About Lost Recipes Found
Everyone has favorite recipes they’ve loved and lost. Lost Recipes Found exists to find them, get the best of them back in circulation, and tell some of the story that goes along with them.
Who: Hi. I’m Monica Kass Rogers, the redheaded researcher behind the sincere statement-of-purpose printed above. I started this adventure a few years ago with a column in the Chicago Tribune: That eventually became this web magazine. The 1000-plus requests I’ve received since then have conveyed so much feeling, humor, story and cherished memory, it’s been impossible not to get hooked into recipe sleuthing for the long haul.
What: Interestingly, most recipe requests seem to fall into several broad categories. There are recipes from closed restaurants and department store tea rooms (Gone But Not Forgotten), recipes that once appeared on food packaging or promotional pamphlets (Once Upon a Box), and recipes from institutions (Love from the Lunchroom). To those, I have added a bunch more, including celebrity recipes (Celebrity Citings) State Fair recipes (State Fair Fun), recipes from chefs that were inspired by their own families and regional histories (Chef Recipes with Vintage Flair)
What Not: I am not a professional chef, but, have been writing about food for about 30 years, vicariously experiencing and learning about food and cooking from the chefs and restaurateurs who have made careers of this challenging work. In every instance, history, family and culture have contributed to the dishes these professionals love most.
How: Before publishing to the site, I test the recipes, photograph them, and write a bit about the story behind each dish. With the new re-launch of this site on a WordPress platform (April, 2012) I’m also making mini-documentaries about some recipes, plus video and audio podcasts. Oral histories relating Midwest food stories are in the works, as is the process of archiving recipe collections.
Why: Ultimately? It’s my hope that Lost Recipes Found will help preserve recipes–and the stories that go with them–before they are lost for good. I’d love to hear from you about the food/recipe story you’d like to find, OR, to tell. E-mail me anytime at editor@lostrecipesfound.com
Please note: While I do my best to locate all recipes readers request, it’s a time-consuming task and ultimately, some lost recipes elude me. I cannot personally communicate with each recipe requester. Nor can I publish all recipes I find. Recipes that are published on the home page with photos are tested by LRF. Recipes posted in the reader comment and forum areas of the site have not been tested by LRF.
Monica Kass Rogers
Monica’s been a writer from the start. Ever since a second grade spelling list suggested the theme for her first rhyming poem, Monica’s been charmed by wordsmithing and story. Post college, she plunged into publishing, writing for local, national & international publications. (Everything from the riveting “How to Select a Mop” to the probably-too-much-information “Picking the Perfect Tree”) But most of the stories she writes for a living have been about food and the food business. Two years ago, Monica proposed and launched a monthly “Lost Recipes” column for the Chicago Tribune. Impressed by the depth of feeling people shared with their food memories, and, with her own interest in finding and preserving recipes, Monica independently launched this site.
Stephanie Cleaver
Designer at an animation studio by day, runner, baker and doodler by night, Stephanie moved to Brooklyn in 2002 to attend Pratt Institute and explore the big city. In addition to the cute drawings she’s doing for Lost Recipes Found, her work can be seen at stephaniecleaver.com and calamityafoot.blogspot.com