Dr. Alice S. Ross (September 28, 1930 – December 7, 2020) was an American culinary historian, consultant, and author.

Background and career

Alice Ross was born on September 28, 1930 and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Ross began her hands-on food history classes in 1976 with the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

. Ross was a co-founder of Culinary Historians of New York and a member 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. It was started in 19 ...

. In 1988, she opened Alice Ross Hearth Studios in

Smithtown, New York Smithtown is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 United ...

, offering food and history courses with a focus on

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

cooking. Ross served as consultant to historic sites including

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

and

Lowell National Historical Park Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a ...

. Ross received a doctorate from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in 1996, with her dissertation titled ''Women, Work and Cookery, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, 1880-1920''. She taught at colleges including

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Ross was married to a veterinarian and had four children. She died on December 7, 2020. The Alice Ross Culinary Ephemera Collection is housed at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

Selected publications

*''Health and Diet in 19th-Century America: A Food Historian's Point of View'' (1993) *''Women, Work and Cookery, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, 1880-1920'' (1996) *''A Taste of Brookhaven, 400 Years of History in the Kitchen'' (2005)

References

External links

aliceross.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Alice 1930 births 2020 deaths Food historians American food writers American women chefs People from Smithtown, New York 20th-century American women educators Stony Brook University alumni Queens College, City University of New York faculty City College of New York faculty Hofstra University faculty New York University faculty