Jessica B. Harris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessica B. Harris
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| Born | March 18, 1948 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Bryn Mawr College Queens College, City University of New York New York University |
| Genre | Nonfiction, memoir |
| Subject | Culinary history, personal history, New York City, the 1970s and 1980s, African diaspora |
| Notable works | High on the Hog (2011) |
| Notable awards | James Beard Award |
Jessica B. Harris (born March 18, 1948) is an amazing American historian, professor, and author. She writes about food and its history, especially how African American food has shaped America. She taught at Queens College for 50 years and has written 15 books!
Her famous book, High on the Hog, was even turned into a four-part Netflix series in 2021. She has won two James Beard Foundation Awards, including a special Lifetime Achievement award in 2020.
Growing Up and School
Jessica B. Harris was born in Queens, New York, in 1948. She was an only child. Her family also had a summer home on Martha's Vineyard, a beautiful island.
From 1953 to 1961, Jessica went to the United Nations International School in New York City. She graduated from the High School of Performing Arts when she was just 16 years old.
She then went to Bryn Mawr College, where she earned a degree in French in 1968. During her junior year, she studied in Paris, France. After college, she went back to France to study for another year. She later earned her master's degree from Queens College in 1971 and her Ph.D. from New York University in 1983. In 1972, she traveled to West Africa to do research for her Ph.D.
Her Amazing Career
In the 1970s, Jessica Harris started her career as a journalist before becoming a food writer. She worked as a book review editor for Essence magazine. She was also a theater critic for New York Amsterdam News, which is the oldest Black newspaper in the United States.
Jessica has appeared on many TV shows, sharing her knowledge about food history. Some of these shows include The Today Show and Good Morning America. From 1999, she was a special food historian for Sara Moulton's Cooking Live Primetime show.
She taught in the English Department at Queens College for 50 years! She is now a professor emerita, which means she is retired but still honored for her long service. She also helped start the Institute for the Study of Culinary Cultures at Dillard University in New Orleans.
Jessica has written 12 books. Her main focus is on the history of food, cooking styles, and recipes from the African diaspora. This means she studies how African food traditions spread and changed around the world, especially in places like the Americas.
In 2020, she received a special James Beard Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award honors people who have made a huge difference in the food world. In 2021, she was even named one of the Time 100, which is Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Where She Lives
Jessica Harris lives in a few different places: Brooklyn, Martha's Vineyard, and New Orleans.
Books She Has Written
Jessica B. Harris has written many wonderful books about food and culture:
- Hot Stuff: A Cookbook in Praise of the Piquant, Atheneum, 1985
- Sky Juice and Flying Fish: Tastes Of A Continent, Simon & Schuster, 1991
- Tasting Brazil: Regional Recipes and Reminiscences, Macmillan, 1992
- The World Beauty Book: How We Can All Look and Feel Wonderful Using the Natural Beauty Secrets of Women of Color, HarperSanFrancisco, 1995
- The Welcome Table: African-American Heritage Cooking, Simon & Schuster, February 2, 1995
- On the Side: More Than 100 Recipes for the Sides, Salads, and Condiments that Make the Meal, Simon & Schuster, 1998
- A Kwanzaa Keepsake: Celebrating the Holiday with New Traditions and Feasts, Simon & Schuster, 1998
- The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent, Simon and Schuster, 1998
- Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons: Africa's Gifts to New World Cooking, Simon & Schuster, February 3, 1999
- Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim, Simon & Schuster, February 25, 2003
- High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, January 11, 2011
- Rum Drinks: 50 Caribbean Cocktails, From Cuba Libre to Rum Daisy, Chronicle Books, July 23, 2013
- The Martha's Vineyard Table, Chronicle Books, July 30, 2013
- My Soul Looks Back, Scribner, 2017
- Vintage Postcards from the African World: In the Dignity of Their Work and the Joy of Their Play, University Press of Mississippi, 2020
