Joan Nathan
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The Queen of Jewish Cooking
With the 2017 publication of “King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking From Around the World” (Alfred P. Knopf), Joan Nathan has used her status as the queen of Jewish cooking to reveal an unexpectedly wide and varied world of Jewish food.
Having covered the Jewish Ashkenazi culinary experience in such books as “Jewish Cooking in America” and “The Jewish Holiday Kitchen,” Nathan, 74, now guides her readers all across the globe. Like her other 10 highly acclaimed cookbooks, this one is meticulously researched. The armchair culinary adventurer revels in Nathan’s intrepid curiosity, captivating storytelling and beautifully honed instinct for delivering the most delicious versions of both classic and creative dishes.
Also in 2017, Nathan’s 1994 book “Jewish Cooking in America” — which won both the James Beard Award for best American cookbook and the International Association of Culinary Professionals /Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award — was named a culinary classic by the IACP.
Nathan has traveled far and wide in 2017, to promote the book — named, she told the Forward earlier this year, because King Solomon apparently “set out to find things from all over the known world.”
“For me, [his is] an example not only of a diasporic nation, but also of diasporic food,” she said.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
