Junior League of Charleston's Cookbooks

/Home/Charleston Food and Drink/Charleston Cookbooks

Cookbook History
Read about the artistry behind the cookbooks.

Charleston Receipts, first published November 1, 1950, is the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print. The cookbook was originally compiled as a fundraising project by a committee of twenty-one Sustaining members. The editors were Mary Vereen Huguenin and Anne Montague Stoney. The proceeds from the cookbook supported the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center, which was the first center of its kind in South Carolina. In May 1991, The Junior League of Charleston, Inc., was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for its significant contribution to the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology.

The 350-page cookbook contains 750 receipts, Gullah verses, and sketches by Charleston artists. No changes have been made in the original cookbook except for a supplement added in the Third Printing (1951) and a revision of the index in the Seventeenth Printing (1971). The Sixteenth Printing (1970) was dedicated to the Tricentennial. The contents of the cookbook were reviewed for the Twentieth Printing (1975). An explanation and translation of the original Gullah phrases was included in the Twenty-Sixth Printing (1989).

The initial investment in the project was approximately $150. It took the committee one month to collect the recipes from a number of Charleston residents, two months to test the recipes, and four months to organize and compile the cookbook. The First Edition of 2,000 copies was sold out in only two days. The retail cost per copy was $2.50. Over 792,000 copies have been printed, and as of May 2004, we are in the Thirty-Second printing.

After two years, the management of Charleston Receipts was turned over to the Actives as a permanent fundraising project. A professional bookkeeper, an attorney, and an accountant assist this committee. The current printer and distributor is Favorite Recipes Press. The proceeds from the sale of the cookbook are returned to the community through projects undertaken in response to community needs. The sale of the cookbooks over the years has provided profits in excess of $1,000,000.

In 1990, Charleston Receipts was selected for inclusion in the Walter S. McIlhenny Hall of Fame for Community Cookbooks. This special award honored the contribution of Charleston Receipts in preserving our American local and regional culinary customs while benefiting the community in a substantial way. In 1984, Nika Hazelton of Gastronome Magazine picked Charleston Receipts and the Junior League of Charleston as “one of the top twelve authorities on good food.” It was also listed as a national best seller in June, 1954, and topped the New York Food Editor’s List, New York Tribune, 1951. Some other “Fun Facts” about Charleston Receipts include:

* Nicknamed Charleston’s “Bible of the Kitchen,” Newsday, April 17, 1985
* Number 1 “Line of the Day”, Ladies Home Journal, 1952, “I have a new cookbook – Charleston Receipts”
* Ladies of the Junior League served Cooter (turtle) Soup, from Charleston Receipts to Queen Elizabeth II during her 1957 visit and presented her a copy of the cookbook.

We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Charleston Receipts in the fall of 2000. On October 16, 2000, League president, Karen Felder, and Products assistant chair, Chase Wood, appeared on Channel 5 “Mid-day” show to talk about the anniversary and the history of Charleston Receipts. The cookbook was presented on Food TV in August highlighting the fact that it was the oldest Junior League cookbook in print. Traditional Home magazine promoted the cookbook’s anniversary in the March/April 2000 issue. The Post & Courier featured CR on the front page of the “Food” section on November 1, 2000 in an article titled “Celebrating 50 years: Charleston Receipts was created to be more than just a cookbook”. Donald Barickman, executive chef at Magnolias, created dishes from the cookbook that were photographed for the article. Barnes & Noble Booksellers hosted a cooking demonstration and taste testing featuring holiday desserts from Charleston Receipts on November 10, 2000 in honor of the 50th anniversary. Products committee member, Greer Huthmaker, wrote a wonderfully detailed article about the cookbook’s history that appeared in the November 2000 issue of Pebbles titled “Our Treasure Turns Fifty”.

In March of 2001, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Charleston Receipts, the Junior League of Charleston granted a total of $25,000 to non-profit organizations serving the Charleston community. These gifts included monetary awards, volunteer hours for short-term projects, and the fulfillment of “wish-list” items. A group of Sustainer members spearheaded the project and selected the recipients of the awards, just as a group of Sustainers spearheaded the publication 50 years earlier. A reception was held in honor of the award recipients in conjunction with the March membership meeting to recognize these non-profit organizations.

A second cookbook, Charleston Receipts Repeats, made its debut in October 1986, and joined its predecessor with induction into in the Walter S. McIlhenny Hall of Fame for Community Cookbooks in 1993. This cookbook highlights the foods, which are abundant in the Lowcountry, such as seafood, fresh vegetables and delicious fruits. The recipes are written in a format that is easy to follow by today's busy cooks. The first printing sold out in just 28 days. We are currently in the Eighth printing, with more than 215,000 copies in print. The current printer and distributor is FRP. At the time of the original printing, posters of the divider leafs featuring 12 illustrations of historic Charleston by local artist William Jameson were also available for purchase. These items were sold out in the early 1990’s.

The third cookbook of the Charleston Junior League is Party Receipts. This book offers recipes for entertaining, which range from hors d'oeuvres to tea to a light buffet, as well as tips on entertaining. The recipes were collected by members of the Junior League of Charleston, and the book was edited by Linda Glick Conway. The book was printed in 1993 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and is currently in it’s fifth printing.