Marjorie Standish
Maine’s First Celebrity Chef
Unlike Betty Crocker, Marjorie Standish was a living, breathing, and trailblazing woman. Born and raised in Maine, she lived her adult years in Kennebec County, making a living and long-standing name for herself by cooking, testing, sharing, and compiling local recipes and anecdotes that spoke to untold others. She and her recipes made their way into the hearts and homes of countless followers. While the fictitious Crocker’s name has graced millions of copies and dozens of editions and reprints, Standish’s first cookbook, Cooking Down East, initially sold over 30,000 copies regionally (an outstanding record for any nationwide publication, even today) and continues to reign as a beloved standard throughout Maine and New England, still stirring a passionate interest and devotion for those who cook and care about Maine’s cherished recipes.
Standish was a working woman and self-made icon, born Marjorie Holbrook in Brunswick, Maine, in 1908. She studied at the Farmington Normal School (now UMF), graduated in 1931, and married George Standish, whose family had moved to Gardiner from northern Maine in the 1910s. Marjorie and George established their own Gardiner homestead on Chestnut Street and, from there, she worked for Central Maine Power, teaching cooking and home economics courses throughout Maine and penned her nearly 30-year weekly Maine Sunday Telegram column “Cooking Down East.” She was a true historian, archivist, and purveyor of both past and the tried-and-true recipes for her readers - as well as future generations - translating Maine recipes, historical lore, and traditions into a common language and metric that still speak to our current kitchens, establishing a solid following and fellowship of Maine cooks.
Some may balk at the idea of a proud “housewife” (even a working one) proliferating advice to her compatriots, but Marjorie Standish was one whose reach extended farther than many might imagine and she did much more than cook and keep house. Standish embodied the melding of past, present, and future by taking cooking, history, and technology quite seriously. She was community-centered and focused on goodwill, volunteering, and getting things done - whether by direct action or engaging others in meaningful fundraising or awareness. Working for CMP, she grounded the futuristic magic of modern appliances and new-fangled kitchen advances, making them realistic and advantageous tools that served all cooking needs, historic or modern. Standish celebrated meals to be shared within the community, as well as how to make basic meals swiftly and conscientiously. She perfected and touted traditional and regional favorites that Maine families held to heart. With awareness and standardization, Standish ensured that every kitchen could replicate a celebrated recipe.
My grandfather was born in Nebraska, raised in Washington, and lived in Maine in the 1960s. As the chef of our family, he loved to cook and traveled the world as a scientist for the federal government, gathering recipes and cooking techniques wherever he went. Marjorie Standish was an essential part of his rather worldly and refined cookbook collection and I first discovered her on his shelves. Although I lived in Maine and worked in Gardiner, it was decades before I discovered that she was a genuine local. I always thought she was a national treasure.
I count myself lucky to have been a child who had both the opportunity and requirement to complete courses in Home Economics and Industrial Arts (alongside all my classmates in a decade that made no gender exclusions or prohibitions). I can personally vouch for what an impactful and treasured training we obtained. Reading and adapting recipes, measuring ingredients, and working our way around a kitchen was inspirational, engaging, and empowering. Together we created delicious food from scratch with standard tools, following recipes, and gaining a feeling of strength and independence in the ability to provide for ourselves. Wood and Metal Shop and Sewing were also inspiring but, for most of us, learning to cook for ourselves held a singular magic. Based on the anecdotes I hear regularly, I can only imagine that Marjorie’s column and cookbooks did the same for generations of others.
In today’s foodie/Instagram world, some of her recipes may seem a bit dated or “out of it” (e.g., I’ll not soon recreate Broiled Cocktail Frankfurters, nor will either of two variations of Hot Clam Dip find their way into my rotation). Lard and gelatin were frequent ingredients and recipes such as Rolled Asparagus Sandwiches (featuring canned asparagus and Miracle Whip) might not speak to current cooks, but thousands of fans, spanning multiple generations, still hold many of her recipes as treasured heirlooms, family traditions, and the gold standard of the best of the best. Indeed, there are many of us who follow #marjoriestandish and delight in seeing the fruition of folks who still use her recipes in parts far-flung. In 2016, we hosted a Marjorie Standish potluck on the Gardiner Common and were pleasantly inundated with scores of dishes by Standish devotees. (We aim to host another this June in honor of Marjorie’s 115th birthday – and hope you will join us!)
In gathering my thoughts for this article, I frequently toted the iconic cookbooks around with me. They were frequently recognized and commented upon whenever spotted. Whether tucked in my bag or splayed open with nothing but the Cooking Down East sunshiny marigold border visible, they were recognized with affinity - and a story every time. “Is that Marjorie Standish? Those are my mother-in-law’s favorite cookbooks. We had a hard time finding the green one.” “Are you reading Marjorie Standish? I still have my mother’s copies and use them all the time.” “Oooh! Marjorie Standish! What’s your favorite recipe?” One woman spied the book and immediately shared that she lived in the Standish’s Gardiner home, recollecting that one day she opened her door to find the stately cook standing outside. Recognizing Standish immediately, her greeting was simply, “You taught me how to cook chicken.” Her adulation and respect sustain to this day, as she still touts Standish’s cookbooks as those she cherishes most.
And perhaps that is the feeling we all have when we thumb through our worn copies of her cookbooks and share our appreciation of her recipes, that she is right outside, knocking on our door, paying us a visit. The legacy of Marjorie Standish is that we can visit her anytime through the thousands of recipes she left to us. Her spirit of community, love of celebration, and most importantly, her understanding of Maine, keep us creating dishes to share and savor.
An introduction by two-time James Beard Award winning chef and owner of Primo Restaurant, Melissa Kelly for Marjorie Standish’s Cooking Down East.
In 1968, just as Marjorie Standish was publishing her first cookbook, I was turning three years old. It was a time in history when the women’s liberation movement was gaining speed and the sisters of the U.S. joined together to protest the injustices that were ingrained into American society.
It was a time when the stereotypical role of women was changing.
Marjorie Standish was a woman way ahead of her time. She had earned a B. S. degree in Home Economics from Farmington Normal School in 1931. She penned a column in the Maine Sunday Telegram for twenty-five years, guiding her readers, and listening to them, too, by discussing the old and the new ways of cooking, and by championing heirloom recipes as well as the “new” convenience products that were now available (i.e., canned soups, seasoned salts, margarine). She cherished recipes from her readers, from their family histories, and added them to her collection. Some were fads, some treasures, just as they are today.
Cooking Down East is a collection of recipes, some fun and retro (Nuts and Bolts) some simple and delicious (Oyster Stew), a few strange, at least to me as a chef in this century (Hot Dogs Over Sterno). Reading Marjorie’s cookbook is like opening a treasure chest: I am dusting off a few of the recipes and giving them a twenty-first-century spin.
I can clearly remember my first experience in Maine. I was on a family camping trip. We came to Maine as it was a place where there was still a bounty of wonderful ingredients, untapped in the woods, the sea, and best of all in the local communities. Maine has always been a step behind, and that is the reason I have always loved it. We are more cautious and maintain our traditions a little longer here; we may be resistant to change until we know the true value. And Maine cooking has always been down home—from scratch and old fashioned. I believe that was a big lure for me to open a restaurant here. It is a place with deep roots, rich land, and a heritage of farmers, fishermen, and good home cooks. We are hard-working people who understand the value in these ideals. The old ways that have always been maintained here, such as capturing the fruits of the harvest—the canning, the preserving, smoking, salting—are still hanging on if not having a resurgence with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the small farms that are trying to do things the old ways, the right way, the natural way.
In my cooking career I am always trying to learn the old ways, to stay away from the convenience and the processed and take the extra step to make it better. Like me, Marjorie enjoyed using the ingredients around her to showcase our Maine food products and to truly cook in a seasonable fashion. But today in Maine we are a bit more of a melting pot. There have been many people from all different walks of life migrating to the state, bringing their family history, recipes, and culture, which in turn is transforming Maine cooking. There is a strong movement towards local and organic, so here is one instance where I can say Maine is ahead of the curve we have been doing it for decades.
Marjorie teaches us the basics and some really good ways to bring great food, good ideas, and a passion for Maine ingredients to our friends and families. It was truly a pleasure to read through her recipes—like a tour of Maine with the nostalgic ties that bind us to our land. It has given me a greater appreciation to my sense of place and the opportunity I have to live and run a business here in Maine.
Thank you, Marjorie and to all of the Mainers who inspired her.
Happy cooking!
—Melissa Kelly, June, 2010
From Cooking Down East: Favorite Maine Recipes. Reprinted by permission of Down East Books
