JuneJulyAugustJames Beard (May 5, 1903–January 21, 1985) was an American chef and food writer. James Beard is recognized by many as the father of American gastronomy. Throughout his life, he pursued and advocated the highest standards, and served as a mentor to emerging talents in the field of the culinary arts.He was born in Portland, Oregon, USA, to Elizabeth and John Beard. His mother operated a boarding house and his father worked at the city's Customs House. The family vacationed on the Pacific coast in Gearhart, Oregon. Here Beard was exposed to the unique local foods of the Pacific Northwest, including seafood and wild berries.He trained initially as a singer and actor, and moved to New York City in 1937. Not having much luck in the theater, he and his friend, Bill Rhodes, capitalized on the cocktail party craze by opening a catering company, "Hors D'Oeuvre, Inc.", which led the publication of Beard's first cookbook, Hors D'Oeuvre and Canapes, a compilation of his catering recipes. Rationing difficulties in World War II brought his catering business to a halt. In 1946, he appeared on an early televised cooking show, I Love to Eat, on NBC, and thus began his rise as an eminent American food authority.Over the next forty years, James Beard operated a cooking school out of his apartment in New York, wrote dozens of books on cooking and food, and hundreds of articles on food for many different magazines.Featured person archiveSeptemberMarie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (June 8, 1784–January 12, 1833), was a French chef and author. He is well known for greatly simplifying and codifying the style of cooking known as haute cuisine, the high art of French cooking which is central to France's national cuisine. Known as "chef of kings and king of chefs," he is often thought of as the first celebrity chef.----Featured person archiveOctoberAnthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain (born June 25, 1956) is an American author and the "Chef-at-Large" of Brasserie Les Halles, based in New York City with locations in Miami, Florida, and Washington, D.C. Bourdain is also host of the Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.Featured person archive