cookbooks

Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso: Pioneers of Mediterranean Flavors/

Bill Thompson

Hundreds of cookbooks are published every year, thousands have been published since the early 1980s. But few had the impact that 1982’s Silver Palate Cookbook had.

It was the outgrowth of a popular New York City eatery calledTthe Silver Palate, run by Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso.

They helped introduce Americans to Mediterranean and European cuisines never before seen in this country.

Over the next 25 years their cookbook sold millions of copies and became a must have for many kitchens.

In 2007, Lukins and Rosso published a 25th anniversary edition of the cookbook, and that’s when I spoke with them. So here now, from 2007, Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso..

Sheila Lukins died in 2009, at age 66.

You may also like these episodes:


Ina Garten

Julia Child

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Dorothy Height

Bill Thompson
Photo by Adrian Hood

A decades-long tradition continues this summer, with the 35th annual Black Family Reunion this month.

The event was started in 1989 by Dorothy Height, the longtime president of the National Council of Negro Women. It grew quickly, attracting millions across the country.

And from the reunions grew the Black Family Reunion Cookbook, first published in 1992.

But as you’ll hear in a moment, the cookbook was more than just a collection of recipes. It was an oral history of the African-American family.

So here now, from 1993, Dorothy Height.

Dorothy Height died in 2010. She was 98.

You may also like these episodes:

Alex Haley
Maya Angelou

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

Wolfgang Puck

Bill Thompson
Photo © Glenn Francis

When you think of America’s great present-day chefs and restaurateurs, there are only a handful of names that immediately come to mind.

And one of them is Wolfgang Puck.

While he may be best known for his acclaimed Spago restaurant, Puck has also written a number of cookbooks, he’s a TV and he’s the official caterer for the Academy Awards.

I met him a little over thirty years ago, in the fall of 1991, when he was on tour for his cookbook adventures in the Kitchen.

And get ready. You’re going to be very hungry in just a few minutes.

So here now, from 1991, Wolfgang Puck.

Wolfgang Puck is 72 now. He lives in Los Angeles.

---------------------------------------------------------------

You may also like these episodes:

Emeril Lagasse
Julia Child

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

Dom DeLuise

Bill Thompson
Photo: Allan Warren

Today we’re wrapping up Celebrity Cookbook Week on Now I’ve Heard Everything.

On Monday, we heard from actress Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island), then on Wednesday, musician-actor Isaac Hayes.Today, one of my favorite comic actors from the ’60s amd ’70s,

Dom DeLuise may be best known for the many movies he made with Burt Reynolds, and Mel Brooks.

I met him on a snowy Friday afternoon in January 1988, after he published his cookbook “Eat This, it’ll Make You Feel Better.”

So here now, from 1988, Dom DeLuise.

Dom DeLuise died in 2009. He was 75.

Isaac Hayes

Bill Thompson

It’s Celebrity Cookbook Week here on Now I’ve Heard Everything. We continue today with a man who my younge listeners may kknow best for his work on South Park.

Photo: William Henderson darkfiber22

But for decades, Isaac Hayes was a major figure in the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he was a songwriter, a session musician and record a producer

I met him 20 years ago, when he published a cookbook that brought together some of his own favorite family recipes, plus those of dozens of celebrities.

So here now, from 2000, Isaac Hayes.

Isaac Hayes died in 2008 just days before his 66th birthday.

Dawn Wells

Bill Thompson

It’s Celebrity Cookbook Week on Now I’ve Heard Everything.

And we start with not only one of my favorite sitcom stars, but also one of my favorite cookbooks.

Dawn Wells portrayed Kansas farm girl Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan’s Island. Turns out, she was pretty handy with coconuts, bananas, and whatever else the castaways were able to find — plus a few food items probably not normally found on a desert island, but, that was Gilligan’s Island. It was a fantasy.

I met Dawn Wells in 1993, when she was promoting her cookbook, called “Mary Ann’s Gilligan’s Island Cookbook.” It included the recipes from her mother, and her grandmother, as well as island cuisine.

So, here now, from 1993, Dawn Wells.

Dawn Wells is 82 now and remains a fan favorite.