‘Best Cook’ Began in Maine
The first story I published in Yankee was about a potato farmer’s wife from Aroostook County, Maine. Her name was Avis Dudley. The year was 1977, and Avis Dudley’s homestead had become a local landmark in northern Maine. During the fall potato harvest, her husband’s hired hands would crowd into Avis’s dining room and be […]
The first story I published in Yankee was about a potato farmer’s wife from Aroostook County, Maine. Her name was Avis Dudley. The year was 1977, and Avis Dudley’s homestead had become a local landmark in northern Maine.
During the fall potato harvest, her husband’s hired hands would crowd into Avis’s dining room and be served these wonderful caramel rolls and all the meat, potatoes, vegetables, and pies they could handle before going back to the fields. When her husband died, Avis did not fold her tent. She took her genuine, hearty, down-home farm cooking to the public.
Her story and recipes became the first in a 20-plus-year Yankee tradition — a series we called Great New England Cooks. Over the years, I wrote about a number of these locally notable cooks: Nellie Reed from Owl’s Head, Maine, whose chicken-pie suppers helped build a firehouse; Judy Marsh, the wife of a game warden whose specialty — of course — was wild game; Helen Burns from Amherst, New Hampshire, who was chosen to prepare lunch for President Gerald Ford when he came through the state; and many others.
What made all these stories special was that they were all ordinary New Englanders with an extraordinary gift in the kitchen. They were the people you most wanted to drop by the potluck supper.
One of the first things I wanted to do when I became Yankee’s editor was to once again celebrate the culinary gifts of our neighbors. We call it Best Cook in Town. I couldn’t think of a better writer for this section than one of the best cooks in the Monadnock region — Edie Clark.
Edie’s loyal readers know her, of course, for Mary’s Farm, her long-running ode to the pleasures and travails of country life. But to her friends, she is a delightful cook and hostess, and her food mirrors her writing — simple, yet elegant, and always memorable.
NOMINATE A COOK
Now here’s where you come in. Edie wants to know about the Best Cooks in your town. Be sure to let her know by submitting your suggestions online, along with a description of your favorite local cook’s food, to Best Cook. Or write to us at “Best Cook,” Yankee Magazine, 1121 Main St., Dublin, NH 03444. With your help we can begin a new Yankee tradition.
Mel Allen is editor of Yankee Magazine and author ofA Coach’s Letter to His Son.
Mel Allen
Mel Allen is the fifth editor of Yankee Magazine since its beginning in 1935. His first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and in the summer of 2006 became editor. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long form story telling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel taught fourth grade in Maine for three years and believes that his education as a writer began when he had to hold the attention of 29 children through months of Maine winters. He learned you had to grab their attention and hold it. After 12 years teaching magazine writing at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he now teaches in the MFA creative nonfiction program at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Like all editors, his greatest joy is finding new talent and bringing their work to light.
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