Nathalie Dupree, dubbed the Queen of Southern Cooking by Southern Living magazine, died Monday in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was 85 years old.
Dupree emerged on the national culinary stage in 1985 with her first hardcover cookbook, “New Southern Cooking,” edited by literary icon Judith Jones, and its companion PBS series.
She hosted cooking shows on PBS, the Food Network and the Learning Channel, where she taught audiences to feel at ease in the kitchen, cooking uncomplicated recipes with local and familiar ingredients. Dropping utensils, misordering ingredients, and other absent-minded kitchen quirks endeared her to legions of fans nationwide. Her well-known quips include: “Oops, I dropped my diamond” after clanging around in the kitchen; “Bubba, honey, if I had any ice in my glass I’d rattle it” as the only proper way for a woman to ask her beau to get her another drink; and “I’m not always the woman I want to be,” to explain away her eccentricities.
Born in Hamilton, New Jersey on Dec. 23, 1939, she spent her turbulent childhood under the reign of a strict and abusive father in Alexandria, Virginia. After her parents’ divorce, she, along with her mother and siblings, were often evicted and scrambled for necessities. Dupree craved her independence and was determined to support herself. High school became a refuge, where she made lifelong friends.
She led a politically involved life, from the moment she became the youngest precinct captain for John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign when she was only 20, to running for a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in 2010 as a write-in candidate against incumbent Jim DeMint.
After what she called a brief starter marriage, and a decade-long marriage to David Dupree (her favorite former husband), she finally found the love of her life in Jack Bass, a historian and author. Their home was often filled with visiting dignitaries, politicos and authors whom she’d serve test recipes.
Her mother disapproved when Dupree wanted to become a cook saying, “Ladies don’t cook.” Her first experience, as a cook in a co-op house in college, was a disaster. She learned from her mistakes and never stopped learning.
After studying at Le Cordon Bleu in London and operating the kitchen in a restaurant in Majorca, Spain, she returned to the U.S. She opened restaurant Nathalie’s in the back of an antique shop in Covington, Georgia with then-husband David Dupree. There, she applied the French techniques she learned in school using a bounty of fresh southern ingredients. It became a destination for Atlantans.
Rich’s department store soon inaugurated the first participation cooking school in the Southeast at their flagship store in downtown Atlanta where Dupree became the director, teaching more than 10,000 students over 10 years. Guest teachers included Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Paul Prudhomme. She ran a recurring week-long intensive cooking school at the Cloister on Sea Island for several years.
Known for mentoring young talent, Dupree was rarely without an apprentice. Fondly referred to as her “chickens,” many have gone on to have accomplished careers in the culinary world including Virginia Willis and Rebecca Lang.
Her love of mentorship led her to founding numerous chapters of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international association dedicated to advancing women in the culinary industry. In 2011, it gave Dupree its highest honor of Grande Dame for her achievements.
“Nathalie’s gift was bringing women together to support their communities and each other, the embodiment of the values and mission of Les Dames d’Escoffier International,” said Kathy Gold, President of Les Dames d’Escoffier International Board of Directors. “Her pork chop theory — one pork chop in a pan goes dry, but two in a pan have the fat to feed each other — is the principle that shaped her life’s work.”
As the author of 15 cookbooks, three of which earned James Beard Foundation awards, she championed the ingredients of her region and led novice cooks in overcoming their fears in the kitchen. Her food writing centered on food and relationships, often with the recurring theme of food as a control issue.
Credit: Susi Gott Seguret
Credit: Susi Gott Seguret
In 2015, she was inducted into the Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, recognized as an authority on Southern food and a pioneer in the New Southern Cooking movement in the late 1980s.
“Nathalie Dupree, a cherished member of our extended James Beard family, pushed American gastronomy forward, especially her work in highlighting the beauty and importance of Southern foodways and cuisine,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. “She leaves behind an enduring legacy.”
Always a natural leader, her intellect and wit made her a catalyst for community and connection. “In 1978, She was one of the founders of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) along with Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and Martin Yan. Nearly 50 years later, the organization still has hundreds of members across the world who continue to reap the benefits of the community they created,” said IACP interim executive director Nancy Wall Hopkins.
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
She was the founding chairperson of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, and a founder and board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. In 2004, the Southern Foodways Alliance presented her with its Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award. The Maître Cuisiniers de France presented Dupree with its 2013 Woman of the Year award.
Even with the challenges at the end of her life, she remained grateful for it all, stating “gratitude is the great healer.” She is survived by her husband Jack Bass and their children Audrey Thiault (Pierre-Henri), Ken Bass (Antoinette), David Bass (Bonnie), and Liz Broadway (Joel), sister Marie Louise Meyer, brother James Gordon Meyer (Nancy June), seven grandchildren, and favorite former-husband David Dupree.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Feb. 22 at Meadows Funeral Home, 760 Highway 11 SE, Monroe, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Atlanta Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship Fund (ldeiatlanta.org) are welcome to further the careers of female culinarians. Remembrances may be left at meadowsfuneralhomeinc.com.
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