Sylvia Vaughn Thompson facts for kids
Sylvia Vaughn Thompson (born June 19, 1935) is an American food writer and chef. She has written several cookbooks that share her love for food and cooking. Two of her well-known books are Feasts and Friends: Recipes from a Lifetime (1988) and The Kitchen Garden Cookbook (1995). Her godmother, the famous food writer M. F. K. Fisher, even wrote the introduction for Feasts and Friends.
Growing Up and School
Sylvia Thompson's parents were famous! Her mother was the film actress Gloria Stuart, and her father was the playwright Arthur Sheekman. Sylvia was named after a character her mother played, Princess Sylvia, in the movie Roman Scandals.
She grew up in different places, including California and Connecticut. For a while, her family lived at the Garden of Allah Hotel in Los Angeles. Many movie stars and famous people were their neighbors there. Sylvia's mother enjoyed cooking, and Sylvia often helped prepare meals for her parents' many dinner parties. This is where she started her journey with food.
Sylvia went to the University of California, Berkeley, for college. She also studied abroad in Paris at the Sorbonne. One summer during college, she spent time in San Michele di Pagana, Italy. These experiences helped her learn even more about different kinds of food and cooking styles.
Her Work as a Writer and Chef
In the 1950s, Sylvia Thompson moved to New York after she got married. She began writing articles about food for Vogue magazine. In 1963, she published her first cookbook, Economy Gastronomy. Later, in 1974, she released The Budget Gourmet. These early books showed people how to cook delicious meals without spending a lot of money.
One of her books, Woman’s Day Crockery Cuisine (1977), had a recipe that caused a safety concern. Because of this, the publisher decided to remove the book from stores.
Sylvia Thompson also helped write her mother's life story, called I Just Kept Hoping (1999).
Her book Feasts and Friends is special because it's not just a cookbook. It also shares stories from different times in her life, along with recipes. The book shows how food is connected to various cultures and places she experienced, like the San Joaquin Valley in California and even Russia. People really liked this book, saying that Sylvia could make readers feel like they were right there in the places she described through her food stories.
Her Family Life
Sylvia Thompson married Gene Thompson in 1958. They were introduced by Norah, who was the sister of Sylvia's godmother, M. F. K. Fisher. Sylvia and Gene have four children: David Oxley Thompson, Dinah Vaughn Sapia, Benjamin Stuart Thompson, and Amanda Thompson.
Her mother's brother, Frank Finch, was a well-known sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
