Joan Nathan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Joan Nathan is an award-winning American author of cookbook

Cookbook

A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...

s. She has also produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine

Jewish cuisine

Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...

Biography

Joan Nathan was born in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. After receiving a masters degree in French literature

French literature

French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...

from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, she earned another masters degree in public administration

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

. For three years she lived in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

working for Mayor Teddy Kollek

Teddy Kollek

Theodor "Teddy" Kollek was mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1989...

of Jerusalem. She was one of the founders of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under mayor Abraham Beame

Abraham Beame

Abraham David "Abe" Beame was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy....

. Nathan was also the executive producer and host of Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, a PBS series based on her cookbook, Jewish Cooking in America.

Nathan is married to Allan Gerson, an attorney, and has three children: Daniela, David and Merissa. They live in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

and Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....

.

In January 2009, she was saved from choking on a piece of chicken at the Art.Food.Hope dinner in Washington, DC, by chef Tom Colicchio

Tom Colicchio

Thomas Patrick "Tom" Colicchio is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Craft and Colicchio & Sons restaurants...

, who performed the Heimlich maneuver on her.

In May 2011, Ms. Nathan received a Special Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her contribution to preserving Jewish culture.

Cookbooks

Nathan has written ten cookbooks, winning numerous awards for them. Six are about Jewish cuisine and two on Israeli cuisine

Israeli cuisine

Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.Israeli cuisine has adopted,...

. She says her goal is to preserve Jewish traditions by interviewing cooks and documenting their recipes and stories for posterity.

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. Nathan was the guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held for two weeks around the Fourth of July holiday...

, which was based on the research for her book. In 2005, Jewish Cooking in America won the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year and the James Beard Award, Food of the Americas.

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

Awards

2008, MacDowell Fellow, the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
2005, Silver Spoon Award, Food Arts Magazine
2002, Honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture
2001, Inductee into James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who in American Food and Beverage
1995, Golda Award, American Jewish Congress

Broadcast credits

In 1994, Nathan's documentary Passover: Traditions of Freedom won a Silver Star at the Houston International Film Festival, and the Chris Award, Religion and Philosophy at the Columbus International Film Festival.

Executive producer and host of Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, 1998, 2002, co-production Maryland Public Television and Frappe Inc.
Assistant producer, Jerusalem Lives, documentary for Guggenheim Productions, Washington, DC, 1973

Guest appearances

Good Morning, America
The Today Show
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
All Things Considered and Weekend Edition
Food Network
Retirement Living TV

External links

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