Carson Gulley

Carson Gulley (June 9, 1897 – November 2, 1962)[1] was head chef at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from about 1927 to 1954. He is known in part for popularizing a recipe for fudge-bottom pie that is still served on campus today.[2] The refectory where he once served as head chef is now known as Carson Gulley Commons. It was the first university building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be named after an African American.[3]

Gulley was also a local pioneer in television and radio cooking programming. From 1953 to 1962, Gulley had his own weekly cooking show, called "What's Cooking", on local television station WMTV. Also, in 1953, he hosted a twice-weekly local radio cooking program, called "WIBA Cooking School of the Air", and each month compiled the program's recipes in booklets that listeners could request by mail. He and his wife were the first African American couple to host their own television show in Wisconsin in the 1950s.[4][5]

He published his first book Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices in 1949 at the suggestion of George Washington Carver.

He led the Madison branch of the NAACP. Having failed for many years to buy a house in Madison, he made an emotional appeal to the Madison City Council's Committee on Human Rights. This in part led to the City Council passing a Fair Housing Ordinance.[6]

Early life

Gulley was born in Zama, Nevada County, Arkansas[7] to a family of sharecroppers.[8][5] He was one of ten children.

Bibliography
  • Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices, 1949; revised 1956

References
  1. "Remembering a trailblazing chef: Carson Gulley". University of Wisconsin–Madison. February 15, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  2. Penn, Michael (Spring 2006). "The Life of Pie" (PDF). On Wisconsin. pp. 40–43.
  3. Simms, Muriel. Settlin': Stories of Madison's Early African American Families. Wisconsin Historical Society. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-87020-886-7.
  4. Seyforth, Scott (Summer 2016). "The Life and Times of Carson Gulley". Wisconsin Magazine of History. Vol. 99 no. 4. pp. 2–15.
  5. Michel, Karen Lincoln (January 26, 2016). "We need another Carson Gulley". Madison Magazine. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016.
  6. Martell, Chris (February 5, 2006). "A Place in Black History". madison.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. "Carson Gulley, Madison's first celebrity chef". Recollection Wisconsin. September 22, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  8. "Fudge Bottom Pie". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
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