Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan (born January 26, 1943) is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. The Jerusalem Post has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".

Education Joan Nathan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Jewish parents Pearl (née Gluck) Nathan and Ernest Nathan. After receiving a master's degree in French literature from the University of Michigan, she earned another master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As a food journalist she has visited, among other places, France and Brazil, uncovering new dishes or researching Jewish cuisine.

Career Television She was executive producer and host of Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan, a PBS series based on her cookbook, Jewish Cooking in America. The success of the series helped Nathan earn the distinction of being called the "Jewish Julia Child" in the media. In 2000, the series was nominated for best national television food show at the James Beard Awards.

Journalism Nathan has contributed to numerous newspapers and magazines, including Saveur, Food & Wine, The Denver Post, Better Homes and Gardens, CNN, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. She is a regular food columnist for The New York Times and Tablet.

In 1985, An American Folklife Cookbook won the R.T. French Tastemaker Award (now the James Beard Award). The New American Cooking won the James Beard and IACP Awards for Food of the Americas and Best American Cookbook. She was guest curator of Food Culture USA at the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which was based on the research for her book. In 2017, the IACP: International Association of Culinary Professionals honored Jewish Cooking in America as a Culinary Classic.

The Flavor of Jerusalem (1975), with Judy Stacey Goldman. The Jewish Holiday Kitchen (1979) An American Folklife Cookbook (1984) The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen (1987) Jewish Cooking in America (1994) The Jewish Holiday Baker (1997) The Foods of Israel Today (2001) Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook (2004) The New American Cooking (2005) Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France (2010) King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World (2017) My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories (2024) A Sweet Year: Jewish Celebrations and Festive Recipes, (2024)

Personal life Israel She lived in Israel for three years working for Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem.

Marriage Nathan was married to the late Allan Gerson, an attorney, and has three children and two grandchildren. She divides her time between Washington, D.C. and Martha's Vineyard. 2008, MacDowell Fellow, the MacDowell Colony 2005, Silver Spoon Award, Food Arts Magazine 2002, Honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture 2001, Inductee into James Beard Foundation's Who's Who in American Food and Beverage 1998, Jewish Daily Forward "Forward 50" 1995, Golda Award, American Jewish Congress 1994, Jewish Cooking in America received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook and later, the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award

Guest appearances Good Morning America The TODAY Show Food Network The Martha Stewart Show

Other In January 2009, she began choking on a piece of chicken at the Art.Food.Hope dinner in Washington, D.C., but was saved by chef Tom Colicchio, who performed the Heimlich maneuver.