Beard, James

(born May 5, 1903, Portland, Ore., U.S.—died Jan. 23, 1985, New York, N.Y.) U.S. culinary expert and cookbook author. In 1945 he became the first chef to demonstrate cooking on network television. Through his Greenwich Village cooking school he influenced such future chefs as Julia Child and Craig Claiborne (b. 1920—d. 2000). He championed simple American and English dishes and wrote one of the first serious books on outdoor cooking. His more than 20 cookbooks include James Beard's American Cookery (1972) and Beard on Bread (1973).

Find more information on Beard, James. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Beard, James.