Lena Richards, a pioneer in the food industry
During March we remember women who have affected the food industry. There are many famous chefs, but little is known about Lena Richards.
Born in 1892, Richards helped her mother and aunt in a well-to-do New Orleans family. She took a liking to the kitchen where Alice Vairin noticed Richards natural talent for cooking, letting her prepare dinners. After eating one of her plates, Vairin hired Richards full time at the young age of 14.
Eventually Varin enrolled Richards in an eight-week cooking course held at the Fannie Farmer cooking school in Boston, where she quickly surpassed her classmates. Her peers were so impressed with her cooking they wanted to copy down her Creole cooking advice. Her dialogue with classmates led to her putting everything in a book.
In 1937, Richards opened up a cooking school and then in 1941, she opened up her first restaurant called Lena’s Eatery in New Orleans—“The Most Talked of Place in the South.” For a brief period, she left the south to become a head cook at the Travis House, but came back to New Orleans in 1949 to start Lena Richard’s Gumbo House and her own TV program.
In an era before the civil rights movement, Lena Richards was making a mark to prove that those who have talent can not only gain national recognition but also bring different races together either at her table or on the TV. Although she died in 1950 at 58, her life is still making an impact.
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