Love Her Or Hate Her, Martha Stewart Continues To Triumph
A CNN series is looking at her tumultuous life
Happy February! My mum had a saying, “February is a short month, and then it will be spring.” That might be true in England, not Michigan. Nonetheless, it’s good to have that neverending January behind us.
Hello to new subscribers. This is the free weekly newsletter, and I’m glad you’ve joined us. If you like what you’re reading, and would like to hear more from me, consider upgrading your subscription. I don’t have ads or sponsors, although I earn a few pennies from Amazon Associates links.
Now, let’s look at a television show that’s examining all the sides of a very prominent culinary woman.
Martha Stewart Has Been Through A Lot
My professional life coincides with the emergence of Martha Stewart. Her first book, Entertaining, came out when I was a cub reporter. I was one of the first subscribers to Martha Stewart Living magazine.
Martha has an enormous fan base and a significant number of people who can’t stand her. Like her, or not, her influence on American lifestyles has been significant.
CNN is looking at Martha’s life and career in the very unauthorized biography series called The Many Lives of Martha Stewart. Neither Martha nor her ex-husband Andy are cooperating. But it almost doesn’t matter, because Martha has done so many interviews through the years, especially with the late Larry King, that CNN has plenty of material to work with.
In the first couple of episodes (the third and fourth air tonight) we learned a few things about Martha, namely that she did not get to become Martha Stewart by herself.
The series interviews a number of people who were with Martha from the beginning, and they infer that the creativity wasn’t all Martha’s: in short, she stole their ideas. To put it another way, “Martha was the director of what we needed to be doing,” a former associate says.
One of the people who appears in the show is Elizabeth Hawes, who was the ghostwriter for Martha’s books, Entertaining and Weddings. Elizabeth says Martha admitted she had no idea how to write recipes, let alone books. Elizabeth says she was the one who guided her in that direction.
We also learn that before their acrimonious divorce, Andy was one of her biggest fans. “Martha’s going to be as big as McDonald’s, and we aren’t giving any of it away,” a staff member remembers him saying. Eventually, Andy ran off with Martha’s assistant, Robin Fairclough, who was 21 years his junior. He has since married again.
Her KMart connection
When I think of Martha, I think first of her impact on home decor. She vaulted to prominence in that regard when she signed her first deal with Kmart. With only twelve Kmarts now left across the country, it’s easy to forget how ubiquitous Kmart once was.
At its peak in 1994, it had 2,486 globally, the majority in the U.S. We had three in Ann Arbor alone, and Kmart had a sprawling, modern headquarters not far away in Troy, Mich., that is being demolished. The CNN show features the announcement by then-Kmart CEO Joe Antonini, a visible figure in the Detroit area, that Martha was joining the stores.
The move raised eyebrows because Kmart was considered to be downscale. “What are they doing in Kmart?” David Letterman asked Martha about her products. But Kmart was a coup for the Martha Stewart brand, taking it beyond its upscale niche audience. I bought and still own a lot of Martha products, from gardening equipment (she made terrific planters and tools) to sheets and tablecloths and kitchen gear. I see her goods online and in Home Goods stores.
Martha’s profile really soared when she launched her TV show. It was a must-watch for us Martha fans, and she received the ultimate tribute, multiple parodies on Saturday Night Live. She now has her own streaming channel with vintage and new material, and remains a popular talk show guest. Last week, she gave Drew Barrymore some dating advice.
Throughout the CNN episodes, we see interviews with people from the culinary world who share thoughts about Martha, including Carla Hall and David Chang. “What Anna Wintour was doing with Vogue, Martha was doing with food,” Chang says. (Martha had some valuable help from our friend Virginia Willis, who was the TV kitchen director for her syndicated show.)
Her time in prison
Tonight, the series gets into the circumstances surrounding Martha’s prison sentence for insider trading. It seemed humiliating at the time, the ultimate downfall for the diva of domesticity. But, Martha turned it into yet another triumph.
According to People Magazine, she found ways to bake for her fellow inmates, most likely by lifting food from the kitchen, and did chores without complaint. When her sentence ended, she waltzed onto her waiting private plane in a poncho knitted for her by a fellow inmate.
The final episode tells how Martha has stayed contemporary, from her association with Snoop Dogg to her appearance in what may have been the final Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. If you are Team Martha, or even if you are a hate watcher, I recommend that you keep up with Martha on her personal Instagram account. Like her image, it is carefully curated, but the woman has a far busier social life than many of us. I would love to know her hair stylist, and skin technician and own her estates in New York and Maine…
Fans or not, people keep talking about Martha. And at age 82, that’s a good thing.
Culinary Awards Season Begins And Friends Are Among The Winners
Winter kicks off culinary awards season. In Chicago, the top gongs are called the Jean Banchet Awards. They’re named for chef Jean Banchet, who earned national attention for Le Francais, his restaurant in Wheeling, Ill., which Bon Appetit Magazine named the best restaurant in America.
I was tickled to see that Galit was named Chicago’s restaurant of the year. I’ve known chef Zach Engel since he was the chef de cuisine at Shaya, which was founded by Alon Shaya in New Orleans. I met Zach’s business partner, Andres Clavero, the first time I ate at Galit, shortly after it opened in 2019.
The pair have already won a Michelin star two years in a row, and Zach was named the Rising Star Chef by the James Beard Awards in 2017. Zach and Andres have purchased the building next door to Galit for a second restaurant. I think they’ll need it just to hold their trophies.
Meanwhile, the Beards announced their lengthy semi-finalist list. Two restaurants here in Washtenaw County are on it. Ji-Hye Kim received another nomination as Best Chef-Great Lakes for her Ann Arbor restaurant Miss Kim, part of the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. (You can read about its founding in Satisfaction Guaranteed.)
The delightful surprise is that Dan Klenotic, the chef at Bellflower in Ypsilanti, also made the list. My brother and I are huge fans of Bellflower, which gets its name from the former Bell Telephone building where it is housed. Day after day, Bellflower turns out the kind of food you’d find in a much bigger city, with local ingredients and a menu that suits any taste.
The Beard finalists will be announced later this spring, and the annual awards events will be held June 8-10.
The Frick Causes Furor In New York City
I was startled by an item that I spotted on Eater New York. The Frick Collection, a stately museum at East 70th Street and Fifth Avenue, has been undergoing an extensive $160 million renovation. As part of the updates, the Frick sought permission to open 17 walk up bars around the property. It hopes attract a young audience and become a trendy spot.
Neighbors had a fit, and after weeks of back and forth, a compromise was reached. The museum will be allowed to open 14 bars but happy hours will be banned. That still seems like a lot of bars in what is a quiet, upscale neighborhood.
Dry January Was Tough For English Pubs
Dry January has now been a movement in England for the past 11 years. In 2024, more people took part than in the previous 10 years combined, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
Sales of spirits dropped 19 percent year over year in the final week of the month, on top of a 7 percent decline the previous week, according to market researcher CGA.
Bad weather and a weak economic climate were partly to blame. But there is resistance among British Generation Z drinkers to spending money in pubs. They’re seeking out coffee shops, cafes and other spots where they can get non-buzzy drinks.
James Watson, pub protection adviser for the Campaign for Pubs, which advocates for those establishments, told the Guardian it was now “essential” for pubs to offer low and no-alcohol products. Otherwise, more are destined to close.
Last year, 509 pubs shut down. In all, six percent of British pubs have disappeared in the past six years, according to the BBPA. Some have been closing early or staying closed some days due to energy costs and inflation. Others have been sold off for housing, since many have accommodations upstairs.
Who knew that appealing to the sober curious might be a key to survival?
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I’m noodled out. Last week, I did a taste test for The Takeout that compared the fancy instant noodles sold by chef David Chang’s Momofuku line, the ones you’ve seen him promote on social media, and the version sold by Trader Joe. My conclusion was that both are tasty, but if you want to save money, the TJ’s version is great at about half the price.
I’m happy to have you follow me on social media, and please get in touch if you have feedback or ideas to share.
Website: www.michelinemaynard.com
Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com
LinkedIn: Micheline Maynard
Threads and Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard
Etsy shop: City Tips Vintage
I will be back tomorrow with Red Beans & Advice, a weekly feature for our paid subscribers. They also receive the CulinaryWoman Reading Room on Wednesdays and a heads up of each week’s newsletter on Friday. You’re welcome to upgrade.
Have a good week!
Order Satisfaction Guaranteed here. https://amzn.to/3Hk4vAq