James Beard

James Beard was a prolific cookbook author and cooking teacher. Known as the Dean of American Cookery, he championed our national cuisine, establishing American cooking as a force equal to the great cuisines of Europe and the rest of the world. He was a regular contributor to Gourmet and House & Garden, among other publications, and he hosted the first cooking show on NBC, essentially becoming America's original celebrity chef. The James Beard Foundation preserves his home in New York City and hosts an annual awards ceremony celebrating the culinary arts. In 2017, we named him one of the 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time. Read our full profile of Beard here.