author
Alfred Festen
Known for a practical, old-school approach to party food, this mid-20th-century cookbook writer is remembered for a small but distinctive contribution to American home cooking. His best-known work centers on creative recipes built around crackers and cookies, reflecting a playful, budget-friendly style.
1 Audiobook
To Be "Talked About" Use Cookie 'n' Cracker Cookin'
by Jeanette Hindman Elliott, Alfred Festen
About the author
Alfred Festen was an American cookbook author born in 1906 and died in 1986. Some library and audiobook catalogs list him as Alfred Festen (born Festenstein), suggesting he may have published under a shortened family name.
He is best known for To Be "Talked About" Use Cookie 'n' Cracker Cookin', a cookbook also associated with Jeanette Hindman Elliott. The book’s title and surviving catalog records suggest a specialty in inventive appetizer, snack, and dessert recipes built around packaged crackers and cookies.
Very little biographical information appears to be widely available online beyond bibliographic listings and author records. Based on those sources, he seems to be remembered primarily through this cookbook rather than through a large published body of work.