Nathalie Dupree obit

Legendary Southern cookbook author and chef Nathalie Dupree dies at 85

 

She was not on the list.

Southern culinary legend Nathalie Dupree died Jan. 13 at age 85 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Dupree was a celebrated cookbook author and TV host who championed Southern food and women in the culinary industry throughout her storied career and mentored some of the region’s most acclaimed chefs and cooks, including Anne Quatrano, Virginia Willis, and Rebecca Lang. She was known for melding French and Southern cooking techniques in her recipes and shining a national spotlight on the depth and breadth of Southern cuisine.

“I met her a scared girl at 25, and she freaking changed my life, my existence, my place in this world,” Willis said of Dupree’s impact on her culinary career.

“Nathalie took me into the fold with trust and interest in me growing into a strong woman who could cook. I was a complete stranger, only 21 years old, when I cold-called her at home, and it changed my life,” Lang wrote of Dupree on Instagram. “She did more to elevate women in the culinary industry than anyone else ever.”

Born in Hamilton, New Jersey, in 1939, Dupree grew up in Virginia. After college, she studied at Le Cordon Bleu in London, and worked in restaurants in Majorca, Spain, before moving to Georgia and opening a small eponymous restaurant in Covington. Later, Dupree would become the first director of the participation cooking school at Rich’s department store in downtown Atlanta, teaching thousands of students. During her decade-long run as director, Dupree opened the doors to the school to everyone from Julia Child to Chef Paul Prudhomme who traveled to Atlanta to teach classes.

In 1985, Dupree debuted the “New Southern Cooking” series on PBS, which led to other television shows on networks like The Learning Channel and Food Network. Dupree also authored 15 cookbooks, three of which earned her James Beard awards. Among her numerous personal and professional contributions to the culinary world, Dupree helped found the Southern culture and culinary organization Southern Foodways Alliance and started several chapters of the women’s culinary organization Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Dupree called Southern cooking “the Mother Cuisine of America” in her 2012 cookbook, “Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking,” while Southern Living magazine once dubbed Dupree the “Queen of Southern cooking.”

A memorial service takes place on Feb. 22 at Meadows Funeral Home in Monroe, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the scholarship fund for the Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Thanks

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Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1993)

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7.9

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