Thomas J. (Thomas Jefferson) Murrey

Thomas J. Murrey, often listed as Thomas Jefferson Murrey, was an American cookbook author whose work appeared in the 1880s and 1890s. Surviving library and public-domain records connect him with a long run of compact cookery books, including Valuable Cooking Receipts, Cookery for Invalids, Fifty Soups, Fifty Salads, Salads and Sauces, Luncheon, Oysters and Fish, The Book of Entrées, Tempting Curry Dishes, and Cookery with a Chafing Dish.

A collected 1895 volume describes him as a well-known New York culinary authority and identifies him as the proprietor of the Restaurant House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. That mix of restaurant work and practical publishing helps explain the character of his books: short, direct, and focused on useful dishes and household know-how.

Although detailed biographical information is hard to confirm, his books remain widely preserved by libraries and projects such as Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg. They offer a lively snapshot of American cooking in the late nineteenth century, especially the era's interest in specialized little manuals for everyday dining and entertaining.