Mollie Katzen facts for kids
| Born | October 13, 1950 Rochester, New York |
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Mollie Katzen is a famous American cookbook author and artist. She was born on October 13, 1950, in Rochester, New York. Mollie is well-known for her unique hand-drawn cookbooks, especially Moosewood Cookbook (1977) and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest (1982).
She has also written and illustrated three popular cookbooks just for kids. These include Pretend Soup (1994), Honest Pretzels (1999), and Salad People (2005). The New York Times even called Pretend Soup the "gold standard of children's cookbooks." In 2007, her Moosewood Cookbook was added to the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. Her original drawings and writings from her famous cookbooks are now part of the permanent collection at the National Museum of American History.
Early Life and Learning
Mollie Katzen grew up in Rochester, New York, in a Jewish family. She became interested in vegetarian cooking because of her family's kashrut (kosher food) traditions.
She also loved music from a young age. Mollie studied oboe and piano at the Eastman School of Music. Later, she went to Cornell University and then earned a degree in fine arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her brother, Daniel Katzen, was a horn player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Her Cooking Journey
Mollie Katzen started cooking professionally in 1969. While at Cornell University, she cooked at a macrobiotic café called the Ithaca Seed Company.
She also studied fine art and painting. One day, she heard about a restaurant called Shandygaff. Mollie went there and got a job cooking and creating new recipes. She learned a lot about "farm-to-table" cooking, which means using fresh ingredients directly from farms. In 1972, Mollie returned to Ithaca to help her brother and friends build their new restaurant. They named it Moosewood Restaurant after a local tree. Mollie was one of the founders of this restaurant in 1973 and worked there until 1978.
Her Famous Cookbooks
Mollie Katzen has sold over 6 million books! Health Magazine even named her one of five "Women Who Changed the Way We Eat."
She also had her own cooking show, "Mollie Katzen's Cooking Show," which aired on PBS from 1995 to 2000. From 2003 to 2011, she worked with Harvard University Dining Services. She helped them create a program to teach people about food. In 2013, Mollie published her most recent cookbook, The Heart of the Plate. She considers this book her best work.
About Her Life
Mollie Katzen has two children. Her son, Sam Black, was a dancer with the Mark Morris Dance Group. He is now the director of the company.
Mollie lived in Kensington, CA, for many years. She has since moved back to the East Coast. Today, she enjoys studying piano and creating art. She continues to write and is working on a memoir about her life.
See also
- Joanne Weir's Cooking Class
- Martin Yan
- Jacques Pépin
