Alma Lach, a 1950's Culinary Pioneer, until Jan 6, 2017

Alma Lach’s Kitchen: Transforming Taste
September 19, 2016 – January 6, 2017

The Joseph Regenstein Library
Special Collections Research Center Exhibition Gallery
1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m., and, when University of Chicago classes are in session, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – 5:45 p.m

ALMA LACH (1914-2013), EX’38, a celebrated and influential chef, cookbook author, and food consultant, served as an important figure in the transformation of American cuisine in the 1960s and 1970s. She moved American palates and kitchens away from basic, conventional cooking of the early 20th century new flavors, combinations, ingredients, and techniques from France and elsewhere around the world. Widely known for her bestselling book Hows and Whys of French Cooking (1974), Lach was one of the first Americans to earn a Grand Diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu in 1956. She served as food editor at the Chicago Sun-Times from 1957 to 1965, and then went on to launch her own cooking school. She was a food consultant for airlines as well as food companies, including Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, and was also the inventor of cooking tools such as the Curly Dog Cutting Board.

In exploring Lach’s wide-ranging culinary career, this exhibition displays selections from her papers, culinary book collection, and unique cooking tools. Lach collected more than 3,000 cookbooks, reflecting her broad range of interests in food preparation and dining, from classic French and Chinese cuisine to cookbooks popularizing the foods of American ethnic groups. In exploring Lach’s wide-ranging culinary career, this exhibition displays selections from her papers, culinary book collection, and unique cooking tools. The Alma Lach Papers and Culinary Book Collection were presented to the Library in 2014 by her daughter and son-in-law, Sandra Lach Arlinghaus and William C. Arlinghaus, who also donated generous funds towards the processing and cataloguing of the collection.

This exhibit closes next Friday.

It is open to view today as well as Tuesday-Friday next week.

Regards,
Cathy2