Mireille Johnston, PhD, (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Mireille Busticaccia; 4 October 1935 – 5 October 2000) was a French/American cook, author and scholar who also hosted television shows on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Biography

Johnston was born Mireille Busticaccia in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. Part of her early education was obtained at boarding school in England. Returning to France after the war, she studied at Aix-en-Provence and won a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to study American Indian civilisation at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

. She took her PhD in comparative literature from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she also met her husband, fellow student Thomas M.C. Johnston, a future documentary filmmaker and aide to Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

. She taught French at Yale,

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

and

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

. Along with her husband, she was active in civil rights protests in the 1960s. In 1972, as a tribute to her father, she translated the film ''

The Sorrow and the Pity ''The Sorrow and the Pity'' () is a two-part 1969 documentary film by Marcel Ophuls about the collaboration between the Vichy government and Nazi Germany during World War II. The film uses interviews with a German officer, collaborators, and re ...

'' – about the collaboration of French nationals in a town during the Second World War. But her published works focused on the culinary traditions of her native land. ''Cuisine of the Sun: Classical Dishes from Nice and France'' was published in 1976 and focused on the culinary traditions of

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. It was followed by ''The Cuisine of the Rose'' in 1982, which focused on

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. She moved back to France in 1977. Johnston's ''Complete French Cookery Course'' (1992–1994) was based on the two series of ''A Cook's Tour of France'', which she hosted for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in 1992 and 1993. Each of the 12 episodes reviewed the cuisine of a particular region of France. Although she and local people from the region describe and demonstrate how certain traditional dishes are made, it is not a traditional cookery course but focuses on the cultural history of the region and its cuisine. Johnston died at her home in Paris, France, on 5 October 2000, one day after her 65th birthday. She was survived by her husband and two daughters (Margaret-Brooke and Elizabeth). She was cremated on October 13th at the

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

Published work

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Mireille 1935 births 2000 deaths French food writers People from Nice French chefs Oberlin College alumni Yale University alumni