Diana Kennedy, the inspirational guru, has waved her demise at 99 leaving a huge legacy of food behind her. In her adopted home, Mexico, her style of cooking became the part and parcel of the city. Despite this, the British author confined her teachings to the regional nature of cuisine in her popular book.
Traveling to every nook and corner of Mexico along with jotting down her experiences in hunting for recipes, the “Indiana Jones of Food” waved her bon voyage to the world. She died at the age of 99 on 24 July 2022, and the cause of her death was not shared.
As a British writer, Diana Kennedy was known for her nine books that gave her the authority on Mexican Cuisine. Written in the English language, the subjects included The Cuisines of Mexico which taught Americans how to view regional cuisines in their true nature.
Diana’s Life
Diana Kennedy MBE was born as Diana Southwood on 3 March 1923 in Loughton, Essex, England. Her father, salesman, and mother, schoolteacher adored nature and desired to live quietly in the countryside.
Due to World War II, Kennedy didn’t get a chance to attend college; instead, she joined the Women’s Timber Corps at the age of 19. Moreover, she couldn’t withstand the cutting down of trees, so she moved to measure the trunk sector.
Building Diana’s Future
After her 3 years stay in Canada in 1953 doing several jobs, she decided to move to Haiti in 1957. She met Paul P. Kennedy who was a correspondent for The New York Times in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They got married around the same time and remained together until his demise due to Cancer in 1967 (aged 62). She never wanted children, unless for Dr.Moira Kennedy-Simms and Brigid Kennedy, daughters from Kennedy’s first marriage.
Life in Mexico for Diana
Life in Mexico was known for her exploration of foods. Then she dedicated her entire career to preserving and promoting foods. Without leaving behind her British nature, she took tea each day.
Her days were spent teaching, writing, or working out recipes in her Kitchen. She traveled around the width and breadth of Mexico through various forms of transportation. She extended her visit to the markets in isolated areas. Besides, she gathered information on ingredients from many chefs there. Never did she care about the transport system she used, instead enjoyed her ride even on donkeys and pickup trucks. Her comfort lay in the food she was off to explore.
Diana Travel Diary
In her documentary Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy she said,
“I’ve had a very funny life, nobody has said ‘you do this, or ‘you do THAT, somebody will suggest something and then I’m off.”
Her words regarding her vast collection of regional recipes,
“I would ask anybody I could in the markets where they came from, what their family was eating, and I’d always get a recipe.”
Storming of Books
Book after book reached the public domain which detailed the depth and breadth of Mexican foods. In her book, she elated the country’s diversity of ingredients, regional styles and techniques, changes towards industrialization, monoculture, and prepared foods.
She dedicated her life, books, and career to promoting the richness and diversity of Mexico’s culinary heritage. In the English-speaking world, she helped to popularize national cuisine.
Kennedy was also known as the “Julia Child of Mexican cuisine”, “the Mick Jagger of Mexican cuisine” and “Indiana Jones of food”, for her effort and dedication.
She won many prizes during her lifetime, including the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the country’s highest award for foreigners in 1981.
In 2002, she was appointed as MBE by Prince Charles for “furthering cultural relations between the UK and Mexico”.
She also grew her ingredients, made traditional Mexican dishes from scratch, and ground her corn.
Diana’s Demise
Kennedy, the Doyenne of Mexican Cuisine, passed away at the age of 99 at her home in Michoacán. The Mexican culture ministry paid tribute to her legacy and said that was among the ones who understood the importance of conserving nature and its diversity for upholding the myriad culinary traditions of Mexico.
Her food legacy will live on and pass on for ages at the Diana Kennedy Center, the Mexican home she created with more than 750 books and also offers courses in Mexican cooking.
