author
Alice Bradley
1875–1946
A pioneering cooking teacher and writer, she helped bring clear, practical food education into American homes and classrooms. Her work grew out of the Boston Cooking School world and carried Fannie Farmer’s spirit of tested, usable recipes to a wider audience.
1 Audiobook
For Luncheon and Supper Guests
by Alice Bradley
About the author
Born in Bradford, Massachusetts, on June 28, 1875, Alice Bradley built her career at a time when home economics was becoming a serious field of study. Harvard’s HOLLIS archive describes her as someone who began by giving cooking demonstrations with Janet McKenzie Hill, later attended the Boston Cooking School while Fannie Merritt Farmer was director, and went on to test recipes for Farmer.
Bradley became a teacher at Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery and eventually served as its principal. She also edited American Cookery and wrote practical food books, including Wheatless and Meatless Menus and Recipes and Nutrition Simplified; Scientific Meal Planning Made Easy. Her writing is remembered for being straightforward and useful, aimed at helping ordinary cooks plan meals well.
She died in 1946, and her papers are preserved at Harvard, a sign of the respect she earned as an educator and food writer. Today she stands as one of the early figures who helped turn cooking instruction into a modern, organized, and teachable discipline.