Joan Nathan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Jewish parents Pearl (Gluck) Nathan and Ernest Nathan. After receiving a master's degree in French literature from the University of Michigan, she earned another master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.^[4] As a newspaper food journalist she has visited, among other places, France^[5] and Brazil,^[6] uncovering new dishes or researching Jewish cuisine.

Television edit

She was executive producer and host of Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, a PBS series based on her cookbook, Jewish Cooking in America.^[4] The series follows Nathan as she travels across the United States, visiting the kitchens of celebrities, chefs, and other notable Jewish cooks as she explores Jewish culture and history throughout the nation.^[7] The success of the series helped Nathan earn the distinction of being called the "Jewish Julia Child" in the media.^[8] In 2000, the series was nominated for best national television food show at the James Beard Awards.^[9]

Cookbooks edit

Nathan has written ten cookbooks, winning numerous awards for them. Six are about Jewish cuisine and two on Israeli cuisine. Her goal is to preserve Jewish traditions by interviewing cooks and documenting their recipes and stories for posterity.^[10]

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. She was guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which was based on the research for her book.^[4]

Two decades later, in 2005, Jewish Cooking in America won the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year, and the James Beard Award (again) for Food of the Americas.^[11] In 2017, the IACP: International Association of Culinary Professionals honored Jewish Cooking in America as a Culinary Classic.

• 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
• King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World, Knopf 2017
• My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories, Knopf 2024

Israel edit

She lived in Israel for three years working for Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem.^[12]

Marriage edit

Nathan was married to the late Allan Gerson, an attorney; the couple has three children and two grandchildren.^[13] Nathan divides her time between Washington, D.C., and Martha's Vineyard.^[4]

• 2018, Creativity Moment Award, Moment Magazine ^{[citation needed]}
• 2015, Grande Dame Award, Les Dames d'Escoffier International ^{[citation needed]}
• 2011, [with her husband, Allan] Special Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her contribution to preserving Jewish culture ^[14]
• 2008, MacDowell Fellow, the MacDowell Colony ^{[citation needed]}
• 2005, Silver Spoon Award, Food Arts Magazine ^{[citation needed]}
• 2002, Honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture ^{[citation needed]}
• 2001, Inductee into James Beard Foundation's Who's Who in American Food and Beverage ^{[citation needed]}
• 1998, Jewish Daily Forward "Forward 50"
• 1995, Golda Award, American Jewish Congress ^{[citation needed]}
• 1994, Jewish Cooking in America received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook and later, the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award

• Good Morning, America^[15]
• The Today Show^[15]
• Live with Regis and Kathie Lee^[16]
• Food Network^[17]
• The Martha Stewart Show.^[4]
• All Things Considered and Weekend Edition^[18]

In January 2009, she began choking on a piece of chicken at the Art.Food.Hope dinner in Washington, D.C., but was saved by chef Tom Colicchio, who performed the Heimlich maneuver.^[19]

• In Successful Paris Restaurant, Jewish Roots
• A Short History of the Bagel: From Ancient Egypt to Lender's^{[permanent dead link]}
• Sweet, Sour, Tasty: An Old Iraq New Year
• Gefilte Fish: Cooking Up a Seder Staple
• Bread of Freedom in Times of Despair
• On Martha's Vineyard, Using Scallops as Currency
• Inviting an Old Favorite to the Hanukkah Table
• A Delicacy That Is Better When It's Not Served Whole
• Of Church and Steak: Farming for the Soul
• For a Sweeter Passover, Old and New Sephardic Delights
• A Toast to a Diplomat With a Cook's Heart
• From Hungary, For Hanukkah, From Long Ago
• New Year, New Dumpling
• It's Passover, Lighten Up
• In France, It's Not All Chopped Liver
• An Old-Fashioned American Standby, Fish Sauce and All
• Kugel Unraveled
• Red, White, and Blueberry
• A Crossover Hit For a Global Star