Peter Clark Kump (October 22, 1937 – June 7, 1995) was an American figure in the culinary arts. The founder of Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, he also co-founded 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 ...

with

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 ...

Biography

Kump was born in

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1937. In 1953, his family relocated to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He received a bachelor's degree in speech and drama from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and a master's degree in fine arts from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. Initially, his career was based in theater. He began a theater company after graduating from Stanford called Comedia Repertory Company on the San Francisco Peninsula. After 5 years he left to attend Carnegie Mellon University where, after taking the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Class, was asked by Ms Wood to be on her teaching staff teaching speed reading in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and to members of President Richard M. Nixon's staff in the mid-1960s. He moved 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 ...

in 1967, becoming the national director of education for Evelyn Wood. His involvement in the culinary world began with cooking classes at James Beard's culinary school, taking classes from Beard, Diana Kennedy,

Simone Beck Simone "Simca" Beck (7 July 1904 – 20 December 1991) was a French cookbook writer and cooking teacher who, along with colleagues Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, played a significant role in the introduction of French cuisine, French cooki ...

, and Marcella Hazan. The classes prompted him to open his own cooking school, Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, in 1974. In 1979, the school was relocated from his apartment to 307 East 92nd Street. A few days before his death, Kump sold the school to Rick Smilow who then moved it to 23rd Street, opening a few months later. In 2001, Smilow renamed the school The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). In the mid-1980s, Kump was president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the New York Association of Cooking Teachers. In 1985, he co-founded the

with

. After Beard's death, Kump and Child arranged the purchase of Beard’s

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 ...

brownstone, converting it to the headquarters of the culinary arts organization. In 1991, he worked with the Foundation to establish the James Beard Awards. He was the president of the foundation until his death in 1995. He died June 8, 1995, at his home in East Hampton,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kump, Peter 1937 births 1995 deaths People from Fresno, California Stanford University alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Deaths from liver cancer in New York (state) Cooking educators