Author. Her numerous books on cooking helped popularize French cuisine in America. Raised in Massachusetts, she was a 1934 graduate of Smith College, ironically a classmate of her lifelong friend, the legendary Julia Child. Marriage to Amherst professor King Turgeon (deceased 1987) took her to France on a sabbatical, where, despite having no prior interest in cooking, she attended the Cordon Bleu school in 1937; a chance encounter with an editor lead her to take up an abandoned cookbook project, eventually resulting in the 1949 publication of "Tante Marie's Kitchen". Returning to the United States, Mrs. Turgeon's initial ambition was merely to help other faculty wives improve their culinary creations despite limited budgets; a succession of works, however, brought her a far wider audience. Among her publications (authored or co-authored) were "The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking", "Creative Cooking Course", "Charlotte Turgeon's Summer Cookbook", "Murder on the Menu: Food and Dining in the English Mystery Novel", and "Creative International Cookbook". In 1961, she translated, edited, and published the first English version of "Larousse Gastronomique", often considered the "bible" of French culinary science. Over the years, Mrs. Turgeon also served as the "New York Times" cookbook reviewer. She died of Alzheimer's Disease. Of her art, she said simply: "I just wanted to make the cooking part of life fun".
Author. Her numerous books on cooking helped popularize French cuisine in America. Raised in Massachusetts, she was a 1934 graduate of Smith College, ironically a classmate of her lifelong friend, the legendary Julia Child. Marriage to Amherst professor King Turgeon (deceased 1987) took her to France on a sabbatical, where, despite having no prior interest in cooking, she attended the Cordon Bleu school in 1937; a chance encounter with an editor lead her to take up an abandoned cookbook project, eventually resulting in the 1949 publication of "Tante Marie's Kitchen". Returning to the United States, Mrs. Turgeon's initial ambition was merely to help other faculty wives improve their culinary creations despite limited budgets; a succession of works, however, brought her a far wider audience. Among her publications (authored or co-authored) were "The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking", "Creative Cooking Course", "Charlotte Turgeon's Summer Cookbook", "Murder on the Menu: Food and Dining in the English Mystery Novel", and "Creative International Cookbook". In 1961, she translated, edited, and published the first English version of "Larousse Gastronomique", often considered the "bible" of French culinary science. Over the years, Mrs. Turgeon also served as the "New York Times" cookbook reviewer. She died of Alzheimer's Disease. Of her art, she said simply: "I just wanted to make the cooking part of life fun".
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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