Penelope Casas (May 25, 1943 – August 11, 2013) was an American

food writer Food writing is a genre of writing that focuses on food and includes works by food critics, food journalists, chefs and food historians. Definition Food writers regard food as a substance and a cultural phenomenon. John T. Edge, an American food ...

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 ...

author and expert on the

cuisine of Spain Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as ''sofrit ...

. Casas began authoring a series of English-language

cookbooks 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 cours ...

focusing on the food of Spain during the 1980s, effectively introducing Americans to Spain's culinary heritage for the first time. Casas released her first cookbook, ''The Foods and Wines of Spain'', in 1982. Her first book is still in print, as of 2013. She would publish five more indepth books and cookbooks on Spanish cuisine. Her follow-up book, ''Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain'', released in 1985, introduced a large American audience to the concept of

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...

and tapas bars for the first time. Casas's last book was ''La Cocina de Mama: The Great Home Cooking of Spain'' in 2005. Casas was born Penelope Fexas to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

parents, Antonia and Achilles Fexas, on May 25, 1943, in

Whitestone, Queens Whitestone is a residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood proper is located between the East River to the north; College Point and Whitestone Expressway to the west; Flushing and ...

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 ...

. Her only brother, Tom Fexas, was a

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

designer. She met her husband, Luis Casas, while studying abroad in Spain as a

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

student during the 1960s. She has also studied at the University of Madrid. Casas died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

at her home in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, on August 11, 2013, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casas, Penelope 1943 births 2013 deaths American cookbook writers Spanish cuisine Vassar College alumni American people of Greek descent People from Whitestone, Queens Women food writers Women cookbook writers People from Manhasset, New York American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women