Sheila Hibben

Celia Craik Hibben (1888–1964), better known as Sheila Hibben, was an American food journalist. She served as The New Yorker's first food critic, working for the magazine for 20 years. She also authored several cookbooks.

Sheila Hibben
BornCelia Craik
1888 (1888)
Montgomery, Alabama, US
Died1964 (aged 75–76)
OccupationFood critic, cookbook author
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
SpousePaxton Hibben

Biography

She was born Celia Craik in 1888, in Montgomery, Alabama, and grew up in Italy and France. She served in World War I as a nurse, and received the Croix de Guerre.[1] She married Paxton Hibben in 1916 in Athens, and the couple spent several years in Europe.[2]

When she was hired in 1934, she became The New Yorker's first food critic.[3] She worked there for 20 years, reviewing food and drink in "Markets and Menus", as well as writing a column called "About the House". She was an occasional contributor to Vogue, House Beautiful, and Harper's Bazaar. Upon the death of her husband in 1928, Hibben began writing out of necessity, publishing multiple books, including The National Cookbook (1932), Good Food for Bad Stomachs (1951), American Regional Cookery (1946), and A Kitchen Manual (1941). Perhaps her best known work was The National Cookbook, which became a bestseller and helped her get hired by The New Yorker.[3] Good Food for Bad Stomachs was written at the request of Harold Ross, editor-in-chief of The New Yorker, who suffered from ulcers.[4]

At the time of her death in 1964, Hibben had written more than 350 articles for The New Yorker.[5] In addition to writing, she supplied Rex Stout with menus for his Nero Wolfe novels and stories.[5] In The Nero Wolfe Cookbook, first published by Viking Press in 1973, Stout wrote, "All the dishes in Too Many Cooks were cooked twice—some three times or more—by the late Sheila Hibben and me ... she was my dear and valued friend."[6] In 1934, Hibben was brought to the White House in order to advise the staff on meal preparation.[5] She died in 1964.[5]

References
  1. "Alabama Authors HIBBEN, SHEILA, 1884–1964". Alabama Authors. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  2. "SHEILA HIBBEN, 76, A FOOD AUTHORITY". The New York Times. 1964-02-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  3. "Eating American". Story of the Week. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  4. Kunkel, Thomas, ed. (2009). Letters from the Editor: The New Yorker's Harold Ross. Random House Publishing Group. p. 524. ISBN 978-0307557384.
  5. Michaud, Jon (2010-11-16). "Sheila Hibben". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-11-11. The best-known expert in American culinary history at the time was the cookbook writer and journalist Sheila Hibben (who not long afterward became The New Yorker's first food critic). She agreed to visit the White House kitchen and advise the staff on such homey classics as stewed crabs, johnnycake, and chicory salad, as well as Presidential recipes going back to Washington and Jefferson.
  6. Stout, Rex (1973). The Nero Wolfe Cookbook. New York City: Viking Press. p. Thanks. ISBN 978-0670505999.
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