Janet McKenzie Hill

Janet McKenzie Hill was an American food writer and cooking teacher born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on December 13, 1852. She is remembered as an early advocate of culinary reform, food science, and what was then called scientific cooking, with a gift for explaining not just how to cook, but why methods worked.

After studying at the Boston Cooking School under Fannie Farmer, she went on to found the Boston Cooking-School Magazine in 1896 and edited it for many years. She also wrote a long list of cookbooks, including Cooking for Two, Practical Cooking and Serving, Salads, Sandwiches, and Chafing-Dish Dainties, Whys of Cooking, and Economical War-Time Cook Book.

Her work helped bridge the gap between traditional home cooking and a more modern, systematic approach to the kitchen. That mix of practicality and curiosity still gives her writing its appeal today, especially for readers interested in the history of American food, domestic life, and everyday ingenuity.