Helen Corey
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Helen E. Corey (October 9, 1923 – January 28, 2024) was an American cookbook author, television producer, and educator. She is also the first American woman of
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
descent to have held elected office in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. She is known for her cookbooks ''The Art of Syrian Cookery'' (1962) and ''Helen Corey's'' ''Food from Biblical Lands'' (1989), in which she stressed the biblical origins of
Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine includes a number of cuisines from the Middle East. Common ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint, rice and parsley, and popular dishes include '' kebabs'', ...
and the value of sharing food as a vehicle for cross-cultural and
inter-faith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...
. In her cookbooks she also promoted awareness of
Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...
in the United States, by discussing her family's culture in the
Antiochian Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of E ...
. 


Family and early life

Helen Corey's parents, Maheeba (“Mabel”) and Mkhyal (“Michael”), were born in the Arne and Ein el-shara suburbs of
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, Syria, and migrated to the United States. Helen Corey was born on October 9, 1923, in
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
, and lived there until she moved to
Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...
, Indiana in 1946. She and her family were part of a wave of
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
immigrants who migrated to Terre Haute during the early twentieth century and who settled there due to the city's “potential for prosperity through farming, mining and a growing manufacturing base.” As early as 1927, the town had a sufficiently substantial Syrian Christian community that its members wrote and notarized a constitution for its church, St. George Orthodox Church. In 2018, Corey participated in a ceremony commemorating a historical marker for “Little Syria on the Wabash”, the site of the original twentieth-century immigrant Syrian neighborhoods of Terre Haute. As a member of St. George Orthodox Church (the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox church of Terre Haute) Helen Corey often acted as a de facto ambassador for her church. She also served on this church's board of trustees. Through her cookbooks, television show, and other public programs, she aimed to raise public awareness about Syrian culture and to share information on the Antiochian Orthodox Church's feast and fast days. With five godchildren, Corey describes herself as belonging to a close-knit family community. Helen Corey died in Terre Haute on January 28, 2024, at the age of 100.


Career and civic engagement

Helen Corey published ''The Art of Syrian Cookery'' in 1962. Years later, she founded a press, called CharLyn Publishing, which then published her second major cookbook, ''Helen Corey’s Food From Biblical Lands'' in 1989, followed by ''Healthy Syrian and Lebanese Cooking'' in 2004. Corey produced a televised show inspired by ''Food From Biblical Lands'' in 1990 and a later documentary about
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
as observed in the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church Easter. She occasionally hosted television shows and often interviewed international guests. Her 2004 book ''Healthy Syrian and Lebanese Cooking'' received first place in the
National Federation of Press Women The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) is a United States–based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers in the field of communications, including electronic, broadcast and print journalism, public relations, marketing, a ...
, out of 1,700 books submitted. ''Helen Corey’s Food From Biblical Lands'' was out of print until October 2016, when Echo Print Books and Media issued an updated version of the cookbook for the Middle Eastern Festival sponsored in Terre Haute, Indiana by St. George Social Center. Proceeds from the book sale benefited the associated St. George Orthodox Church. Corey worked for many years in municipal and state government. From 1948 to 1961 she was secretary to the Terre Haute Mayor
Ralph Tucker Ralph Tucker (September 30, 1906 – November 21, 1977) was the longest-serving mayor of Terre Haute, Indiana, serving from 1948 to 1968. Biography One of nine children, Ralph Tucker was born in Hymera, Indiana. Tucker's father died when t ...
and Indiana's Young Democrat National Committeewoman. In 1963, Corey served as executive secretary of the Indiana Commission on the Status of Women. In November 1964, she was elected Reporter for the Supreme and Appellate Courts – and thereby the first Syrian American elected to public office in Indiana. Through her cookbooks, television show, and other public programs, she aimed to raise public awareness about Syrian culture and to share information on the Antiochian Orthodox Church's feast and fast days.


Cooking


Religion

In her cookbooks, Corey prominently features dishes associated with
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
, when Christians in the Antiochan Orthodox Church and in many other Middle Eastern churches abstain from meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs during the forty days before Easter and in preparation for the Passion of Christ. Lenten dishes are either vegan or based on fish. Orthodox Christians follow the same guidelines on Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as smaller fasts throughout the year. Before Lent, Christians in different countries have had different traditions regarding pre-Lent meals. Corey's cookbooks include many recipes centered around pre-Lent dishes in Syria, especially ''kibby'' (beef or lamb-stuffed wheat), the
national dish A national dish is a culinary Dish (food), dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs ...
of Syria and Lebanon. Syrian Orthodox Christians, she reported, also partake in a “ cheese-fare” the week before Lent in which they sampled many cheeses before the fast begins. The pre-fast rituals ended with the consumption of a boiled egg. Lent also ended with the breaking of an egg, common in many Christian traditions. Corey's cookbooks also include many Lenten recipes, including
hummus Hummus (, ; , , also spelled hommus or houmous), (full name: Hummus Bi Tahini) is a Levantine cuisine, Levantine Dip (food), dip, spread (food), spread, or savory Dish (food), dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, le ...
bi-tahini (chickpeas pureed with sesame paste). Many of Corey's Lenten foods consist of ingredients commonly used in many Syrian dishes, such as lentils, fava beans, and eggplant.


Culinary diplomacy

Corey's cookbooks have been described as participating in culinary diplomacy, the practice of promoting cultural links between people in different countries or communities through sharing foods and drinks - respective culinary repertoires – whether through published recipes, via film, or in restaurants or home kitchens, in ways that facilitate dialogue and mutual understanding. Historian Jennifer Dueck has noted that cookbooks like Corey's were appreciated by the American mainstream as evidenced by their multiple editions and major publishers.


Bibliography

* ''The Art of Syrian Cookery'' (1962,
Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...
) * ''Healthy Syrian and Lebanese Cooking: A Culinary Trip To The Land Of Bible History-Syria and Lebanon'' (2004, CharLyn Publishing House) * ''Helen Corey’s Food From Biblical Lands: A Culinary Trip to the Land of Bible History'' (2016, Echo Point Books & Media) * From the Kitchen of Helen Corey: The Art of Healthy- Syrian Lebanese Cooking (VHS titled: The Art of Syrian and Lebanese Cooking), 1999.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corey, Helen 1923 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women American women centenarians American cookbook writers American food writers American people of Syrian descent American women non-fiction writers People from Terre Haute, Indiana American women food writers