Before the James Beard Awards, there was the man himself. Beard was the first celebrity chef of the TV era, preaching home cooking and fresh, local food even as frozen TV dinners gained popularity. But he also had to navigate the complexities of being a closeted gay man in a time when the kitchen was considered a place for women.
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At the height of his popularity, how famous was James Beard in America?
He was a household personality, and his popularity really kind of ratchets up.
In 1955, a writer for the New York Times dubs him the dean of American cookery.
He's really the one person that America looks to who has this long historical knowledge about food in America, all while.
Being deep, deep in the closet.
Yes, absolutely.
I mean, deep, deep in the closet at the same time that he's living this very kind of robust, pleasurable, gay life in private, publicly.
It's absolutely, absolutely a secret.
This is the Sporkful.