Fun Facts Friday: Alice B. Toklas

Alice B. Toklas (30 April, 1877 – 7 March, 1967) was an American cookbook writer and life partner of Gertrude Stein.

Books by Alice B. Toklas*

Fun Facts:

1. Alice Babette Toklas was born in San Francisco, CA to a Polish-Jewish Family. Later on, when Alice was three years old, the family moved to Seattle, WA.
2. Ms. Toklas grandfather was a rabbi, her father was co-owner of Toklas, Singerman and Company, a successful dry-goods store. As a result, the family lived comfortably.
3. Subsequently the family moved back to San Francisco because Mrs. Toklas was sick. Sadly she passed away shortly after.
4. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, Ms. Toklas moved to Paris, France where she met Gertrude Stein. The couple’s relationship lasted for decades, until Ms. Stein’s death.
5. The couple hosted a salon at the home they shared. The salon included such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Thornton Wilder, Sherwood Anderson, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse.
6. The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook was published in 1945 and included a recipe for “Haschich Fudge”. The recipe for the fudge appeared in the English version, but was omitted from the American version, on account of the main ingredient, until the second version was published. The cookbook, however, was translated into several languages.
7. The movie I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968) references her brownies, which, specifically, have a  major role in the plot.
8. Alice B. Toklas’ second cookbook, Aromas and Flavors of Past and Present, published in 1958 was heavily annotated by the editor. Ms. Toklas did not approve.
9. Her biography, What Is Remembered, end abruptly with the death of Gertrude Stein.
10. In her later years, Alice B. Toklas had financial hardships. She died poor and is buried in Paris, France next to Stein at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
11. Toklas’ name is engraved on the back of the headstone.

Books by Alice B. Toklas*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account