Joan Nathan (born 1943)[1] is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-MayorAbraham Beame. The Jerusalem Post has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".[2][3]
She was executive producer and host of Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, a PBS series based on her cookbook, Jewish Cooking in America.[4] The series follows Nathan as she travels across the United States, visiting the kitchens of celebrities, chefs, and other notable Jewish cooks as she explores Jewish culture and history throughout the nation.[7] The success of the series helped Nathan earn the distinction of being called the "Jewish Julia Child" in the media.[8] In 2000, the series was nominated for best national television food show at the James Beard Awards.[9]
Nathan has written twelve cookbooks, winning numerous awards for them. Six are about Jewish cuisine and two on Israeli cuisine. Her goal is to preserve Jewish traditions by interviewing cooks and documenting their recipes and stories for posterity.[10]
In 1985, An American Folklife Cookbook won the R.T. French Tastemaker Award (now the James Beard Award). The New American Cooking won the James Beard and IACP Awards for Food of the Americas and Best American Cookbook. She was guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which was based on the research for her book.[4]
Two decades later, in 2005, Jewish Cooking in America won the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year, and the James Beard Award (again) for Food of the Americas.[11] In 2017, the IACP: International Association of Culinary Professionals honored Jewish Cooking in America as a Culinary Classic.
The Flavor of Jerusalem, Little, Brown 1975
The Jewish Holiday Kitchen, Schocken 1979
An American Folklife Cookbook, Schocken 1984
The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen, Schocken 1988
Jewish Cooking in America, Knopf 1994
The Jewish Holiday Baker, Schocken 1997
The Foods of Israel Today, Knopf 2001
Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook, Schocken 2004
The New American Cooking, Knopf 2005
Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France, Knopf 2010
King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World, Knopf 2017
My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories, Knopf 2024
A Sweet Year: Jewish Celebrations and Festive Recipes, Knopf 2024
Nathan was married to the late Allan Gerson, an attorney; the couple has three children and two grandchildren.[13] Nathan divides her time between Washington, D.C., and Martha's Vineyard.[4]
Awards
2018, Creativity Moment Award, Moment Magazine [citation needed]
2015, Grande Dame Award, Les Dames d'Escoffier International [citation needed]
2011, [with her husband, Allan] Special Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her contribution to preserving Jewish culture [14]
