There has probably been no greater force for the dissemination of recipes developed by home cooks than recipe contests. State and county fairs in the 19th century hosted many cooking contests as a part of their “ladies” programming. These fairs were an opportunity for women gather and to show off their “domestic arts”, from needlework…
I’m accustomed to unsolved food mysteries. Cycles of confusion and research are so ingrained into my process that it is hard to write without them. The mystery IS the story, and so there is no story to “John Masetta – A Recipe from Hollywood.” I imagine that Helen Virginia Halpine (née Bullard), got the recipe…
Mrs. Ronie Venables made honorable-mention in the first annual “National Chicken Cooking Contest” at the Delmarva Chicken Festival in 1949. Were she able to prepare her fried chicken on a wood-burning stove, she told a Universal Press reporter, she could have beaten out Mrs. A.L. Karlik for first place. The Press reporter contrasted the two…