Mrs. Goodfellow

by Becky Diamond

  Just as Blot's popularity was declining, his concept of opening cooking school doors to more than just the wealthy was beginning to expand. The theory of home economics was in its developmental stages and the number of cooking schools soon surged in response to its popularity.

  The idea of “domestic science” came about as a way to increase opportunities for women through formal education and the creation of a profession that understood their responsibilities. Early campaigners for this concept included Catharine Beecher and her sister, abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe, both having come from a religious family of activists that highly valued female education. Catharine was educated both at home and in a liberal private school for girls until she was forced to end her studies at the age of sixteen when her mother passed away. She then (with some assistance from an aunt) took over as caretaker for the rest of her family until her father remarried, crediting her mother, aunt, and stepmother for her extensive homemaking skills.9

  Perhaps a as result of the direct experience she gained, Catharine felt that American housewives suffered from poor health, largely due to the arduous nature of housework. Like her sister, she was also a successful author, and spread her ideas though her writing and promotion of domestic education in schools.10 She aspired to make domestic economy a viable career path managed by well-educated, experienced women. Her popular books covered topics ranging from healthful living and interior design to original recipes she claimed were “tested by superior housekeepers and warranted to be the best.”11

  Around the same time, in 1862 the U.S. government devoted federal lands to support the development of colleges focused on agricultural and mechanical arts courses through the Morrill Act. This gave home economics a further boost as farm wives enrolled in these land-grant colleges at the same time as their husbands.12 Even though the Morrill Act did not target women specifically, it boosted their education opportunities by enrolling female students and introducing relevant topics to them.13 Iowa Agricultural School at Ames (later Iowa State University) is considered the first college to provide cooking classes, which were offered through its domestic economy course in 1876. Similar programs appeared in other states, including Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan (later Kansas State University) and the Illinois Industrial University, which started a School of Domestic Science in 1878. Courses included dietetics, household science, and the chemistry of bread making, among others.14

  This increased interest in the science of food and housekeeping, particularly incorporating new technology, was a big factor in the home economics movement, and women such as Ellen Swallow Richards helped drive the curriculum. Considered the founder of home economics, Richards hugely influenced women's household tasks and roles. Her unrelenting drive and intense interest in science led her to become the first woman to earn a bachelor of science degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1873 (after first obtaining an A.B. degree from Vassar College in 1870).

  Richards then worked in a number of different settings, instructing women from all levels of society about science and its impact on their daily lives. She helped spread the word about subjects ranging from nutrition and cost-effective meal planning to food chemistry and the effect of germs in the kitchen. Her efforts were finally rewarded by MIT in 1882 when the school allowed women to enroll on a regular basis. Two years later she was hired as MIT's first female instructor (in sanitary chemistry), and taught courses in the radical new subjects of air, water, and sewage analysis, as well as assisting in several research projects, until her death in 1911.

  Throughout her life, Richards worked tirelessly to create courses in domestic science as part of her vision to establish a new profession for women. In September 1897 she invited twelve women who had influenced domestic science to join her in Lake Placid, New York, to discuss ways to promote the field of study. The meeting was so successful that the group met annually for ten more years, and then in 1908 decided to form the American Home Economics Association, which is still a vital force today.15

  At the same time Richards was forging ahead with these new philosophies and concepts, cooking schools were also going through a number of changes, particularly in large cities. As Laura Scheone says in her book A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove, “During the late 1870s, a collection of energetic and determined cooking teachers provided the greatest firepower for the domestic science movement by founding three highly influential schools: the New York Cooking School, the Philadelphia Cooking School and the Boston Cooking School.”16

  The women associated with these schools were dynamic trailblazers. They worked hard to generate a genuine interest in cooking for women from all walks of life, showing them how meals could be prepared easily and within a budget, yet still in a tasteful way—making it less the chore it had always been. They knew how to market themselves and their ideas, influencing millions of women across America through writing cookbooks, home economics texts, and magazine articles. Like Eliza Leslie, many served as writers and editors for widely circulated new women's magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping. And as Pierre Blot had done, some traveled around the country giving public cooking demonstrations which were very well attended. This early example of the celebrity chef concept took off in the twentieth century and is hugely popular today.17

  This new way of looking at food and meal preparation had its start in 1874, when cooking classes were offered in New York as part of the Free Training School for Women, an offshoot of the Women's Educational and Industrial Society of New York, organized to give women the training and education they needed to find employment. The cooking class was headed by Juliet Corson, who taught herself French and German culinary techniques that she passed on to her students.18

  Over 200 people attended lectures the first year, and Corson organized the “ladies' cooking class” the following year. Then in 1876 she launched the New York Cooking School out of her home, and in 1878 the “plain cook's class,” which taught the principles of simple family cooking for housewives, young women employed as domestics, and the wives and daughters of working men. These lectures were so popular that Corson made this topic a significant focus in her work, publishing and distributing 50,000 copies of a pamphlet called “Fifteen Cent Dinners for Workmen's Families.” She also started giving public cooking lessons outside the school to working people as well as their children.19

  Under the influence of the home economics movement, cooking classes and instructors branched out in many different directions from what Mrs. Goodfellow had offered more than a generation ago. The study of cookery had become more affordable and suited to a much wider student base. Lesson structure was changing and evolving in order to fit these various niches. Whereas Goodfellow's concentration was primarily teaching daughters of the wealthy to prepare dinner-party fare, Juliet Corson conceived a system of graded levels within cooking schools, providing many more options for potential students of various backgrounds.

  In addition to the introduction of classes in plain cooking and those for the children of working people, this four-tiered approach also included instruction in fancy cookery.20 Unlike Goodfellow's lessons, however, these “cooks' classes” were geared toward both men and women with the goal of learning more sophisticated techniques so they could serve as professional cooks. As per a description in the Christian Union, these classes were taught by a French cook, referred to as “Monsieur,” who skillfully demonstrated the cooking tasks while the students observed and took notes.21 Other classes were designated as “normal schools of cookery,” where ladies learned the theory of domestic economy in order to practice it in their own homes and/or to be able to teach it to others.22 Both of these latter two were kind of a conglomeration of what Goodfellow had started.

  The Philadelphia Cooking School also developed out of a women's group—the New Century Club, which was founded in 1877. The club encouraged free-thinking, creativity, and charitable work among women and the promotion of science, literatur
e, and art within a comfortable and convenient meeting place. Committees and subgroups on a variety of subjects were formed, including education, poetry, foreign languages, household sciences, and cookery, with the New Century Cooking School opening in 1878.23

  In an effort to reach women from all economic levels, the school aimed to set reasonable fees, with prices starting at fifty cents for a single lesson, and one dollar for the “special dishes” curriculum. A series of twelve lessons in plain cooking was five dollars, and a course of twelve “ladies' classes” was ten dollars. Twenty-five dollars secured a yearly subscription, which enabled the subscriber to enroll three students, helpful for families who had several daughters and/or domestic servants they wished to send. Top of the line was the life membership for a hundred dollars, allowing subscribers to send one pupil every year.24 For those who could not afford the tuition, assistance was available, in the true benevolent nature of the New Century Club. This generous offer would have allowed many women to take formal cooking lessons who would not have been previously able to do so.

  One of the school's first students was Sarah Tyson Rorer, who was at the time studying chemistry and medicine. Rorer signed up for the cooking school at the urging of her cousin and took the “full course—two practical lessons a week for three months and a course of twenty-four demonstrated lectures.” Although it ended up being her only formal training in cookery, she became so enthusiastic and mastered the lessons at such a fast pace that she was elected to replace the school's principal when she resigned the following year.25

  Her teaching method was to first tell the class what she was planning to do before actually performing any cooking tasks. Then after showing the technique(s), she would explain why it was done, answering any questions that arose. She would not demonstrate the entire recipe at once, but instead walked the class through all the steps in a detailed manner to make sure it was easily understood.26

  It appears the types of dishes she prepared during a lecture were actually very similar to those taught by Mrs. Goodfellow, with one exception being that the New Century Cooking School did not permit the use of liquor in any of its recipes. One account from an 1880 Philadelphia Inquirer article listed soupe à la reine, puff paste, and chicken patties as the day's lesson. As per the reporter, the soup included “the meat of a chicken, well boiled and shredded fine; three quarts of water, half cup rice, salt, pepper, two bay leaves, one carrot, one gill of cream, very small onion, three tablespoons of butter and one of flour, and four cloves.” In keeping with the rules of the school, Sarah Rorer did not enhance her soup with any wine or sherry (as Mrs. Goodfellow would have done), a point noted by several women attending the lecture who felt the dish would have tasted even better with that addition. Mrs. Rorer agreed, telling the women they could make that change when they prepared it at home.27

  The puff paste segment of the lesson was taught with the same degree of reverence and detail as in Goodfellow's school. Mrs. Rorer also stressed the importance of quality ingredients, in addition to the consistency of their combination, showing the audience that the pastry should resemble a thick paste rather than a thin dough. She also spent time emphasizing the extensive method of rolling it out in pieces, placing the paste set on the side on ice to toughen. Like Goodfellow, she suggested the use of a marble pieboard, and also mentioned a new technological marvel for the time—a glass roller that could be filled with ice, thus eliminating the long waiting time for the paste to harden. Mrs. Rorer then took the chicken that was left over from the making of the soup, mixed it with some butter, flour, salt, and cream, and positioned spoonfuls of the combination on the rolled-out puff paste circles, pinching the edges to make some attractive pasties.28 Such a recipe was typical of her talent for creatively stretching meals.

  In addition to Rorer's New Century Cooking School assignment, she combined her knowledge of hygiene and nutrition with cooking to teach at the Women's Medical College and also appeared at the Franklin Institute in 1880 in connection with a course on household science. From then on, her expertise was in high demand and she followed a number of different pursuits within the field.29

  After she had headed the New Century Cooking School for just a few years, several Philadelphia physicians were so impressed with her knowledge and success that they asked her to resign in order to open her own school, which she did in 1883, calling it the Philadelphia School. Seventy-four students, including homemakers, cooks, and young women, enrolled the first year. Eventually teachers of domestic arts signed up for her classes as well. Rorer also gave four public lectures each week, with audiences of up to five thousand people.30

  These personal appearances and cooking demonstrations ultimately became Mrs. Rorer's bread and butter. An energetic and gifted speaker, she was very much at home on the stage, and as a result, “never wanted for an audience,” as she acknowledged in her own words.31 After appearing at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, she became a household name and traveled throughout the country to personally demonstrate cooking techniques to one packed auditorium after another.

  Rorer also published books, articles, and testimonials to complement her lecture circuit. Capitalizing on her scientific and medical knowledge, she was very outspoken about promoting health and nutrition. She personally often suffered from digestive issues32 and was quite critical of the typical American diet, shunning sweets, fried foods, and meats like pork which she considered not easily digested. Rather ahead of her time, she was a huge proponent of salads, stating that a salad should be included as part of every dinner meal. She claimed greens were “nature's lubricant, purifying the blood and clearing the complexion.” She also felt most Americans wasted incredible amounts of food, and preached about topics that pop up in cooking magazines and websites all the time today: meal planning, budget cooking, and creative ideas for crafting new meals out of leftovers.33

  This practical advice and over-the-top showiness enraptured her audiences, which often included people from all classes of society. Since seating was strictly general admission, attendees would take their seats hours ahead of time, patiently waiting for Rorer to emerge and begin bustling about the model kitchen set up on the stage. Her engaging and dynamic manner was similar to Julia Child's on her television cooking programs decades later. Like Child, Rorer was also a rather imposing figure—a full-figured, middle-aged-woman of above average height with wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and creamy skin. However, one difference between the two ladies was that Mrs. Rorer preferred to deck herself out in fancy clothing during her cooking demonstrations. Her outfit was always a silk dress with protective sleevelets and a sheer white apron with lace edging, topped off with a tiny lace cap. She claimed that by wearing this type of finery, it proved to her audiences the ease and simplicity of cooking.34

  The most well-known of the big three cooking schools of this era was undoubtedly the Boston Cooking School, largely because of its connection with Fannie Farmer, who took over as the school's fourth principal in 1893 and later wrote the Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, which is still available today in reprint and updated versions. However, there were actually a number of women who worked together to make the Boston Cooking School successful, ultimately transforming the way women viewed cooking in the process.

  The school was formed out of the Women's Education Association, founded in 1872 by Boston-area activists and philanthropists. The endeavor was financed by subscribers (like today's public television model) and generous donations.35 Similar to the Women's Educational and Industrial Society of New York and Philadelphia's New Century Club, the association aimed to develop better education for women, establishing committees on subjects including fine arts, intellectual and industrial pursuits, philosophy, and physical education. In 1879 the Committee on Industrial Education started a cooking school, which was formally designated as the Boston Cooking School four years later.36

  The school's founding was championed by its first president, Sarah E. Hooper, chairman of the Industrial Committe
e and a vital force in shaping this famous institution, known as the first incorporated cooking school in America.37 Hooper had observed classes at the South Kensington Cooking School in London, and had returned to Boston filled with ambitious ideas for establishing a similar school there. In particular she wanted the school to foster culinary knowledge among the underprivileged and help the working class attain employment in the field.38

  The first classes were small (just seven students), but by 1882 the school's enrollment numbered two thousand—much, much larger than what Mrs. Goodfellow had managed decades before. The curriculum was also very different; fine pastries and dinner-party fare were not the focus. Instead, its emphasis was on home economics, with pupils receiving course work in more than just cooking, including subjects such as chemistry, anatomy, and hygiene. The aim was to make domestic science an accepted and established concept in homes throughout America, raising the bar for cooking standards in the process. As noted by cooking expert Christopher Kimball, “this was a social, not just a culinary, movement.”39

  Hooper hired the school's first teacher, Johanna Sweeney, a mostly self-taught cook who had a true knack for culinary skills with experience teaching private cookery lessons.40 Hooper also called on the services of home economics advocate Maria Parloa, who embraced the idea of technology in the kitchen and stressed the importance of nutrition and home organization.

  Parloa had honed her skills by working as a cook in private homes and as a pastry chef at a number of summer resorts in New Hampshire. By the time of the Boston Cooking School founding, she was already rather well-known in the New England area from giving public cooking lectures and teaching domestic science at Lasell Seminary, now Lasell College. She soon established her own school on Tremont Street in Boston and was so popular that she could charge impressive fees for her services.41