OP: The Edna Lewis Cookbook
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Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., New York, 1972. Hardcover. Very Good. First printing.
Though Edna Lewis (1916–2006) is now best remembered for firmly establishing the significance of rural, southern, Black food traditions in her Taste of Country Cooking (1976), it may be less well known that she was, in fact, a highly accomplished restaurant cook at New York’s celebrated Café Nicolson in its earliest years and at Gage and Tollner in the early 1990s.
Between both major NYC restaurant stints, Lewis performed a number of unrelated odd-jobs and also gave cooking lessons. Aided by her student Evangeline Peterson, Lewis undertook her first book, which was published in 1972. It is a wondrous amalgam of the country fare of her Virginia childhood and refined restaurant food. Whether it is sautéed pork ribs and sweet potatoes or poulet à la crème followed by profiterole with whipped cream, custard, and chocolate sauce, Lewis teaches energetically and adeptly.
Although The Edna Lewis Cookbook has enjoyed several republications, this copy is the scarce Bobbs-Merrill first printing. It is in Very Good condition, clean throughout, save for a few stray marks on the front endpapers. The jacket bears some scuffing and chipping, though is largely intact. (Also available in paperback).
