Episode 137: Dione Lucas: Television’s First Celebrity Chef

Who was television’s first cooking star? If you guessed Julia Child, you must be forgetting Dione Lucas! This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Australian author and food historian Jill Adams to talk about the life of Dione Lucas. Also in the studio is Margaret Happel Perry, the president of the New York chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. Tune into this episode to find out why Dione Lucas has not necessarily been remembered favorably. How did Dione Lucas help popularize television in Australia? Learn how the advertising schemes of the 1950s have made it impossible to syndicate Dione Lucas’ cooking shows. This program has been sponsored by Bonnie Plants. Thanks to The California Honeydrops for today’s musical break.

“She absolutely insisted that the food be genuine. It was great, and something our readers really connected with.” [8:45]

— Margaret Happel Perry on A Taste of the Past

“I think that you tell a great story by dragging things out of the closet. There are a lot of things unknown about Dione Lucas.” [12:50]

— Jill Adams on A Taste of the Past

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