Gil Marks

Gilbert Stanley Marks (May 30, 1952 – December 5, 2014) was an American food writer and historian who published five cookbooks on the subject of Jewish food, and was the founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine.^[1] He moved to Israel and became a citizen in 2012 and died of lung cancer on December 5, 2014 at the hospice at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.^[2][3]

Education

Marks was born in 1952 in Charleston, West Virginia.^[4] After graduating from high school at Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, Marks studied at Yeshiva University, and graduated with an M.A. in Jewish History, M.S.W. in Social Work, and rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, a Yeshiva University affiliate.^[5][6]

Published works

Marks was the founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine, in 1986, which ran for about six years before closing in the early 1990s.^[7]

The following books written by Marks have been published:

• The World of Jewish Cooking: More Than 500 Traditional Recipes from Alsace to Yemen (Simon & Schuster, 1996)
• The World of Jewish Entertaining: Menus and Recipes for the Sabbath, Holidays, and Other Family Celebrations (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
• The World Of Jewish Desserts: More Than 400 Delectable Recipes from Jewish Com munities (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
• Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World (Wiley, 2004)^[8]
• Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Wiley, 2010)^[9][10]

Marks was also among the international team of contributors to Meals in Science and Practice: Interdisciplinary Research and Business Applications (Woodhead Publishing, 2009).

Awards

Olive Trees and Honey is a 2005 James Beard Foundation Award winner and a 2006 IACP Cookbook Award finalist.^[1][9]

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food earned Marks a spot on the Forward 50 for 2010, a list of fifty American Jews "who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year," in the newly created "Food contributors" category.^[11] The book was also nominated for the 2011 James Beard Foundation Award for "Reference and Scholarship"^[12] and was recognized by Library Journal as the best reference book of 2010 in the Food category.^[13]

References

1. Marks, Gil (7 April 2006). "Passover Cooking". The Washington Post.
2. "Jewish food chronicler Gil Marks dead at 62".
3. Nathan, Joan (5 December 2014). "Remembering a Jewish Food Giant". Tablet. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/books/gil-marks-historian-of-jewish-food-and-culture-dies-at-62.html
5. Breger, Sarah (13 October 2010). "Q & A, Part II: Gil Marks Discusses His New "Encyclopedia of Jewish Food"". The Jew and the Carrot.
6. "Sixty Student Chefs Vie for Title as Hundreds Cheer Them On". Yeshiva University. 9 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2007.
7. Spiro, Amy (21 June 2011). "Upmarket Kosher". The Jewish Week.
8. "Recipes transcend time". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. 17 December 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
9. Spiro, Amy (5 October 2010). "Jewish Eats From Asabia To Zaban". The Jewish Week.
10. Leibel, Aaron (29 September 2010). "Jewish foodie's fantasy 'Encyclopedia of Jewish Food' a dream come true". Washington Jewish Week.
11. "Forward 50, 2010 – Part Two". The Jewish Daily Forward. 27 October 2010.
12. Sterling, Colin (21 March 2011). "2011 James Beard Award Nominations Announced". Huffington Post.
13. Coutts, Brian E.; LaGuardia, Cheryl (15 April 2011). "Best Reference 2010: Print, Electronic, and Free Reference Resources". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.