Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories and Recipes

Nathalie Dupree is a storyteller, and in celebration of her 80th birthday in December 2019, she shares her favorite culinary stories, which trace her journey from a budding cook for her college friends, through her years as a restaurant cook and cooking instructor. Her activist spirit, humor, feisty personality, and authoritative knowledge of cooking make this a must-have cookbook for everyone who has watched her on TV, read her articles in magazines and newspapers, or invoked her name in a conversation about Southern food.

Nathalie Dupree is the best-selling author of 14 cookbooks, and host of more than 300 national and international cooking shows. She has been the president of the Atlanta chapter of the International Women’s Forum, founder and past president of IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals), founder and board member of Southern Foodways, and founder and co-president of two chapters of Les Dames d’Escoffier by whom she was awarded the honor of “Grande Dame. She was the founding president of the Charleston Wine and Food Festival. She was named the 2013 Woman of the Year from the French Master Chefs of America, and received Slow Food Charleston’s 2016 Snail Award. Her books New Southern Cooking and Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking are on the 2017 Southern Living 100 best cookbooks of all time list. She lives in Charleston.

Cynthia Stevens Graubart, co-author of James Beard Award-winning Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking and Southern Biscuits with Nathalie Dupree, and author of The One-Armed Cook, called the culinary version of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. She produced Nathalie Dupree’s New Southern Cooking, the first nationally distributed television series from Georgia Public Television, among many other television series during her television career. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

From her home in Charleston, South Carolina, Nathalie Dupree has mentored countless chefs and cooks—her chickens, as she calls them. In nearly 80 years of life so far, she’s been there, cooked that, and earned nearly every culinary accolade there is. And she’s not done yet. This fall brings a victory lap: Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories & Recipes. Not all of the recipes in this book—Dupree’s fifteenth—are strictly “Southern.” There’s French onion soup, lemon and berry tart, and garlic-stuffed roast chicken, for example. But even the most die-hard fried chicken fan wants to eat a perfectly golden oven-baked bird now and again, and what better Southern source than Dupree for learning how to prepare one? The confidence that comes with experience permeates every page. Take Dupree’s recipe for sausage and apples, one of the author’s go-to weeknight suppers. That’s it: Link sausage (though bulk works, too) and Gala apples (chosen because they retain their shape in cooking). But because sometimes cooks want a tasty homemade meal without dirtying every dish in the kitchen, Dupree also offers three recipes that make more of this flavorful combination—a soup, a quiche, and even a hearty casserole. From her home in Charleston, South Carolina, Nathalie Dupree has mentored countless chefs and cooks—her chickens, as she calls them. In nearly 80 years of life so far, she’s been there, cooked that, and earned nearly every culinary accolade there is. And she’s not done yet. This fall brings a victory lap: Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories & Recipes. Not all of the recipes in this book—Dupree’s fifteenth—are strictly “Southern.â€� There’s French onion soup, lemon and berry tart, and garlic-stuffed roast chicken, for example. But even the most die-hard fried chicken fan wants to eat a perfectly golden oven-baked bird now and again, and what better Southern source than Dupree for learning how to prepare one? The confidence that comes with experience permeates every page. Take Dupree’s recipe for sausage and apples, one of the author’s go-to weeknight suppers. That’s it: Link sausage (though bulk works, too) and Gala apples (chosen because they retain their shape in cooking). But because sometimes cooks want a tasty homemade meal without dirtying every dish in the kitchen, Dupree also offers three recipes that make more of this flavorful combination—a soup, a quiche, and even a hearty casserole. When we called Nathalie Dupree the “queen of Southern cuisine”, we meant it. Dupree’s TV shows, cookbooks, and classes have been hugely influential among Southern home cooks. Her latest book takes you through her entire storied life in food, from serving as a one-woman school cafeteria for her college classmates to running one of the most popular cooking schools in the South. While her recipes are always worth making (don’t miss her biscuits), you’ll love reading this book too. A must-have cookbook for her legions of fans who have watched her on TV, read her articles in magazines and newspapers, or invoked her name in a conversation about Southern food, “Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories and Recipes” is a beautifully illustrated and delightful resource for planning memorable meals for all dining occasions. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that “Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories and Recipes” is also available in a digital book format.