Mary Taylor Simeti is an American author specializing in

Sicilian cuisine Sicilian cuisine is the style of cooking on the island of Sicily. It shows traces of all cultures that have existed on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine has much in common with Italian cuisine, Sicilian foo ...

and its history. She is a former regular contributor to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and to the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''.

Biography

Mary Taylor Simeti was born in 1941 in New York City. She is the daughter of Francis Henry Taylor, then director of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. In 1962 she graduated from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

with a major in history. She travelled to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

to work with social activist

Danilo Dolci Danilo Dolci (28 June 1924 – 30 December 1997) was an Italian social activist, sociologist, popular educator and poet. He is best known for his opposition to poverty, social exclusion and the Mafia in Sicily, and is considered to be one of the ...

. In Sicily she met her future husband, Antonio Simeti, professor of agricultural economics at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...

. Together they restored the Simetis' farm near

Alcamo Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometr ...

where they produce organic olive oil and wine.

Books

* “On Persephone’s Island. A Sicilian Journal“, Alfred Knopf, 1986, . * “Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food“, Alfred Knopf, 1989, . British edition: “Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle“, Grub Street Cookery, 2009, . * “Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes of a Sicilian Girlhood”, written with Maria Grammatico. Morrow, 1994, . Italian version: “Mandorle amare”, Flaccovio Editore, 2004, . * “Travels With a Medieval Queen. The Journey of a Sicilian Princess to Reclaim Her Father's Crown“, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2001, . * “Fumo e arrosto: Escursioni nel paesaggio letterario e gastronomico della Sicilia”, Flaccovio Editore 2008 * “Sicilian Summer: An Adventure in Cooking with My Grandsons“, Silverwood Books, 2017, .

References

External links

*
Website of the Simeti-Taylor Organic Farm in Sicily

BBC Food Programme."My Food Hero: Dan Saladino meets Mary Taylor Simeti"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simeti, Mary Taylor 1941 births Living people American women food writers American food writers Radcliffe College alumni People from Alcamo Historians of Sicily