Jeanne Voltz
Born | Jeanne Appleton November 20, 1920 Collinsville, Alabama |
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Died | January 15, 2002 Pittsboro, North Carolina | (aged 81)
Pen name | Marian Manners |
Occupation | Food journalist, cookbook author |
Education | Bachelor's degree |
Alma mater | University of Montevallo |
Period | 1940-1999 |
Notable works |
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Notable awards |
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Jeanne Voltz (November 20, 1920 – January 15, 2002) was an American food journalist, editor, and cookbook author. She was food editor for the
Early life and education
Voltz was born Jeanne Appleton on November 20, 1920 (or possibly in 1921), in Collinsville, Alabama.[1][2][3] Her parents were James Lamar and Marie (née Sewell) Appleton.[2] She received an AB in political science and history from the University of Montevallo (the Alabama College for Women) in 1942, planning to become a foreign correspondent.[3]
Later she attended the Academie Cordon Bleu (1960) and studied food, wine, and civilization at University of California, Los Angeles in 1970.[2][3]
Career
Voltz started working in journalism in 1940 while in college.
At some point Voltz started using the byline "Marian Manners"; at some point in her career she started using her own name.
She moved to the
Voltz created the food section for the Los Angeles Times and was food editor from 1960 to 1973.[1][4] Her condition for accepting the job was the Times moving the food section out of the advertising department and into the newsroom.[3] Like the Herald, the LA Times food section was one of the country's most influential during her time there.[3] Her stories focused not just on recipes but on news issues such as food safety, consumer issues, studies of the food industry, and food in society.[3]
Voltz became food editor at
In retirement
Voltz was active in her retirement in the Society for the Preservation of Southern Food.[1]
Books
Voltz wrote multiple cookbooks, three of which won James Beard awards.[1][5]
Bibliography
- Famous Florida Recipes (1954)
- The California Cookbook (1970)[2]
- The L.A. Gourmet: Favorite Recipes from Famous Los Angeles Restaurants (1971) with Burks Hamner[1]
- The Los Angeles Times Natural Food Cookbook (1973)[1]
- The Flavor of the South; Delicacies and Staples of Southern Cuisine (1977)[2]
- How to Turn a Passion for Food into Profit (1979)
- Gifts from a Country Kitchen (1984)[2]
- Barbecued Ribs, Smoked Butts and Other Great Feeds (1985)[1]
- Community Suppers and Other Glorious Repasts (1987)[2]
- The Country Ham Book (1999)[1]
Recognition
Voltz won three James Beard awards, considered the highest recognition in the US culinary world, for her books Barbecued Ribs and Other Great Feeds, Flavor of the South, and California Cookbook.
Impact
According to the Los Angeles Times, Voltz was "one of the first newspaper food editors of the modern era"; previously, most newspaper food sections were created around advertising needs and some newspaper food writers and editors were part of the advertising department.[1][3] According to journalism historian Kimberly Wilmot Voss, Voltz was "a groundbreaking food editor" at the Times.[3] Culinarian Terry Ford described her as "the best-known food expert you've probably never heard of".[3]
Voltz's book Barbecued Ribs, Smoked Butts and Other Great Feeds was one of the first to approach barbecue as a valid cuisine style.[3]
Personal life
Voltz married Luther Manship Voltz, a newspaper editor, on July 31, 1943.[2][3] They had two children.[1] The couple divorced amicably in the 1980s.[3] She married Frank Barnett MacKnight on August 6, 1988.[2][3] Voltz was living in Pittsboro, North Carolina at the time of her death from pneumonia on January 15, 2002.[1][4][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Jeanne Voltz, 81; Past Editor of Times' Food Section". Los Angeles Times. 2002-01-16. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Jeanne Appleton Voltz 1920-2002". University of Alabama. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ ISSN 0882-1127.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cookbook Author Voltz Dies". Midland Reporter Telegram. 15 January 2002.
- ^ a b "Awards Search | James Beard Foundation". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-30.