Maria Parloa

Maria Parloa (September 25, 1843 – August 21, 1909) was an American author of books on cooking and housekeeping, the founder of two cooking schools, a lecturer on food topics, and an early figure in the "domestic science" (later "home economics") movement. A culinary pioneer, she was arguably America's first celebrity cook, considered "one of the innovative superstars of her field".

Early life

Maria Parloa was born in Massachusetts on September 25, 1843. Both her mother and father had been born in New York state. Nor is it known where she learned to cook, although in the Preface to her first book, The Appledore Cook Book, published in 1872, she asserts that she has "had years of experience as a cook in private families and hotels." The latter included the Rockingham House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Pavilion Hotel, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire; McMillan House, North Conway, New Hampshire; and the Appledore Hotel on Appledore Island, Maine, one of the Isles of Shoals.

In 1871, Parloa entered the Normal School of the Maine Central Institute, Pittsfield, Maine, completing her teacher training course two years later. in Mandarin, Florida (a small town now part of the City of Jacksonville) where she remained for five winters. During this time, she gave a talk on cookery to raise money to buy "a small cabinet organ" for the local Sunday school. That same year, the Women's Education Association of Boston provided a subvention of $100 for the establishment of The Boston Cooking School. Its first teacher was Joanna Sweeney who taught the classes in basic cookery; Maria Parloa was engaged to give regular lectures on more sophisticated topics.

During this time, she prepared the text for Miss Parloa's New Cook Book: A Guide to Marketing and Cooking, published in 1880.

Although Miss Parloa's own school and her lectures at the Boston Cooking School were both extremely popular, they were not financially rewarding. In 1882, she closed her school, left Boston, and moved to New York City. In November, 1882, she opened Miss Parloa's School of Cooking at 222 East Seventeenth Street. Here, in addition to the regular courses of instruction during the day, Miss Parloa also offered free instruction to "immigrant girls" in the evening.

In 1887, "having made a considerable fortune," she stopped teaching in New York and moved back to Boston, where she "purchased a comfortable home in Roxbury."

She returned to Europe in 1894 for a three-year study of "the domestic systems of France, England, and Germany." Her plan was to spend a year living with a French family, a second with a German family, and a final year "living in suburban England."

In 1903, she moved to Bethel, Connecticut, where she lived until her death, sharing her home with two orphan girls. She organized the Village Improvement Society, and participated in community landscaping. She died on August 21, 1909, following surgery in Bethel, Connecticut, and her remains where interred at the Forest Hills Cemetery. At the time, she was making plans for her third trip to Europe.

Works Parloa, Maria. The Appledore Cook Book. Boston: Graves and Ellis, 1872. Second Edition (Andrew F. Graves), 1877. New Edition, 1880.

Parloa, Maria. Camp Cookery: How to Live in Camp. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1878. Parloa, Maria. First Principles of Household Management and Cookery: A Text-Book for Schools and Families. Boston: Houghton, Osgood, and Company, 1879. New and enlarged edition, 1882. Parloa, Maria. Miss Parloa's New Cook Book: A Guide to Marketing and Cooking. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1881. Revised edition, 1908.

Parloa, Maria. Practical Cookery with Demonstrations. New York Tribune Extra No. 85. New York: The Tribune, 1884. Parloa, Maria. Miss Parloa's Kitchen Companion: A Guide for All Who Would Be Good Housekeepers. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1887. Parloa, Maria. Miss Parloa’s Young Housekeeper: Designed Especially to Aid Beginners.Boston: Dana Estes and Co., 1893. Second edition, 1894. Third edition, 1895. Parloa, Maria. Home Economics: A Guide to Household Management, Including the Proper Treatment of the Materials Entering into the Construction and Furnishing of the House. New York: Century Co., 1898. Parloa, Maria. Chocolate And Cocoa Recipes by Miss Parloa, and Home Made Candy Recipes by Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill. Dorchester, MA: W. Baker and Co., Ltd., 1909. Parloa, Maria. Canned Fruit, Preserves and Jellies. Household Methods of Preparation. Prepared under the supervision of Experiment Stations, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Chicago-Akron-New York: The Saalfield Publishing Co., 1917.