Born at the turn of the twentieth century in Cynthiana, Kentucky, Elizabeth Cromwell Kremer was a woman who strove for excellence in all things. Ever resistant to the constraints of social conventions, at a time when roughly 20 percent of the US workforce was female, Kremer worked her way up the ranks of the service industry. From the home economics classrooms of the University of Kentucky to the fine dining restaurants of Louisville and New York City, Kremer’s tenacity, unconventionality, and dedication helped her build a legacy that celebrated the simplicity of good, traditional Kentucky country cooking. In 1967, after taking a twenty-seven-year hiatus from work to raise her family, Kremer reentered the business world at the age of sixty-five to open a restaurant for Kentucky’s newly restored Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. Under her guidance, what began as a small sandwich shop flourished into the iconic Trustees’ Table restaurant at Shaker Village, which continues to attract guests from all over the world. In Simplicity and Excellence: Elizabeth Kremer from Beaten Biscuits to Shaker Lemon Pie, authors Deirdre A. Scaggs and Evalina Settle compile the first-ever biography of this incredible woman. Each of Kremer’s classic recipes is bookended by charming and inspiring stories of her life, drawn from oral history passed down by Kremer’s family and friends as well as archival materials. A gastronomic history like no other, Simplicity and Excellence effortlessly paints a portrait of one of the most influential forces behind the preservation of Kentucky’s culture through its cuisine.
Tabella dei contenuti
Foreword, by Ouita Michel
Preface
Introduction
1. A Sense of Place
2. The College Student
3. The Professional
4. The Home Economist
5. Shaker Your Plate
Epilogue
Afterword, by Sara Bradley
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Circa l’autore
Ouita Michel is a six-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee, including nominations for Outstanding Restaurateur and Best Chef Southeast. Michel and her restaurants are regularly featured in local and national media, such as the New York Times, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Food Network, and the Cooking Channel. She was a guest judge on Bravo’s Top Chef series. She lives in Midway, Kentucky.