Lena Richard, born September 9, 1892 in New Roads, Louisiana, moved to New Orleans to help her mother and aunt working as domestic servants. She helped them prepare food, and the family who employed her, sent her to Fannie Farmer's School of Cookery in Boston. After graduating she returned to New Orleans.
She started a catering business, serving parties, weddings, and debutante balls. She started multiple businesses and worked as a cook at the Orleans Club, an elite organization for white women.
In 1937, Richard and her daughter Marie started a cooking school for black students, teaching them how to succeed as business owners. As interest in her recipes increased, Richard published Lean Richard's Cook Book in 1939, She travelled across the country to promote her book, and was featured in the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune.
She returned to New Orleans, she opened Lena's Eatery in November 1941. In 1946, she started a frozen food business, fully cooked packaged meals flown all over the US.
In 1949, Richard opened her second restaurant, The Gumbo House. From 1949 to 1950, she hosted a 30-minute cooking show, Lena Richard's New Orleans Cook Book, on TV. It aired twice weekly, broadcast on New Orleans first television station, WDSU. She was the first African American to host a cooking show, in an era where not many households owned television sets.
Her cooking show continued until she passed away of a heart attack November 27, 1950.
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