Nathalie Evelyn Dupree ( Meyer; December 23, 1939 – January 13, 2025) was an American author, chef, and cooking show host whose work focused on American Southern cuisine. She was the first woman since

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 ...

to host more than one hundred cooking episodes on

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

. Her first show, ''New Southern Cooking with Nathalie Dupree'' was followed by eight more series.

Early life

Nathalie Evelyn Meyer was born in Hamilton, New Jersey on December 23, 1939, the daughter of Evelyn Cook and army officer Walter G. Meyer. Following her parents' divorce, she and two siblings grew up with her mother in Virginia and Texas. She attended college, but did not graduate. She had her first experience of cooking in 1958 in a communal kitchen at

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 ...

, which went badly. While in college she became politically active for the first time, as a 20-year-old precinct captain for

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

's presidential campaign. In the late 1960s Nathalie and her husband David Dupree moved to London, where she took a class at the London

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 ...

school. She stayed for more classes, earning a certificate from the school. During her time at the school she met

, who encouraged her to pursue a teaching career.

Culinary career

Following her culinary studies, Dupree operated a kitchen at a restaurant in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. After a review of the restaurant described her as a "kitchen manager" rather than as a chef, she quit. Settling in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the early 1970s, she opened a restaurant. "Nathalie's" was located in the back of an antique shop owned by her husband in

Social Circle, Georgia Social Circle is a city in southern Walton County, Georgia, Walton County, extending into Newton County, Georgia, Newton County, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, 45 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta. History It is unc ...

. At Nathalie's, Dupree applied French cooking techniques to traditional Southern American cooking. From 1975 Dupree became the director of a cooking school at Rich's department store in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, instructing over 10,000 students over a decade of teaching. Guests and teachers at the school included Shirley Corriher, Paula Wolfert, Julia Child,

Paul Prudhomme Paul Prudhomme (July 13, 1940 – October 8, 2015), also known as Gene Autry Prudhomme, was an American celebrity chef whose specialties were Creole and Cajun cuisines, which he was also credited with popularizing. He was the chef propriet ...

and

Jacques Pepin Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

. Dupree first appeared in her

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 ...

television show ''New Southern Cooking with Nathalie Dupree'', after she was contacted by the White Lily flour company, which offered to sponsor the show. The show and a companion cookbook brought Dupree to regional and national prominence, establishing her as an influential culinary figure. Dupree attributed her interest in a television show to

Graham Kerr Graham Victor Kerr (born 22 January 1934) is a British cooking personality who is best known for his television cooking show ''The Galloping Gourmet,'' which aired from 30 December 1968 to 14 September 1972. Early life Kerr was born in Bron ...

's show ''The Galloping Gourmet.'' Dupree's show was noted for its embrace of mistakes and mishaps, with Dupree offering encouragement to viewers to be unafraid of their own errors through her example. Dupree was the author of 15 cookbooks, selling nearly a million copies, and the host of more than 300 national and international cooking shows, which have aired since 1986 on

The 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 speci ...

, and

The Learning Channel TLC is an American multinational cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learn ...

. She appeared many times on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' and ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. She won wide recognition for her work, including four

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 ...

s including "Who's who in American Cuisine", Grande Dame of Les Dames d' Escoffier and numerous other awards. She was best known for bringing culinary techniques to traditional Southern cooking, popularizing Southern foods as a relevant and serious cuisine. She was a founder and two-time president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, founder and co-president of both the Atlanta and Charleston, South Chapters of Les Dames d' Escoffier, founding chairman of the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, and past president of the Atlanta Chapter of the International Woman's Forum.

Personal life and political activism

In the late 1990s Dupree moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, where she authored a newspaper column and became an advocate for dining and cooking in Charleston. In 1994 she married her third husband, Jack Bass, an author and historian. Dupree mounted a

write-in campaign A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

against

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Jim DeMint James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of The Heritage Foundation. A leading figure ...

in the 2010 Senate election in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. She sought DeMint's seat as a long shot, seeking to "cook his goose." She expressed a willingness to work alongside fellow South Carolina Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

to "bring home the bacon" for the state. In 2020 she moved to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

to be closer to Bass's family. She lived in a retirement community in Raleigh, and passed away at the age of 85, on January 13, 2025 after suffering a broken hip.

Books

*''Nathalie Dupree Cooks for Family and Friends'' ISBN 0688097677, William Morrow & Co (January 1, 1991) *''Nathalie Dupree’s Matters of Taste'' ISBN 0394578511, Alfred A. Knopf (March 3, 1992) *''Nathalie Dupree Cooks Great Meals For Busy Days'' ISBN 0517597349, Clarkson Potter (May 31, 1994) *''Nathalie Dupree Cooks Everyday Meals From A Well-Stocked Pantry: Strategies for Shopping Less and Eating Better'' ISBN 0517597357, Clarkson Potter (January 24, 1995) *''Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals For Busy Days: 180 Delicious Timesaving Recipes'' ISBN 0517597365, Clarkson Potter (February 20, 1996) *''New Southern Cooking'' ISBN 9-780-8203-2630-6, University of Georgia Press (April 5, 2004) *''Nathalie Dupree's Southern Memories Recipes and Reminiscences'' ISBN 9-780-8203-2601-6, University of Georgia Press (April 5, 2004) *''Mastering the Art of Southern Vegetables'' ISBN 978-1423637387, Gibbs-Smith 2013 *''Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking'', ISBN 9781423602750, Gibbs-Smith 2012 *''Nathalie Dupree's Comfortable Entertaining At Home with Ease and Grace'' ISBN 9-780-8203-4513-0, University of Georgia Press (April 1, 2013) *''Nathalie Dupree's Shrimp and Grits*'', revised ISBN 1423636651, Gibbs Smith; Revised ed. edition (May 1, 2014) co-author Marion Sullivan * Southern Biscuits, ISBN 978-1-4236-2176-8, Gibbs Smith; (2011) co-author Cynthia Graubart * Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories & Recipes, ISBN 13: 978-1-4236-5250-2, Gibbs Smith; (2019)

References

External links

NathalieDupree.com
*
Nathalie Dupree archive
at the University of South Carolina Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
nathalie.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Nathalie 1939 births 2025 deaths American food writers American television chefs Women in South Carolina politics Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu People from Social Circle, Georgia Writers from Charleston, South Carolina American cookbook writers American women food writers American women chefs James Beard Foundation Award winners 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Candidates in the 2010 United States elections