Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (July 3, 1908-June 22, 1992) was a prolific and well-respected writer, writing more than 20 books during her lifetime and also publishing two volumes of journals and correspondence shortly before her death in 1992. Her first book, Serve it Forth was published in 1937. Her books dealt primarily with food, considering food from many aspects: preparation, natural history, culture, and philosophy. Fisher was born Mary Frances Kennedy in Albion, Michigan. Within two years of her birth, her father, Rex Kennedy, moved the family to Whittier, California to pursue a career in journalism. While Whittier was a Quaker community, Mary Frances was brought up within the Episcopal Church. July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... Albion is a city located in Calhoun County in the south central region of Michigan. ... State nickname: Wolverine State or Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Official languages English Area 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 147,255 km²  - Water 103,687 km² (41. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... The Episcopal Church may refer to several members of the Anglican Communion, including: Episcopal Church in the United States of America Scottish Episcopal Church Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East Episcopal Church of Cuba idk of the Sudan Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church ...

While studying at the University of California in 1929, Fisher met her first husband, Alfred Young Fisher. The couple spent the first formative years of their marriage in Europe, primarily at the University of Dijon in France. At the time, Dijon was known as one of the major culinary centers of the world and this certainly had an impact on Fisher, who later went on to become one of the great culinary writers of the twentieth century.

In 1932, the couple returned from France to a country ravaged by the Great Depression. Having lived for years as students on a fixed stipend, they were wholly unprepared for the economic situation that faced them. Al got odd jobs cleaning out houses before finally landing a teaching job at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Fisher did her part teaching a few lessons at an all-girls' school and working in a frame shop. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In addition to being an author, Fisher was an amateur sculptor working mostly in the realm of wood carving.

During the Fishers' years in California, they formed a friendship with Dillwyn "Timmy" Parrish and his wife, Gigi. Later, in 1938, Fisher was to leave Alfred for Timmy, referred to as "Chexbres" in many of her books. The second marriage, while passionate, was short. Only a year into the marriage, Parrish lost his leg due to a circulatory disease, and in 1941 took his own life. Chexbres is a commune in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux. ...

Fisher later bore two daughters. Anne, whose father Fisher refused to name, was born in 1943. Kennedy was born during Fisher's short-lived marriage to Donald Friede, which lasted from 1945 to 1951.

After Parrish's death, Fisher considered herself a "ghost" of a person, but went on to live a long and productive life, dying in California in 1992 at the age of 83. She had long suffered from Parkinson's disease and arthritis, but lived the last twenty years of her life in a house built for her in one of California's vineyards.

A full list of her works can be found at The MFK Fisher Foundation Webpage.

Books

• Serve It Forth, 1937
• Aix-en-Provence
• Consider the Oyster, 1941
• How to Cook a Wolf, 1942 deals with cooking under wartime privation
• The Gastronomical Me, 1943
• M.F.K. Fisher translated Brillat-Savarin's The Physiology of Taste from French to English, 1949
• An Alphabet for Gourmets, 1949
• The Art of Eating
• A Cordial Water: A garland of Odd & Old Receipts to Assuage the Ills of Man & Beast, 1961
• The Story of Wine in California, 1962
• Map of Another Town: A Memoir of Provence, 1964
• The Cooking of Provincial France, 1968
• Not a Station but a Place, 1979
• With Bold Knife and Fork, 1969
• Among Friends, 1970
• A Considerable Town, 1978
• Long Ago in France, 1991

1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... —Brillat-Savarin Quite possibly the most famous French epicure and gastronome of all, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (April 1, 1755 - 1826) was born in the town of Belley,where the Rhine then separated France from Savoy, to a family of lawyers in whom eloquence flowed. ... —Brillat-Savarin Quite possibly the most famous French epicure and gastronome of all, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (April 1, 1755 - 1826) was born in the town of Belley,where the Rhine then separated France from Savoy, to a family of lawyers in whom eloquence flowed. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

References

• Norah Kennedy Barr, Foreword from Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me journals by M.F.K. Fisher.
• The M.F.K. Fisher Foundation
• A biography of M.F.K. Fisher by Janice Albert