Cookbook Club

Remembering Malinda Russell through her Recipes

By: Hannah Lee Leidy

Sharing the life and story of Malinda Russell, the first Black woman cookbook author, through cooking her recipes

In 1866, a woman by the name of Malinda Russell self-published A Domestic Cookbook: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen. At the time she was living in Paw Paw, Michigan, where she fled after being robbed by a “guerrilla party,” and selling copies of her book to raise funds to return to her home state of Tennessee. Russell and her book were largely lost until around 2000, when cookbook collector Jan Longone uncovered A Domestic Cookbook and quickly identified Russell as the earliest Black female cookbook author.

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Date Published: 06.19.23
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About The Author

Hannah Lee Leidy

Hannah Lee Leidy is a food writer and editor based in the Carolinas. She is currently the digital content editor for Our State magazine, a position she came into following her time at The Local Palate. Her contributions have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, Culture, and Eater. She’s spent time working in restaurants in both front and back of house positions, doing everything from burning gateaux to expediting to shaking a Manhattan (don’t worry, this only happened once). An avid curd nerd, her favorite beat is reporting on boutique cheese makers; she’ll sniff out every creamery near and far whenever traveling. When not parenting a Bernese mountain pup named Ava, you’ll find her running or working on her lamination technique.

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