1. Life

2. Career

3. Legacy

4. Bibliography

5. References

Sarah Helen Bradley Toliver Mahammitt (c.1873 – November 26, 1956) was a caterer, chef and author of cookbooks in Omaha, Nebraska. She studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris 1927 and sought to bring formal, European style cooking to African-American women in Omaha.

Life

Sarah Helen B. Toliver was born around 1873 in either Canada or Michigan, to James H. Toliver and Sarah A. (Bently) Toliver. Sarah Bently was born in St. Thomas, Ontario. James Tolliver was born in Covington, Kentucky, and went to Amherstburg, Ontario in the early 1850s, later to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Helen married Thomas P. Mahammitt on May 25, 1904 in Des Moines, Iowa, after his marriage to Ella Mahammitt ended. Thomas Mahammitt died March 28, 1950.^[1]

Sarah Toliver Mahammitt died November 26, 1956.^[2] Her funeral was at St. Philips Episcopal Church and she was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.^[3]

Career

Thomas worked as a caterer and Helen joined in. In 1910, Mahammitt traveled to Boston and attended Miss Farmer's Catering School. She catered many major Omaha events, including, for example, the wedding of Violet Joslyn and David Walter Magowan and Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben coronations.^[4]

Intending to retire, she traveled to Paris in June, 1927 on a vacation. She visited Le Courdon Bleu and was taken with the school, enrolling in a course. She learned French while taking classes and was inspired to continue working and to teach cooking when she returned to Omaha.^[5] She offered cooking and catering classes in Omaha, often free of charge.^[6] She also endorsed Omar Cake Mixes.^[7] She retired in 1950, when her husband died.^[2]

In 1939, she published a cookbook, Recipes and Domestic Service: The Mahammitt School of Cookery. Mahammitt's forward focused on her own experience and training and her interest in passing her skills on to others. The book focused mostly on non-southern fare. It self-consciously avoided food associated with poor blacks or southern slave culture. She recognized the racial aspect of her work, noting the need to be "diplomatic" at times and to "be tactful in bringing your superior knowledge into play" when interacting with white clientele, and that the black cook should pay attention to the maintenance of white clients' standing.^[8]

Legacy

Los Angeles Times food writer, Toni Tipton-Martin, features Mahammitt's story in her book on the history of African American cooking, "The Jemima Code".^[9][10]

Bibliography

• {{cite book|last=Mahammitt|first=Helen B.|title=Recipes and Domestic Service: The Mahammitt School of Cookery|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=FzklHQAACAAJ}}|year=1939}}

References

• The Scarlet Letters
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934 film)
• The scarlet pimpernell
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (TV series)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (TV Series)
• The Scarlet Plague
• The scarlet plague
• The Scarlet Pumpernickel
• The Scarlet-Red Finale
• The Scarlets
• The Scarlet Singapore
• The Scarlet Slipper Mystery
• The Scarlet Thread
• The Scarletti Curse
• The Scarlet Tide
• The Scar of Shame
• The Scar (Polish Film)
• The Scarred
• The Scars (band)
• The Scars of Ages
• The Scars of Velious
• The scary door
• The Scary Door
• The Scary Guy
• The Scattering of Ashes