{"id":81159,"date":"2021-10-25T14:42:30","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T18:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=81159"},"modified":"2021-10-25T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T18:43:08","slug":"foodies-rejoice-the-1st-pillsbury-bake-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/foodies-rejoice-the-1st-pillsbury-bake-off.html","title":{"rendered":"Foodies Rejoice: The 1st Pillsbury Bake-Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article \u2013 to help celebrate National Cookbook Month \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about a cooking contest that has become an American tradition: the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, you might unwind after a busy day by watching a cooking contest on television. But cooking contests originated long before Food Network premiered. One of the most popular of the 20th century that continues today is the Pillsbury Bake-Off. (1)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio), 18 December 1949, page 131<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Pillsbury Bake-Off<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pillsbury Bake-Off premiered on 13 December 1949 in celebration of Pillsbury Mills\u2019 80th anniversary. According to the book Pillsbury\u2019s Best: A Company History from 1869<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grocery product division\u2019s new mixes had scored a notable success by bringing a new era of baking convenience to the American homemaker. How could this momentum be maintained, and what further boost could be given to sales of Pillsbury\u2019s Best Family Flour, the division\u2019s flagship product? Early in the year members of the division took the question to its advertising agency. Together they came up with a plan for women that became an American institution: the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest.\u201d (2)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To determine the best flour-based recipes from the homes of U.S. families, Pillsbury invited home cooks to enter recipes that were judged by a panel of home economists who selected the best 200 recipes. These entries were then tested by another panel who chose the best 100 recipes to participate in the bake-off held in New York City. A total of 97 women and 3 men participated in the live event, all vying to be one of the winners of $100,000 in cash prizes. (3)<\/p>\n

The event, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, included a special guest \u2013 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt \u2013 who wrote about her time at the bake-off in her \u201cMy Day\u201d newspaper column. In her column she wrote that women from 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska competed in that first bake-off, and although they were competing for cash prizes, every contestant took home the General Electric oven they cooked on at the bake-off.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Angelo Daily Standard (San Angelo, Texas), 19 December 1949, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mrs. Roosevelt also provided some insight into the winners\u2019 reactions. Of the 2nd place winner, Miss Laura Rott of Naperville, Illinois, who won $10,000 for her Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies, she wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was assured by those who sampled them as they came out of the oven that though they might look like ordinary cookies they tasted like your dream of something highly delectable. Miss Rott was speechless. She could hardly stand up and she had no idea what she would do with the money. She never thought of having so much money at one time in her hand.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Miss Rott\u2019s recipe was featured in the cookbook from that first bake-off.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Recipe for Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies, from cookbook in the author\u2019s collection. Credit: Gena Philibert-Ortega.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the subsequent Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbook for that first contest, the inspiration for this award-winning recipe is documented:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea for this cooky [sic] came to Miss Rott when she was given a package of chocolate mints. A solid chocolate candy wafer flavored with mint is baked right in the cooky itself. The cooky dough is wrapped around the wafer, and a big walnut is pressed into the top. Looks just like a plain cooky \u2013 but what a luscious surprise when you take a bite!\u201d (4)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mrs. Roosevelt wrote this about the contest\u2019s grand prize winner.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Angelo Daily Standard (San Angelo, Texas), 19 December 1949, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cookbook<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> Remember that married women of this time period might be listed with their first name and married surname in records, or with their husband\u2019s first name and surname. In one case, a woman in this cookbook is listed by her husband\u2019s name in the cookbook but in her local newspaper she was listed with her first name and married surname. Using name variations to search for female ancestors is a must.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: cookbook from the first Pillsbury Bake-Off, from the author\u2019s collection. Credit: Gena Philibert-Ortega.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bake-off winners\u2019 recipes were immortalized in a recipe booklet published after the contest. That first recipe booklet includes the names, city\/state, and comments about the recipes. Later Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe booklets included photos of the top prize winners.<\/p>\n

With 25 cents and a coupon found in Pillsbury flour, you could obtain the bake-off cookbook of \u201c96 pages, with glamorous full-color illustrations, food pictures galore; speedy new methods, old-time baking secrets and idea after idea of thrilling new things to bake \u2013 pies, cakes, cookies, main dishes, breads and desserts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Chicago Daily News (Chicago, Illinois), 17 June 1950, page 59<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Besides the recipes, the reason I am a fan of this series of cookbooks is that they include women\u2019s names and places of residence \u2013 information that is genealogically relevant.<\/p>\n

Did you have a family member who participated in that first bake-off? The names of winners (the majority are women but there are three men) are found in the cookbook and include the following: (5)<\/p>\n

Mrs. Drue Alexander, Russells Point, Ohio
\nH. B. Andrews, Inglewood, California
\nMrs. Anna R. Apple, Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
\nMrs. Joseph Arena, Forest Hills, New York
\nMrs. Bess Atkinson, Brunswick, Georgia
\nMrs. Harold W. Backstahler, East Lansing, Michigan
\nMrs. George Allen Baird, Washington, D.C.
\nMrs. Wallace Baker, Great Falls, Montana
\nMrs. William Edwin Baker, Colorado Springs, Colorado
\nMrs. Robert Bennetts, Davison, Michigan
\nMrs. Alfred Bennyworth, St. Louis, Missouri
\nMrs. William Berry, Kansas City, Missouri
\nMrs. Edgar L. Bleeke, Fort Wayne, Indiana
\nMrs. Linda Flesh Born, Freeport, New York
\nMrs. Earl Raymond Broadwell, Santa Barbara, California
\nMrs. Sigmund Broda, Bronx, New York
\nMrs. Chester H. Burghoff, Yalesville, Connecticut
\nMrs. Price C. Campbell, Houston, Texas
\nMrs. Ellis O. Carlson, Rockford, Illinois
\nMrs. Sally Clark, Santa Maria, California
\nMrs. Arnold Creager, Pleasantville, Indiana
\nMrs. Lawson Odom Dailey, Dallas, Texas
\nT.O. Davis, Waynesboro, Mississippi
\nMrs. Richard Milton Dietz, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
\nMrs. W. W. Douglass, Searcy, Arkansas
\nMrs. Sylvan Eisentein, Doniphan, Missouri
\nMrs. Herbert Leslie Evans, New Cumberland, West Virginia
\nMrs. Carmel Fredine, Minneapolis, Minnesota
\nMrs. Joseph Francis Frewer, Savannah, Georgia
\nMrs. Hazel Frost, Chicago, Illinois
\nMrs. Peter Funcke, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
\nMrs. Edward D. Gallagher, San Francisco, California
\nMrs. Lona Rosemary Gibson, Latonia, Kentucky
\nMrs. Murray S. Goodfellow, Hanover, Pennsylvania
\nMrs. Howard Graham, Charlotte, North Carolina
\nMrs. Frank A. Grenier, Dorchester, Massachusetts
\nMrs. Leroy W. Hall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
\nMrs. J. W. Hamilton, Altus, Oklahoma
\nMrs. Ethel Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska
\nMrs. Carroll C. Harrison, Lima, Ohio
\nMr. Harold Hartman, West Bend, Wisconsin
\nMrs. Chester C. Holloman, Saratoga Springs, New York
\nMrs. Blanche Joyner, Franklin, Virginia
\nMrs. George Alfred Keep, Oswego, Oregon
\nMrs. Albert P. Kimball, New York, New York
\nMrs. William Kretchman, Atkinson, Nebraska
\nMrs. Frank J. Lakota, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
\nMrs. Charles F. Lawman, Fountain City, Tennessee
\nMiss Elizabeth Phipps Lightcap, Washington, D.C.
\nMrs. Ren Lyon, Cumberland, Ohio
\nMrs. Joseph F. Maley, Osborn, Ohio
\nMrs. Rhoda Marquart, Beaverdam, Ohio
\nMrs. John Maxwell, Fort Smith, Arkansas
\nMrs. Robert Monroe, Atlantic City, New Jersey
\nMrs. William T. Mooney, Petaluma, California
\nMrs. Elmer Ellis Mooring, Dallas, Texas
\nMrs. A. L. Morrison, New Orleans, Louisiana
\nMrs. Daniel F. Moss, Jamaica, Long Island, New York
\nHouston James Newman, St. Louis, Missouri
\nMrs. Harry W. O\u2019Donnell, Crandon, Wisconsin
\nMrs. J. Vincent Orlett, West Portsmouth, Ohio
\nMrs. O. A. Ornburn, Moberly, Missouri
\nMrs. Mason Parker, Kenney, Illinois
\nMrs. Numa F. Pigeon, Springfield, Massachusetts
\nMrs. Albert G. Plagens, St. Paul, Minnesota
\nMrs. David A. Rainey, Denver, Colorado
\nMrs. C. Arthur Reseland, Des Moines, Iowa
\nMrs. Henry Roeschlein, Chicago, Illinois
\nMiss Laura Rott, Naperville, Illinois
\nMrs. John Cabbell Roy, Birmingham, Alabama
\nMrs. Joseph Rutkowski, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
\nMiss Florence C. Schoenleber, Lincoln, Nebraska
\nMrs. Joseph Serafino, Muskegon, Michigan
\nMiss Aquina G. Shea, Glyndon, Minnesota
\nMrs. Roger Slick, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
\nMrs. Ralph E. Smafield, Detroit, Michigan
\nMrs. Stanley L. Smith, Kansas City, Missouri
\nMrs. William Sonnenburg, Oak Lawn, Illinois
\nMrs. Melvin R. Spalding, Pleasantville, New York
\nMrs. Martin Stevlingson, Menomonie, Wisconsin
\nMrs. Lynn S. Strickler, Catonsville, Maryland
\nMrs. Casimer T. Subbie, Fort Worth, Texas
\nMiss Margaret M. Sullivan, Newport, New Hampshire
\nMrs. Elizabeth H. Tinkler, Maitland, Florida
\nMiss Jennifer Trace, Wilmington, Delaware
\nMrs. Edwin T. Tracy, Ogden, Utah
\nMrs. Eddie R. Wagoner, Bryan, Texas
\nMrs. George B. Wesler, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
\nMrs. Leroy Wettstein, New Holstein, Wisconsin
\nMrs. L. W. Willis, Portsmouth, Virginia
\nMrs. Harry A. Winer, Kansas City, Missouri
\nMrs. L. J. Wipperfurth, Madison, Wisconsin
\nMrs. Carl Witt, Atchison, Kansas
\nMrs. Thomas W. Wolfe, Hagerstown, Maryland
\nMrs. Estella Worley, Los Angeles, California
\nMiss Loretto Yeager, St. Louis, Missouri<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> If your family member entered a nationwide contest, don\u2019t forget to look for information on that contest in all newspapers (no matter where published), and then narrow your search to newspapers in the state, and then the local newspapers where they lived.<\/p>\n

__________________<\/p>\n

(1) \u201cBake-Off Contest,\u201d Pillsbury (https:\/\/www.pillsbury.com\/bake-off-contest<\/a>: accessed 22 October 2021).
\n(2) Powell, William J. Pillsbury\u2019s Best. A Company History from 1869<\/em>. Minneapolis, MN: The Pillsbury Company (1985), p. 149.
\n(3) Ibid.
\n(4) Pillsbury Mills, 100 Prize-Winning Recipes<\/em> (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Pillsbury, 1950).
\n(5) I\u2019ve put the surnames in alphabetical order to ease the search process. If your ancestor\u2019s name is found here, you\u2019ll need to search newspapers and the cookbook for more information about the recipe she\/he submitted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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