Maida Heatter is a pastry chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

 and cookbook author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 who influenced the way in which Americans prepare desserts. The daughter of the famous radio commentator Gabriel Heatter

Gabriel Heatter

Gabriel Heatter was an American radio commentator whose World War II-era sign-on became both his catchphrase and his caricature...

, Maida Heatter graduated from New York's Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...

 in fashion design and began a career as a illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

 of merchandising, then subsequently switching to jewellery

Jewellery

Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...

 design, and then finally becoming a baker

Baker

A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...

 and baking instructor.

Her career as a professional cookbook author began when her skills in dessert making caught the attention of Craig Claiborne

Craig Claiborne

Craig Claiborne was an American restaurant critic, food writer and former food editor of the New York Times. He was the author of numerous cookbooks and an autobiography...

 a former food section editor of the New York Times. In part through his numerous endorsements for her and his suggestion to her in writing her own cookbook, Maida Heatter began her decades long career in teaching baking and writing cookbooks.

The quality of her recipes caught the attention of many prominent figures in the trade of cooking and baking, garnering praise from numerous celebrity and media sources. Maida Heatter's cookbooks have been the recipient of three James Beard Foundation Award

James Beard Foundation Award

The James Beard Foundation Awards were established in 1990 and are often called "The Oscars of Food." Held on the first weekend in May, the Awards honor the finest chefs, restaurants, wine professionals, journalists, cookbook authors, restaurant designers, and other food professionals in the...

s, and she herself has been inducted into the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America in 1988. She has also been inducted into the Chocolatier Magazine Hall of Fame.

Awards

• James Beard Foundation Awards
  • 1998 Cookbook Hall of Fame "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts"
  • 1988 Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America
  • 1981 Single Subject Book "MAIDA HEATTERS BOOK OF GREAT CHOCOLATE DESSERTS"
  • 1978 Speciaty Book "MAIDA HEATTERS BOOK OF GREAT COOKIES"