Julie Benell
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My OKRA Post About German Chocolate Cake
My column about the History of German Chocolate Cake is now live on OKRA, the magazine of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Before there was the Internet, finding a new or favorite recipe could be problematic. For decades, home cooks turned to the food sections of their newspaper for inspiration or replacement of lost recipes. Most food editors ran a recipe exchange column where readers could seek and share recipes. The popularity of the German Chocolate Cake can be traced back to a newspaper exchange column in the June 3, 1957 issue of the Dallas Morning Star. On that day, homemaker Georgia Clay’s recipe ran in the column “Recipe…
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Top Food Editors: Day 25 & Julie Benell
Day 25 of Top Food Editors features Julie Benell. Julie Benell, a reporter and editor on food who worked 25 years at the Dallas Morning News. Benell, a native of San Antonio, was a former concert pianist who switched to the stage and later to performances on radio and television. She was the author of several cookbooks, including the popular Let’s Eat at Home. She had a daily television show about food and fashion for 15 years while she was at the newspaper. It was her show that was interrupted when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. She judged the 1962 great national Cookout Championship for Men Only in Hawaii,…