Carson Gulley (June 9, 1897 – November 2, 1962)[1] was head chef at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1926 to 1954. He is known in part for popularizing a recipe for fudge-bottom pie that is still served on campus today.[2] The refectory where he once served as head chef is now known as Carson Gulley Commons. It was the first university building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be named after an African American.[3]
Carson Gulley | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1897 Zama, Nevada County, Arkansas |
| Died | November 2, 1962 (aged 65) |
Gulley was also a local pioneer in television and radio cooking programming. From 1953 to 1962, Gulley had his own weekly cooking show, called What's Cooking, on local television station WMTV. Also, in 1953, he hosted a twice-weekly local radio cooking program, called WIBA Cooking School of the Air, and each month compiled the program's recipes in booklets that listeners could request by mail. He and his wife Beatrice were the first African American couple to host their own television show in Wisconsin in the 1950s.[4][5]
He led the Madison branch of the NAACP. Having failed for many years to buy a house in Madison, he made an emotional appeal to the Madison City Council's Committee on Human Rights. This in part led to the City Council passing a Fair Housing Ordinance.[6]
He published his first book Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices in 1949 at the suggestion of George Washington Carver.
Early life edit
Gulley was born in Zama, Nevada County, Arkansas[7] to a family of sharecroppers.[8][5] He was one of ten children.
Bibliography edit
- Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices, 1949; revised 1956
References edit
- ^ "Remembering a trailblazing chef: Carson Gulley". University of Wisconsin–Madison. February 15, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Penn, Michael (Spring 2006). "The Life of Pie" (PDF). On Wisconsin. pp. 40–43. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007.
- ^ Simms, Muriel (October 29, 2018). Settlin': Stories of Madison's Early African American Families. Wisconsin Historical Society. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-87020-886-7.
- ^ Seyforth, Scott (Summer 2016). "The Life and Times of Carson Gulley". Wisconsin Magazine of History. Vol. 99, no. 4. pp. 2–15.
- ^ a b Michel, Karen Lincoln (January 26, 2016). "We need another Carson Gulley". Madison Magazine. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016.
- ^ Martell, Chris (February 5, 2006). "A Place in Black History". madison.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ "Carson Gulley, Madison's first celebrity chef". Recollection Wisconsin. September 22, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ "Fudge Bottom Pie". University of Wisconsin–Madison. June 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020.