Works of Distinction, LDEI M.F.K. Fisher Prize for Excellence in Culinary Media Content, 2022

A rare woman’s-eye-view of working in the professional French kitchen

Though women enter France’s culinary professions at higher rates than ever, men still receive the lion’s share of the major awards and Michelin stars. Rachel E. Black looks at the experiences of women in Lyon to examine issues of gender inequality in France’s culinary industry. Known for its female-led kitchens, Lyon provides a unique setting for understanding the gender divide, as Lyonnais women have played a major role in maintaining the city’s culinary heritage and its status as a center for innovation. Voices from history combine with present-day interviews and participant observation to reveal the strategies women use to navigate male-dominated workplaces or, in many cases, avoid men in kitchens altogether. Black also charts how constraints imposed by French culture minimize the impact of #MeToo and other reform-minded movements. 

Evocative and original, Cheffes de Cuisine celebrates the successes of women inside the professional French kitchen and reveals the obstacles women face in the culinary industry and other male-dominated professions.

Just remembering the crispy fried chicken and luscious peach cobblers a grandmother or aunt used to make can set your mouth watering. And since remembering is no substitute for eating, cooks across the country have turned to Cooking Texas Style to find recipes for the comfort foods we love best. Thirty years after its first publication, popular acclaim has made this collection of favorite family recipes the standard source for traditional Texas cooking.

Here are over three hundred tasty recipes from the kitchens of Candy Wagner and Sandra Marquez. You’ll find classic Texas dishes such as chicken-fried steak, barbecue, chili, guacamole, and cornbread hot with jalapeños, as well as novel, exciting ways to prepare old favorites such as Tortilla Soup, Fajitas, and Chicken and Dumplings. Organized for easy reference, all the recipes are clearly explained, simple to prepare, and simply delicious. Cooking Texas Style is an invaluable addition to the kitchen bookshelf of anyone interested in cooking—and eating—Texas style.

People from around the world have found a home in Texas, bringing with them a multiethnic feast replete with dishes that originated in Mexico, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In these pages you'll discover a magical place called Cuisine, Texas, where you can find all these favorite family recipes in one handy source.

Noted food writer Joanne Smith spent several years gathering the traditional recipes of every major ethnic group in Texas. As a result, Cuisine, Texas is a virtual encyclopedia of Texas cooking, with more than 375 recipes drawn from Native American, Spanish, Japanese, French, Cajun, Mexican, Tex-Mex, Anglo-American, African American, Thai, Czech, Swiss, Dutch, Jewish, Greek, German, Polish, Italian, British, Lebanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Scandinavian cooking.

The recipes cover the full range of foods, from appetizers to entrees, salads, vegetables, breads, and desserts, and all have clear, simple-to-follow instructions. Interspersed among them are engaging discussions of the different ethnic cuisines, flavored with delightful stories of some of the cooks who created or perfected the recipes. And to make your cooking even easier, Joanne Smith includes information on how to readily find imported and specialized ingredients and a word about health-conscious substitutions.

Cuisine, Texas, may not exist on the map, but it can be found everywhere that people enjoy good food and the fellowship that goes with it. Let this book be your one-stop source for all the tastes of Texas.