About Edna Lewis

Lewis (1916-2006) grew up in Freetown, Virgina, a small rural community founded in the late 1800s by freed slaves (including her grandfather). Lewis grew up cooking with the seasons on a wood-fired stove. After running a Manhattan restaurant for several years, she began teaching cooking classes and writing cookbooks, including The Edna Lewis Cookbook and In Pursuit of Flavor. She is credited with helping to preserve the traditional foodways of Southern American cooking.