James Peterson (born 20th century) is an American
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
, cookery teacher, and perfumer.
Education and career
He studied chemistry at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
.
[Weinraub, Judith (May 10, 2000)]
"The Intuitive Cook; James Peterson Says Technique Will Set You Free"
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
After traveling the world and moving to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, he apprenticed at Paris's
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...
. He worked at Le Vivarois, then moved to Vonnas to work at Chez La Mere Blanc (now
Restaurant Georges Blanc).
[''Vegetables'', William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998.]
In 1979, he returned to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, becoming a partner at
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
's Le Petit Robert.
Starting in 1984, he taught for four years at the
French Culinary Institute
The International Culinary Center (originally known as the French Culinary Institute) was a private for-profit culinary school from 1984 to 2020 headquartered in New York City, New York. The facilities included professional kitchens for hands- ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, where he wrote the advanced curriculum.
His first book, ''Sauces'', written in 1990, won an award for best single subject and the Cookbook of the Year Award from the
James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...
. He went on to write fourteen more cookbooks and win an additional five
James Beard Awards, making for seven in all. Peterson is responsible for virtually all the photography in his books.
Since 2011, James has been studying perfumes in his home laboratory. In 2011, he launched
Brooklyn Perfume Company.
He resides in
Brooklyn, New York
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 ...
, where he is actively developing new perfumes and running a small business.
[Essentials of Cooking, Artisan, 1999.]
Books
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Awards
* Winner, 1992 James Beard Foundation, Cookbook of the Year for ''Sauces''
[Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998).]
* Winner, 1992 James Beard Foundation, Single Subject Cookbook for ''Sauces''
* Nominee, 1994 James Beard Foundation, for ''The Splendid Soup: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups''
* Winner, 1997 International Association of Culinary Professionals, for ''Fish and Shellfish''
* Nominee, 1997 James Beard Foundation, Single Subject Cookbook for ''Fish and Shellfish''
* Winner, 1999 James Beard Foundation, Single Subject Cookbook for ''Vegetables''.
* Nominee, 2000 International Association of Culinary Professionals, for ''Essentials of Cooking''
* Nominee, 2000 James Beard Foundation, Reference Cookbook for ''Essentials of Cooking''
* Winner, 2003 James Beard Foundation, Mediterranean Cookbook for 'Glorious French Food''
* Winner, 2008 James Beard Foundation, General Cookbook for ''Cooking''
* Winner, 2010 James Beard Foundation, Baking & Desserts Cookbook for ''Baking''
* Winner, 2011 James Beard Foundation, Single Subject for ''Meat''
Notes
See also
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List of American writers
The Lists of American writers include:
United States By ethnicity
*List of African-American writers
* List of Asian-American writers
* List of Cuban-American writers
* List of Egyptian-American writers
* List of Italian-American women writers
...
*
List of people from Brooklyn
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, James
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century births
Living people
20th-century American educators
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century people from New York (state)
21st-century American educators
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century people from New York (state)
Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu
American company founders
American cookbook writers
American expatriates in France
American male chefs
American male non-fiction writers
Chefs from New York City
Educators from Brooklyn
Educators from Manhattan
James Beard Foundation Award winners
People from Greenwich Village
Perfumers
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
Writers from Manhattan