Southern cooking legend Nathalie Dupree has died at age 85

We are saddened to share the news that Nathalie Dupree, celebrated Southern chef and cookbook author, passed away yesterday at age 85. South Carolina chefs shared outpourings of affection for Dupree, with Carrie Morey saying “Heaven just got a little more buttery and delicious…you have always inspired me — to take a chance, keep going, do for others, work harder, and be proud! I feel honored to have been your friend, and you a mentor to me.”

Crowned the ‘Queen of Southern Cooking’ by Southern Living Magazine, Dupree became a national culinary figure with the debut of her PBS series New Southern Cooking in 1985. The companion cookbook to the series, New Southern Cooking, has been reprinted more than 25 times and is still in print today.

A beloved host on PBS, The Food Network, and The Learning Channel, Dupree was the first woman since Julia Child to host more than one hundred cooking episodes on public television. Applying the French techniques she learned in culinary school to traditional Southern ingredients, she lifted the profile of Southern food while gaining a national audience. Her 15 cookbooks stand as reliable guides for the home cook filled with what she called “do-able” recipes.

Dupree devoted herself to being a catalyst for the elevation of women in the culinary industry. She offered culinary internships where students (who she called her “chickens”) would participate in testing, writing and developing recipes and working behind the scenes on her TV shows. Many have gone on to have stellar culinary careers, including Virginia Willis and Rebecca Lang.

In 1978, Dupree co-founded the International Association of Culinary Professionals along with Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Martin Yan. She was the founding Chairman of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival and a founder and board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. In 2004, the Southern Foodways Alliance presented her with its Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award. Her love of mentorship led her to founding numerous chapters of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international association for women dedicated to advancing women in the culinary industry. In 2011, the organization bestowed upon Dupree its highest honor, Grande Dame, for her achievements. The Maître Cuisiniers de France presented Dupree with its 2013 Woman of the Year award.

She earned three James Beard Foundation Media Awards, including one for the her largest work, Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, co-authored with Cynthia Graubart. She was presented with a fourth award as Who’s Who in Food and Beverage in America in 2015. Donations in memory of Dupree can be made to the Atlanta Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier‘s Scholarship Fund to help further the careers of young women in the culinary arts.