Other
Martha Hall Foose
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
The James Beard Award for American Cooking places Martha Hall Foose among the most closely watched American food writers and cooks of her generation. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, she built a career that moved between bakery counters, editorial work, cookbook projects, and professional kitchens, with a body of work that later drew major honors.
Coming Up
Martha Hall Foose trained at Jackson Academy. Martha went on to work as founder at Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Mississippi (from 1990), cookbook writer and editor at Pillsbury in Minneapolis, founder at Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood, Mississippi, food stylist at The Help (2011), and executive chef at Viking Cooking School (2011–2021).
Where They Are Now
No current role is listed in the materials that accompany her career history, but the span of her work remains clear: founder, editor, food stylist, and executive chef. The arc runs from Mississippi bakeries to editorial kitchens and then to an educational setting in which she led the kitchen. Her writing and food work also connect through the books and editorial projects that earned recognition beyond the kitchen.
In Their Words “I was born on December 20, 1967.” “My name is Martha Hall Foose.”
Honors
Martha's honors include James Beard Book Award, James Beard Award for American Cooking, Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Indian Cuisine (2017), Food 52’s Piglet Award for Cookbook of the Year (2017), and The Southern Independent Booksellers Award.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Martha
What recognition has Martha Hall Foose received?
James Beard Book Award (2009).
