A foundational text that reflected changing immigration flows, the globalization of Sichuan cuisine – and even the career paths of New York Times food critics.
I bought this cookbook in the 80s, and while the recipes were indeed great, I always felt rather bad that while the title was Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook, Mrs Chiang herself wasn't given author credit. Even Ellen Schrecker's husband John was! Ellen describes how she obtained the recipes by following Mrs Chiang around the kitchen. This is exactly how cookbooks "written" by famous restaurant chefs are produced. A collaborator will chase those chefs around the kitchen, watch what they do and transcribe it for the book. And whose name is listed in big letters as the author? That's right: the famous chef.
So, I could never feel very good about owning this book and eventually gave it away. I hope Mrs. Chiang was appropriately compensated. I think she deserved more of the glory.
I understand your point, though I would submit that when your name is the title of the book, you are getting a fair amount of the "glory." I don't know exactly how much Mrs. Chiang was compensated, but I do know that in a financial sense she is definitely an author, because Ellen Schrecker told me that when a deal was made for electronic republication, Mrs. Chiang had to be contacted for her permission, and, a cut of the deal. I also think that it's made absolutely clear throughout the cookbook that these are her recipes, so it doesn't strike me as appropriative.
P.S. I just checked the worldcat listing for the book, and she is listed as a co-author there, and she is also listed as co-copyright holder on the copyright page of the printed book.
Thank you. That is good to hear. I do wish her name had been listed as author on the cover, if only to make people like me (and I see from looking around the internet that there are others) feel assured that she was being recognized not just as an inspiration and that the Schreckers weren't taking advantage of her.
But I really appreciate your clarification, and I will feel better about this work going forward.
Beautiful story!
I bought this cookbook in the 80s, and while the recipes were indeed great, I always felt rather bad that while the title was Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook, Mrs Chiang herself wasn't given author credit. Even Ellen Schrecker's husband John was! Ellen describes how she obtained the recipes by following Mrs Chiang around the kitchen. This is exactly how cookbooks "written" by famous restaurant chefs are produced. A collaborator will chase those chefs around the kitchen, watch what they do and transcribe it for the book. And whose name is listed in big letters as the author? That's right: the famous chef.
So, I could never feel very good about owning this book and eventually gave it away. I hope Mrs. Chiang was appropriately compensated. I think she deserved more of the glory.
I understand your point, though I would submit that when your name is the title of the book, you are getting a fair amount of the "glory." I don't know exactly how much Mrs. Chiang was compensated, but I do know that in a financial sense she is definitely an author, because Ellen Schrecker told me that when a deal was made for electronic republication, Mrs. Chiang had to be contacted for her permission, and, a cut of the deal. I also think that it's made absolutely clear throughout the cookbook that these are her recipes, so it doesn't strike me as appropriative.
P.S. I just checked the worldcat listing for the book, and she is listed as a co-author there, and she is also listed as co-copyright holder on the copyright page of the printed book.
Thank you. That is good to hear. I do wish her name had been listed as author on the cover, if only to make people like me (and I see from looking around the internet that there are others) feel assured that she was being recognized not just as an inspiration and that the Schreckers weren't taking advantage of her.
But I really appreciate your clarification, and I will feel better about this work going forward.
I have that cookbook, too, from ages ago. How fun to learn its origin story! Thank you.
My pleasure!