, 1997 * ''The Book of Latin American Cooking'', New York: Knopf, 1979 * ''The Complete Book of Caribbean Cooking'', M. Evans & Co., 1973 ** ''Caribbean Cookery''. London: André Deutsch, 1975 (a revised ed. of the above) ** * ''Cooking with the Young Chefs of France'', 1981 * ''From the Tables of Britain'', 1986 * ''The Encyclopaedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavourings'', 1992

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Elisabeth Lambert 1915 births 2003 deaths English food writers English women poets Latin American cuisine English women novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century English novelists Women food writers Women cookbook writers 20th-century English women writers People from Harrow on the Hill Writers from London English television writers James Beard Foundation Award winners English women non-fiction writers British women television writers 20th-century English screenwriters British expatriates in Mexico