RALEIGH, N.C. — Southern culinary icon Nathalie Dupree has passed away. Her obituary reports she died January 13, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina, at age 85.
Nathalie Evelyn Meyer Dupree was crowned the Queen of Southern Cooking by Southern Living magazine and became a national figure with her PBS series New Southern Cooking in 1985. Her 15 cookbooks, including the highly influential Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, became beloved resources for home cooks. A champion of women in the culinary industry, she mentored many successful chefs and co-founded several key organizations, including the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Southern Foodways Alliance. She also co-founded numerous chapters of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international organization dedicated to the advancement of women in the culinary industry, which honored her as Grande Dame in 2011.
Throughout her career, she was a celebrated host on PBS, The Food Network, and The Learning Channel, known for making cooking accessible and enjoyable for novices. In 1978, she, along with Julia Child, Martin Yan and Jacques Pepin, co-founded the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
She was the founding chairman of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival in 2005, and was recognized with numerous awards, including three James Beard Foundation honors.
Born in Hamilton, New Jersey on December 23, 1939, Dupree spent her early years in Virginia and became involved in politics in the early 1960s, serving as the youngest precinct captain for John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960. Her interest in politics carried into her adult years, running in 2010 as a write-in candidate against incumbent South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint.
She had a successful early career in restaurants and cooking schools, opening her first restaurant with her then-husband David Dupree in Covington, Georgia. She went on to become the director of the first participation cooking school in the South, located in the Rich's department store in Atlanta. Later, she became known for her supportive mentorship, believing in the power of women collaborating in the culinary world. She married historian Jack Bass in 1994 and left behind a legacy of culinary contributions, mentorship, and community building.
In addition to Bass, Dupree is survived by their children Audrey Thiault (Pierre-Henri), Ken Bass (Antoinette), David Bass (Bonnie), and Liz Broadway (Joel), sister Marie Louise Meyer, brother James Gordon Meyer (Nancy June), seven grandchildren, and former husband David Dupree.
A memorial service will be held on January 18, 2025, in Raleigh, NC, and on February 22, 2025, in Monroe, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for the Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship Fund.
