“I learned things about new desserts and salads, but when it comes to cooking meats, stews, soups, sauces, and such dishes, we Southern cooks have Northern cooks beat by a mile. That’s not big talk; that’s the honest truth.” -Lena Richard

Black History Month: Lena Richard

In honor of Black History Month, I’ve researched a well-known Creole chef, Lena Richard. Through all my years studying and working in culinary, I’ve never heard of her, or read her recipe book. Mrs. Lena was a famous chef, entrepreneur, educator, and writer (Katzman 2020). And tore down racial and economic barriers in the heart of the Jim Crow South (Katzman 2020).

Lena was born 1892 in New Roads, Louisiana (U.H. Podcast 2021). She began her culinary career at the age of 14, assisting her mother and aunt as a part-time domestic worker. Noticing Lena’s talent and curiosity for cooking, the matron of the family, Alice Vairin, signed Richard up for local cooking school classes (Katzman 2020). Being the only woman of color in the program, Richard quickly found her culinary skills to be more advanced than those of her classmates. Her peers always asked for advice on Southern classics. That sparked inspiration to create a creole recipe book (U.H. Podcast 2021).

In 1939 Lena published her book Lena Richard’s Cook Book that consisted of 300 recipes. It was regarded as the first Creole cookbook written by an African American (WDSU News 2022). She dedicated herself to writing down and recording generations of African American cooking traditions in New Orleans. She also opened her cooking school, educating African Americans with culinary and hospitality skills (WDSU News 2022).

From 1949 to 1950, Lena hosted a popular 30-minute cooking television show called Lena Richard’s New Orleans Cook Book (Schulman 2025) Not only was she the first African-American woman to host, but it was the first televised cooking show (Schulman 2025); teaching and showing the rich culture of creole cuisine. Addition to that, Lena successfully opened a frozen food company and two popular restuarants: Lena’s Eatery and Lena Richard’s Gumbo House (Katzman 2020).

Reading Mrs. Lena’s story inspired me to keep working and improving on my culinary skills. As an indengenious woman with african descent, I dealt with a lot of racism and prejudice in the culinary field. It made my skin boil when my bosses and coworkers only see me as a replacable worker. I learned alot but I felt like the jobs and institution was holding my potential back. However, Lena’s story taught me no matter what the odds are, keep going. It’s never too late to become the best version of myself. As I get better, I’ll improve at supporting my community like Mrs. Lena did.

Happy Black History Month! For a delicious mac n cheese spot, check out my Homeroom review.

God Bless,

Kejaré James

References

Katzman, L. (2020, June 12). Meet Lena Richard, the celebrity chef who broke barriers in the jim crow south | smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-mama-lena-celebrity-chef-and-creole-cookbook-author-180975085/

Podcast, U. H. (2021, September 21). Unsung History: Chef Lena Richard. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7wn0lcBqJOk?si=L7gz2DXp1o8vGRtO 

Schulman, A. (2025, February 14). Overlooked no more: Lena Richard, who brought Creole cooking to the Masses. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/obituaries/lena-richard-overlooked.html 

WDSU NEWS. (2022, February 2). Celebrating Black History Month: The Life of Chef Lena Richard. YouTube. https://youtu.be/9NfpoEvNBoY?si=eH_sIyvPmS7jJQIQ