Evan, Brava on your profound appreciation of the esteemed and “difficult” Diana Kennedy and of the culinary pioneers who did the hard work of bringing us the foods and flavor of far off places. Loved too the charming portrait of young you!
I saw Diana Kennedy in action, bossing Milton Glaser around as she cooked at the Aspen Design Conference in 1974. The over-all title of the week was "Neighbors: Canada, Mexico, and the USA," and her cooking demonstration was the highlight of the week for me. I will never forget her trilling "Milty!" followed by whatever she wanted him to do. Truly a queen in the kitchen.
I love what you said about growing up in L.A. and masa being your Proustian madeleine! My parents started taking me to El Amigo on Western Avenue when I was a baby, and corn masa is my madeleine, too. When I moved to the east coast, I had to start making my own, so that I could make tortillas and tamales that reminded me of home. Diana Kennedy's books have beenextremely important in my life, too. I encountered her a couple of times when I lived in DC, and we had interesting conversations about leavening agents in masa para tamales ( she said that tequesquite was acceptable, but not baking powder), whether Oaxacan mole paste is an acceptable substitute for mole made from scratch (she said no, but gave me a helpful piece of info about adding tomato as well as chicken broth), and whether American field corn was taking over the market for corn in Mexico. Her responses were larded with expletives, which didn't bother me a whit, as I myself often use them to colorful effect.
Thank you for this, Evan! I am so tired of hearing snarky comments about cultural appropriation. Diana Kennedy communicated the depth and breadth of Mexican cuisine when no one else was doing it. She always attributed, but I love your point that she had the drive and ambition to learn and teach when others didn’t. So of course hers is a name we know! Gabriela Camara obvious love and admiration for her really touched me.
Beautiful Diana Kennedy article. I especially liked the comment about cooking classes "often seen as a social opportunities to chit chat with friends". (Other than required Home Ec,) I have taken, and paid for, only one cooking class. I wanted tips from a candy making class for keeping Christmas fudge creamy when sent to our Navy son in the bottom of a ship. Turns out the class was an "experience" but not so much for learning. The class was divided into groups that each made candy that we all likely made at home. Enjoyable but not worth giving up a Saturday unless you were there to chit chat.
Oops. That sounded like a rant. 'Love learning from Evan and her guests.
Evan, thank you for your appreciation of Diana Kennedy. I would agree with appropriation criticism if she hadn’t not only given credit to Mexican cooks but also showed such respect and appreciation for them.
I’m 9 years older than you and I grew up in Silverlake. When you said you knew more about Mexican food than “combo plates” I wondered which restaurants you went to. We went to Barragan’s on Beverly. In my Marshall High School days we used to visit a diner across from the Mixville Market on Silverlake and Glendale. It served Mexican food but all I remember is ordering corn tortillas with butter and a coke after school. You may be too young to recall the Mixville Market. The area used to be where Tom Mix made movies.
Evan, Brava on your profound appreciation of the esteemed and “difficult” Diana Kennedy and of the culinary pioneers who did the hard work of bringing us the foods and flavor of far off places. Loved too the charming portrait of young you!
Ann B.
I saw Diana Kennedy in action, bossing Milton Glaser around as she cooked at the Aspen Design Conference in 1974. The over-all title of the week was "Neighbors: Canada, Mexico, and the USA," and her cooking demonstration was the highlight of the week for me. I will never forget her trilling "Milty!" followed by whatever she wanted him to do. Truly a queen in the kitchen.
I love what you said about growing up in L.A. and masa being your Proustian madeleine! My parents started taking me to El Amigo on Western Avenue when I was a baby, and corn masa is my madeleine, too. When I moved to the east coast, I had to start making my own, so that I could make tortillas and tamales that reminded me of home. Diana Kennedy's books have beenextremely important in my life, too. I encountered her a couple of times when I lived in DC, and we had interesting conversations about leavening agents in masa para tamales ( she said that tequesquite was acceptable, but not baking powder), whether Oaxacan mole paste is an acceptable substitute for mole made from scratch (she said no, but gave me a helpful piece of info about adding tomato as well as chicken broth), and whether American field corn was taking over the market for corn in Mexico. Her responses were larded with expletives, which didn't bother me a whit, as I myself often use them to colorful effect.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Thank you for this, Evan! I am so tired of hearing snarky comments about cultural appropriation. Diana Kennedy communicated the depth and breadth of Mexican cuisine when no one else was doing it. She always attributed, but I love your point that she had the drive and ambition to learn and teach when others didn’t. So of course hers is a name we know! Gabriela Camara obvious love and admiration for her really touched me.
Beautiful Diana Kennedy article. I especially liked the comment about cooking classes "often seen as a social opportunities to chit chat with friends". (Other than required Home Ec,) I have taken, and paid for, only one cooking class. I wanted tips from a candy making class for keeping Christmas fudge creamy when sent to our Navy son in the bottom of a ship. Turns out the class was an "experience" but not so much for learning. The class was divided into groups that each made candy that we all likely made at home. Enjoyable but not worth giving up a Saturday unless you were there to chit chat.
Oops. That sounded like a rant. 'Love learning from Evan and her guests.
Ugh. That should be 1984 for the Aspen Design Conference. So easy to miss a typo.
Lovely tribute Evan!
Evan, thank you for your appreciation of Diana Kennedy. I would agree with appropriation criticism if she hadn’t not only given credit to Mexican cooks but also showed such respect and appreciation for them.
I’m 9 years older than you and I grew up in Silverlake. When you said you knew more about Mexican food than “combo plates” I wondered which restaurants you went to. We went to Barragan’s on Beverly. In my Marshall High School days we used to visit a diner across from the Mixville Market on Silverlake and Glendale. It served Mexican food but all I remember is ordering corn tortillas with butter and a coke after school. You may be too young to recall the Mixville Market. The area used to be where Tom Mix made movies.