Rose Levy Beranbaum: Put a Handle on It

Descriptors That Cemented Famous People’s Visibility

By Rose Levy Beranbaum

No matter what the famous chefs, food writers, and performers listed below have accomplished and created, there seems to be one unique word or phrase that defines each person. I’ll start with myself. After having written 14 cookbooks, the one thing that comes up on Wikipedia is: “She pioneered reverse-creaming.”

Marion Rombauer Becker, author of The Joy of Cooking, made the word “joy” her own, though many authors have since appropriated it. Maida Heatter, my greatest baking mentor, who wrote the foreword to The Cake Bible, had a beautiful philosophy exemplified by her most famous saying: “Happiness is baking cookies. Happiness is giving them away.”

Marie Curie, greatest inspiration for my scientific approach to baking, was known to have said, “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.”

M. F. K. Fisher, my greatest influence in food writing, wrote, “There is a communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk.”

Emeril Lagasse came up with the powerful “Bam!” at a lunch in his New Orleans, Louisiana restaurant when telling me and my late husband, Elliott, his plan to move from being a restaurant chef to having a TV show. Elliott suggested that he choose some phrase that would capture people’s attention.

Marcella Hazan, my favorite Italian cookbook author, was most known for saying, “What you keep out is just as significant as what you put in.”

Martha Stewart’s appealing and oft-repeated expression is, “It’s a good thing.”

Ina Garten has just about everyone saying, “How easy is that?”

Marcel Desaulniers had a renowned restaurant, the Trellis, and his signature dessert, Death by Chocolate, became what he was known for and his claim to fame.

Rachel Ray’s abbreviation “E-V-O-O” for extra-virgin olive oil immediately became ubiquitous.

Erin Jeanne McDowell is such a brilliant pie baker, I told her the title of her book The Book on Pie could have been I Am Pie! Her catchphrase concept is the Sturdy Pie Challenge.

Sarah Kieffer has written several excellent baking books, but the first thing that comes to mind is her pan-banging cookies.

Zoë François is an excellent baker, writer, and performer. Her desserts are works of art. The first thing that comes to mind is her extraordinary Pavlova.

In his “Cooking for Levi” videos, the little 5-year-old’s words of approval—“pretty tendah”—immediately made him lovable and memorable.

Fernand Point was a French chef and one of the most influential figures in the history of French cuisine. I relate fully to his famous phrase: “Donnez-moi du beurre, encore du beurre, toujours du beurre!” which translates to “Give me butter, more butter, still more butter!” Story of my life: I so love butter, the Dairy Council made me butter ambassador for two years after I wrote, “I’d rather have one cookie made with butter than many made with anything else!”

And then there was Julia Childs, whose name itself became a handle.

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