Martha Stewart Forty Years Of Influencing

 Yes, there is Joanna Gaines, Meghan Markle and Ina Garten. There are the tradwives with their milkmaid aesthetic However they wouldn't be who they are , influencers with how we eat and decorate our tables without the first and most influential influencer Martha Stewart. She changed the way Americans cooked and threw parties. Forty some od years later she is still a driving force.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this great lady in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday's Food section. . Keep in mind that beofre Ms. Stewart there were only a handful of chefs that America followed. The first was the impactful Julia Child who brought French food to the American kitchen. The second was Marcella Hazan who showed the country the subtleties of Italian regional cooking. Some relied on Fanny Farmer cookbooks along with the famed Joy of Cooking. Yet these omitted important components of throwing a good dinner party. Her message was is that anyone who is organized and determined enough can cook entertain and decorate. There was also lesson on gardening and growing fruits and veggies for dishes. The book that kicked it all off was The 1982 Entertaining which is now being reissued from it's publisher Penguin ,Random House. It originally went out of print in 20201, after the pandemic during which it brought in a million copies.

Entertaining was something of an anomaly at the time. COokbooks by independent authors were an unloved niche of the publishing world.. Color photography was reserved for corporate productions such as the Time-Life Cookbooks and Better Homes And Gardens. The best seller list at the time listed such cookbooks as The Silver Papalte Cookbook, The Moosewood Cookbook and it's sequel The Enchanted Broccoli Express. which represented the culinary and domestic revolution of the Seventies. These showed homey recipes like casseroles and potlucks, perfect for a cozy dinner in but not for a formal gathering at home. Martha Stewart's book was different.It featured lavishly illustrated book of dressy events.There were fancy luaus to even a midnight omelette party with the description terrifying. These showcased antique baskets and spotless white dresses as party wear. Her book and tyle influenced the  great chef Carla Hal. She became obsessed with tiny stuffed tomatoes served on antique silver platters. There were other followers like Katherine Lewin who opened Big Night Store in both Brooklyn and Manhattan She introduced dinner therapy to those who are not adept at it.

Martha Stewart is the original influencer. Even forty years after her book was published her words and actions have an impact. People will always follow her.