Lecture Virtual

A Tale of Today: A Slice of Culinary History - Betty Crocker Celebrates 100 Years SOLD OUT

Saturday, January 30 3:00 p.m. CT

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This virtual program will be presented on Zoom.

Long before Martha Stewart and Ina Garten, home cooks turned to Betty Crocker. Created by a flour company in 1921 as a marketing persona, Betty Crocker became the most famous and most trusted advisor to Americans in the kitchen. In 1950, “Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book” hit shelves with recipes like aspic, pigs in a blanket and home front macaroni. The book became known as “The Kitchen Bible” and rivaled sales of the actual Bible when it was first released.

Traditional brand personas like Betty Crocker were developed upon nostalgic and historical narratives. They demonstrate the effectiveness of combining marketing with storytelling and the necessity of evolving as consumer values change over time. Many of these advertising techniques, developed over a century ago, continue to impact and influence consumers and culture today.

This fun illustrated lecture by historian Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., looks at how Betty Crocker was invented, why her cookbook has endured, and what makes her so iconic. It’s perfect if you’re feeling like cooking up some nostalgia.

Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., is an award-winning actress and scholar who has been portraying famous women and presenting history lectures for more than ten years. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University specializing in U.S. history and American Studies as well as master’s degrees in both theater and museum studies. A former museum director, she is the author of two books on Chicago history and currently works full-time as a historical interpreter, author, and public speaker.

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The Driehaus Museum is proud to partner with Maya-Camille Broussard at Justice of the Pies – a community-focused small Chicago business that makes delicious dessert!

Broussard established Justice of the Pies in Chicago in honor of her late father, Stephen J. Broussard, who dubbed himself the Pie Master, an attorney with a passion for baking and eating anything made with a crust! Broussard runs Justice of the Pies out of a small kitchen on Chicago’s West Side. She offers social-based kitchen skills workshops that teach kids who reside in low-income neighborhoods and those affected by food insecurity. She fosters lessons of precision, patience, and the importance of quality in baking. Justice of the Pies has been featured in Food & Wine magazine, the Chicago Tribune, WGN, and New York Magazine.