Moosewood Restaurant

The original 1974 Moosewood Cookbook was self-published by members of the Moosewood Collective, with no single author. Titled The Moosewood Cookbook, Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant in the Dewitt Mall, Ithaca, New York, it was a spiral bound paper-covered book with photographs of the restaurant staff. According to page three, this version was created by seven people: Mollie Katzen (Design, Editing, Hand-writing, Pen-and-ink illustrations), Nancy McCauley (Feedback digestion, Critical analysis, Introduction & History), Judith M. Barringer (Cover Drawing), Kathy Morris (Onion Photogram), Meredith Barchat (Frontispiece: charcoal drawing), Phyllis Boudreau (Photographs), and Susan B. Lent (Photographic Montage).[8]

As stated on page five, The Moosewood Restaurant began when:

"a group of seven people started building it in the fall of 1972, and we opened on the third of January 1973. Six of the seven are still involved in some measure, and about 15 others now work on a regular basis. In a sense, then the restaurant is run collectively, with the aim of supporting a lot of people and sharing the responsibilities of presenting good food to the community. Everyone gets paid the same hourly wage, the 15% service charge is divided among all who work during each day, and while a certain amount of specialization seems inevitable, everyone is encouraged to become skilled at all the different jobs...People often ask us about our philosophy on food - we have no set response, nor do we collectively subscribe to a particular school of thought. From the onset, we decided not to mount a crusade against so-called 'bad' or 'plastic food.'...very simply, we try to offer a lot possibilities without any dogma, reckoning that someone who comes in for the brownies will eventually try a fresh vegetable salad and a meat and potatoes person might try a vegetarian casserole...the basic supposition is that if healthy foods are prepared in delicious ways, people will be inclined to want to eat them."[8]

While the staff created their own original recipes, The Postward on page 79 notes that they were influenced by a number of popular cookbooks of the time including, Diet for a Small Planet, The Ten Talents, The Vegetarian Epicure, and The Joy of Cooking.[8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of the collective began to explore selling Moosewood.[3] They ultimately decided to sell it to Danica Wilcox, who took over as of January 1, 2022. Wilcox is the daughter of Kip Wilcox, an original member of The Moosewood Collective.[3][5][4]They have launched a new menu that will be "more vegan, more local and sustainable."[3]

In 1977, Ten Speed Press in California published a revised version of the self-published original called Moosewood Cookbook. Mollie Katzen is listed as the sole author, although Meredith Barchat and J.M. Barringer were also involved with the cover design and the photographs included in the book.[9]

In 1987, members of the restaurant staff collaborated on a cookbook, titled New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant, referring to themselves as The Moosewood Collective. Mollie Katzen states in a quote on the back cover: "It's been nearly ten years since I cooked at Moosewood Restaurant, and I had no hand making this book, yet these recipes evoke memories so fresh, it feels like I worked there yesterday."[10] New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant was followed by thirteen more books, with the last one published in 2017.[5][11] In 2010, the Moosewood Collective donated its archive of original cookbook manuscripts and memorabilia to Cornell University where they are housed in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in the Carl A. Kroch Library.[12][13]

The new owners of the Moosewood Restaurant will be releasing a 50th anniversary edition cookbook in 2023.[5]

Six of The Moosewood Collective cookbooks received nominations and awards from the James Beard Foundation.[14]

Winner: Healthy Focus

• 1997: Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Winner: Vegetarian

• 1995: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Nominations

• 2004: Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates
• 2002: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
• 1997: Moosewood Cooks for a Crowd
• 1991: Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

Winner: America's Classics

• 2000: Moosewood Restaurant and Chef.[6] This award recognized Moosewood Restaurant as "one of the most popular regional destinations."[7]

Winner: Cookbook Hall of Fame

• 2007: Moosewood Cookbook[15]

• Moosewood Restaurant (1974). The Moosewood Cookbook Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant In the Dewitt Mall Ithaca, New York. Moosewood Restaurant.

• Katzen, Mollie (1977). The Moosewood Cookbook. 10 Speed Press. ISBN 978-0913668689.

• Moosewood Collective (1987). New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant. 10 Speed Press. ISBN 9780898152081.
• Moosewood Collective (1990). Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant. Touchstone. ISBN 9780671679903.
• Moosewood Collective (1992). Moosewood Restaurant Garden Kitchen. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671692399.
• Moosewood Collective (1994). Moosewood Cooks at Home. Atria. ISBN 0671679929.
• Moosewood Collective (1996). Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. Crown. ISBN 9780517884942.
• Moosewood Collective (1997). Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd. Wiley and Sons. ISBN 9780471238775.
• Moosewood Collective (1997). Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. Clarkson Potter. ISBN 0517884933.
• Moosewood Collective (1999). Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. Clarkson Potter. ISBN 9780965031424.
• Moosewood Collective (2001). Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. Crown Publishing. ISBN 9780609802410.
• Moosewood Collective (2003). Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates. Crown Publishing. ISBN 9780609808115.
• Moosewood Collective (2005). Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. Ten Speed. ISBN 9780609609125.
• Moosewood Collective (2009). Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1416548874.
• Moosewood Collective (2013). Moosewood Restaurant Favorites. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250006257.
• Moosewood Collective (2017). Moosewood Restaurant Table. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250074331.

• Kauffman, Jonathan (2018). Hippie Food: How Back-To-The-Landers, Longhair, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat. Harper Collins. ISBN 9780062437303.
• Belasco, Warren (2007). Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on The Food Industry. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801473296.