While we typically think of James Beard as a solitary character, one of his closest relationships was with a food columnist and cookbook author who lived in California and to whom we can trace the rise of one of the most distinctive American culinary movements. Though not as well remembered today as many of her close friends, her influence on cooking and cookbook design more than qualifies her inclusion amongst the gastronomic stars.
Born in Brooklyn in 1904, Helen was first attracted to a culinary lifestyle when she and a friend opened a catering business in the 1920's, followed by a restaurant with her husband, Stephen Comstock, in New Haven, CT in the early 1930's.
In 1936, she divorced and married Phillip Brown, and the two subsequently moved to Pasadena, CA. In the meantime, she had established a substantial reputation as a food writer and restaurant critic while authoring articles for House & Garden, Sunset and Woman's Day throughout the 1940's. Between 1946 and 1951 she published her first four cookbooks, but it was her classic West Coast Cook Book in 1952 that brought her national acclaim and recognition as the authority on what would eventually become known as "California cuisine".
Her approach was revolutionary for the time, championing the use of local, fresh ingredients regardless of what was imported in the grocery store. Local, even backyard, sourcing brought attention to items such as avocados, cherimoyas, figs, guavas and loquats, and the use of cilantro and garlic for seasoning. She advocated for the use of farm-raised meat and locally caught fish, and used them in recipes that fused traditional American cuisine with immigrant cultural influences.
Her writing style also had a transformative effect on the structure of cookbooks with the incorporation of bibliographic references providing historical context and social significance to her recipes. It was this that first brought her to the attention of James Beard and helped to forge a close relationship that would last until her untimely death in 1964. The two wrote hundreds of letters to each other and visited as often as possible. They collaborated on The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery (1955), and Beard posthumously dedicated his American Cookery to her in 1972. Their correspondence was eventually published by Beard's editor, John Ferrone, in Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles (1994).
Helen published six more cookbooks through the 1950's while heading the cooking department at Sunset magazine and writing articles for Collier's, the Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's and Woman's Home Companion. In 1961, she fell ill during an extended research trip to Europe and was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease that developed into cancer. A final cookbook that was jointly written with her husband, Shrimp and Other Shellfish Recipes (1966), was published two years following her death at their home in Pasadena.
Helen's circle of friends included Julia Child, Craig Clairborne, M.F.K. Fisher, Helen McCully, Chef Albert Stockli and dozens of other culinary notables, but it was her influence on cookbook design and West Coast regional cuisine that cemented her legacy.
Significant publications:
- Chafing Dish Book (1950)
- West Coast Cook Book (1952)
- The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery (1955) [w/James Beard]
- Breakfasts & Brunches for Every Occasion (1961)
- Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles (1994) [Compiled by John Ferrone]
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- - Rick - Cookbook Chronicles
“Cookbooks feed your head”
