Eliza Lee was one of the most esteemed cooks in antebellum Charleston who ran not only a prestigious catering business but, with her husband, owned and operated five restaurant/ hotels throughout the city. Lee’s mother was Sally Seymour, a former slave manumitted by her enslaver … Read MoreEliza Seymour Lee (1800-c. 1874)
Sally Seymour of Charleston, South Carolina built a business empire out of her pastry shop by providing haute cuisine for the city’s most prestigious citizens. She also profited by training and then selling enslaved cooks. Born into slavery, Seymour was the cook and sexual partner … Read MoreSally Seymour (?-1824)
Dubbed the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” for her culinary genius, Leah Chase was an American chef, author, and TV personality who advanced the Civil Rights Movement as a celebrity chef. Chase was born on January 6, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Catholic Creole parents. … Read MoreLeah “Dooky” Chase (1923-2019)
