Joan Nathan (born 1943) is an American

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 (food), course (appetize ...

author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of

Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (''né'' Birnbaum; March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was an American accountant, investor, and Democratic Party politician who served from 1974 to 1977 as the 104th mayor of New York City. Beame presided over the city during ...

. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".

Education

Joan Nathan was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, to Jewish parents Pearl (Gluck) Nathan and Ernest Nathan. After receiving a master's degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, she earned another master's degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. As a newspaper

food journalist Food journalism is a field of journalism that focuses on news and current events related to food, its production, and the cultures of producing and consuming that food. Typically, food journalism includes a scope broader than the work of food crit ...

she has visited, among other places, France and Brazil, uncovering new dishes or researching Jewish cuisine.

Career

Television

She was executive producer and host of ''Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan'', a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series based on her cookbook, ''Jewish Cooking in America''. The series follows Nathan as she travels across the United States, visiting the kitchens of celebrities, chefs, and other notable Jewish cooks as she explores Jewish culture and history throughout the nation. The success of the series helped Nathan earn the distinction of being called the "Jewish

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

" in the media. In 2000, the series was nominated for best national television food show at the

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

Cookbooks

Nathan has written twelve cookbooks, winning numerous awards for them. Six are about Jewish cuisine and two on

Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine.Gold, Rozann''A Region's ...

. Her goal is to preserve

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

traditions by interviewing cooks and documenting their recipes and stories for posterity. In 1985, ''An American Folklife Cookbook'' won the R.T. French Tastemaker Award (now the James Beard Award). ''The New American Cooking'' won the James Beard and IACP Awards for Food of the Americas and Best American Cookbook. She was guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005

Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the Fo ...

, which was based on the research for her book. Two decades later, in 2005, ''Jewish Cooking in America'' won the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year, and the James Beard Award (again) for Food of the Americas. In 2017, the IACP: International Association of Culinary Professionals honored ''Jewish Cooking in America'' as a Culinary Classic. * ''The Flavor of Jerusalem'', Little, Brown 1975 * ''The Jewish Holiday Kitchen'', Schocken 1979 * ''An American Folklife Cookbook'', Schocken 1984 * ''The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen'', Schocken 1988 * ''Jewish Cooking in America'', Knopf 1994 * ''The Jewish Holiday Baker'', Schocken 1997 * ''The Foods of Israel Today'', Knopf 2001 * ''Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook'', Schocken 2004 * ''The New American Cooking'', Knopf 2005 * ''Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France'', Knopf 2010 * ''King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World'', Knopf 2017 * ''My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories'', Knopf 2024 * ''A Sweet Year: Jewish Celebrations and Festive Recipes,'' Knopf 2024

Personal life

Israel

She lived in Israel for three years working for Mayor

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Marriage

Nathan was married to the late Allan Gerson, an attorney; the couple has three children and two grandchildren. Nathan divides her time between

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

Awards

* 2018, Creativity Moment Award, Moment Magazine * 2015, Grande Dame Award, Les Dames d'Escoffier International * 2011, ith her husband, AllanSpecial Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her contribution to preserving Jewish culture * 2008, MacDowell Fellow, the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

* 2005, Silver Spoon Award, Food Arts Magazine * 2002, Honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture * 2001, Inductee into James Beard Foundation's ''Who's Who in American Food and Beverage'' * 1998, Jewish Daily Forward "Forward 50" * 1995, Golda Award, American Jewish Congress * 1994, ''Jewish Cooking in America'' received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook and later, the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award

Guest appearances

* ''Good Morning, America'' * ''The Today Show'' * ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'' *

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

* ''The Martha Stewart Show''. * ''All Things Considered'' and ''Weekend Edition''

Other

In January 2009, she began choking on a piece of chicken at the Art.Food.Hope dinner in

, but was saved by chef

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

, who performed the

Heimlich maneuver Heimlich maneuver, also known as abdominal thrusts or Heimlich manoeuvre, is a first-aid procedure used to treat upper-airway obstructions (or choking) by foreign objects. American doctor Henry Heimlich is often credited for its discovery. ...

.Colicchio Uses Heimlich Maneuver to Save Cookbook Author
Slash Food, January 19, 2009.

References

External links

* ttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8978739 Gefilte Fish: Cooking Up a Seder Staple
Bread of Freedom in Times of Despair

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E6DC1238F936A35751C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Inviting an Old Favorite to the Hanukkah Table
A Delicacy That Is Better When It's Not Served Whole

* ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010200180.html A Toast to a Diplomat With a Cook's Heart
From Hungary, For Hanukkah, From Long Ago

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDF1030F936A35757C0A9609C8B63 It's Passover, Lighten Up
In France, It's Not All Chopped Liver

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DF1230F93BA1575AC0A9639C8B63 Kugel Unraveled
Red, White, and Blueberry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Joan 1943 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American cookbook writers American newspaper journalists American women food writers American women non-fiction writers American women television producers Harvard Kennedy School alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni