Lena Richard, February 6, 2026 скачать в хорошем качестве

Lena Richard, February 6, 2026

Today, February 6, 2026, Lyles Station Historic School and Museum toasts Lena Richard, the African American woman born in 1892 who rose from a domestic cook in New Orleans to be recognized as a nationally known chef with her own cookbook, television show, and line of frozen foods—despite living in the era of Jim Crow. Before Julia Child hit the screen with her cooking show, Lena Richard presented Creole cooking on WDSU in New Orleans, the first black woman to host her own cooking show on television. Lena learned her cooking style at her mother's side, working for the wealthy Vairin family in New Orleans. Lena soon began preparing dinners for the Vairins and their guests, and Mrs. Vairin quickly recognized Lena’s potential, sending her to the prestigious Fannie Farmer culinary school in Boston, where she was the only African American student at the time. After graduating in 1918, she returned to New Orleans and opened her own restaurants and catering business. She didn’t give much credit to the culinary school for her success, saying, “When I got way up there, I found out in a hurry they can’t teach me much more than I know. I learned things about new desserts and salads. But when it comes to cooking meats, stews, soups, sauces and such dishes we Southern cooks have Northern cooks beat by a mile. That’s not big talk; that’s honest truth.” Lena’s food entranced diners across color boundaries, with many whites ignoring segregation to dine in her own restaurants, and elite white clubs and restaurants hiring Chef Lena to serve their guests. In her own restaurants in New Orleans, Lena’s Eatery and Lena Richard’s Gumbo House, she was known as Mama Lena. Her meals graced the tables of the elite Orleans Club and the Bird and Bottle Inn in New York. Lena served high-ranking military leaders and dignitaries at the Travis House in Colonial Williamsburg. Diners lined up to enjoy her crawfish and shrimp bisques, chocolate waffles, turtle soup, lamb chops with pineapple, chicken and ham gumbo, and other Creole delights. She and her daughter Marie established a cooking school in 1937, specifically for young African American students, to provide them with culinary training and the skills needed to succeed in business. Her 1939 cookbook featured over 300 recipes for Creole cuisine. Richard, the first black author to publish a cookbook, dedicated it to Alice Vairin, the woman who first recognized—and tasted—Lena’s culinary talent. WDSU, New Orleans’ first television station, recognized the popularity of her cookbook and hired her to host a twice weekly 30-minute broadcast, Lena Richard's New Orleans Cook Book. As soon as the show finished filming, the camera crew rushed to eat the leftovers. Lena’s frozen food was available across the country in 1945 when she started her own frozen food company. She packaged fully cooked Creole dinners which were flown across the country. Lena Richard wasn’t just a cook—she was a talented, entrepreneurial chef with a shrewd business mind. Now go find her cookbook and fix some gumbo. You’ll be glad you did.