In Pursuit of Flavor
In Pursuit of Flavor is a 1988 cookbook by Edna Lewis. It is included in the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame.
Development and publication history
The book follows up Lewis's 1976 The Taste of Country Cooking.[1] A 2019 edition includes a foreword by Mashama Bailey.[2][3] It is illustrated by Louisa Jones Waller.[4]
Description
Similarly to The Taste of Country Cooking, In Pursuit of Flavor contains seasonal menus illustrated with line drawings.[5][6] It is less of a memoir and closer to a conventional cookbook usable by modern cooks as the recipes and ingredients are not as tied to the terroir of Freetown, Virginia, where Lewis grew up.[1]
The book calls out specific heirloom vegetables and heritage breeds; according to Paul Fehribach, writing in The Takeout, Lewis was among the first recipe developers to acknowledge that one type of cucumber or breed of chicken might not produce the same results as another.[7] Fehribach calls it "arguably Edna Lewis' most important book, as it most expansively lays out her approach to cooking".[7]
Recognition
The book is included in the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame.[3] The Washington Post included it in a list of cookbooks "worth reading beyond the recipes".[8]
References
- ^ a b Levitt, Aimee (2023-09-08). "'In Pursuit of Flavor' Taught Us to Treat Ingredients With Respect". Eater. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ Cadigan, Hilary (27 March 2019). ""Edna Lewis Was Unapologetically Herself the Entire Time"". Bon Appétit. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ a b Harrison, Olivia. "Buy These Cookbooks By Black Authors To Support #BlackPublishingPower". Refinery 29. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ Cushing, Mims (16 June 2019). "'Miss Lewis' delivers much more than a cookbook". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ Tipton-Martin, Toni (2015). The Jemima Code. University of Texas Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4773-2671-8.
- ^ Finding Edna Lewis. PBS. 2025.
- ^ a b Fehribach, Paul (2019-03-27). "In Praise Of Edna Lewis' In Pursuit Of Flavor, an Essential American Cookbook". The Takeout. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
- ^ Hartke, Kristen (2024-11-03). "Cookbooks are books too. Here are 9 worth reading beyond the recipes". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2026-02-13.