Cookbook Still a Best-Seller

It's an age-old truth: Ample amounts of commitment, perseverance and hard work are the necessary ingredients that turn a dream into a reality

That's the recipe for success 21 highly motivated Charleston women adopted when they embarked on an ambitious fundraising project to help Lowcountry children. What these women, all sustaining members of the Junior League of Charleston, probably didn't realize at the time was what they created would one day become a Charleston legacy.

In the fall of 1950, this gutsy group of women gathered in the Meeting Street home of one of its members. At the time, Junior Leagues across the country were involved in remedial reading centers, diagnostic testing programs and programs for gifted and challenged children in their communities. In Charleston, League members had identified a number of children with speech problems, but unfortunately there were no programs in place to help them. So, as Junior Leaguers are apt to do, they created one-the Junior League's School for Speech Correction, later renamed the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center.

But they needed money to properly fund the program. Through the years, the organization had tried various methods of fundraising, ranging from rummage sales to garden tours. But that year, the idea of publishing regional cookbooks as a key fundraising tool began taking shape across the country. The Junior League of Minneapolis compiled the first Junior League cookbook, raising an impressive $3,000! That's when this resolute group of Charleston women stepped up to the plate to show Minneapolis and the rest of the nation exactly how a cookbook should be done.

The committee spent a month collecting recipes by culling through their old family "receipt" books or, in some cases, picking the brains of their elders and family cooks in order to record their favorites for the first time. Then the committee spent two months testing all the recipes, four months compiling and organizing the cookbook, and four days selling it out. The first edition of Charleston Receipts, released on Nov. 1, 1950, was an instant success.

Through the years, the cookbook, with its more than 350 pages and its original 750 recipes, has been credited with capturing the true flavor of Old Charleston. Such delectable offerings as she-crab soup, Huguenot torte, benne crackers and spoon bread, all spiced with Gullah phrases echoing the colorful local dialect, fill the pages. These recipes, passed down from generation to generation in Charleston's 300+ year history, reflect Lowcountry cooking at its best.

The names of the contributors are sprinkled across the pages, reminding locals of their culinary heritage. The cookbook is a tribute to the foods that have served as the centerpieces for many of their family traditions. In fact, in the more than 50 years since its first publication in 1950, Charleston Receipts has become the quintessential collection of Lowcountry cuisine, shattering many community cookbook sales records and earning the title of oldest cookbook of its kind continuously in print. With about 750,000 books in print, it's a best-seller by anyone's standards.

In the years since Charleston Receipts first made culinary waves, earning numerous accolades and awards along the way, the active membership of the Junior League of Charleston has continued what the original cookbook committee started. Through the years, the proceeds from the sale of the book have helped fund numerous community projects, and this living legacy has given back to the people of Charleston again and again.

For its outstanding preservation of local and regional culinary customs and its benefits to the local community, Charleston Receipts was inducted into the Walter S. McIlhenny Community Cookbooks Hall of Fame in 1990.

Charleston Receipts has even inspired three sequels: Charleston Receipts Repeats, which was published in 1986; Party Receipts, published in 1993; and Charleston Receipts Album, published in 2007. All successful in their own right, these popular cookbooks have yet to gain the "coffee-table book" status of the original. Give them time.

Today, the lifestyle in Charleston comes alive through the history that's conveyed in Charleston Receipts. Those who pick it up and read it soon discover Charleston's history and lifestyle through the foods the people ate, the punches they drank and the desserts they adored.

These 21 extraordinary women not only preserved an important piece of the region's rich culinary heritage; they also continue to inspire a new generation to do the same.

— Patra Taylor Bucher

Get a complete list of Charleston's restaurants.

Oak Steakhouse Housed in a spectacular setting on Broad Street which features arched doors, eighteen foot ceilings, mahogany paneling and 150 year old heart of pine floors. The menu, composed of traditional items such as Steak Tartare, Shrimp Cocktail, Porterhouse and New York Strip, appears to offer classic steakhouse fare. At second glance, it weaves Italian flavors and dishes throughout. Serving dinner Monday through Saturday, 5pm until 11pm. Sunday Brunch 11 am until 3pm.

McCrady's Inventive cuisine. Fresh from the farm. Named one of the Top Ten Restaurants in North America by Opinionated About Dining. McCrady's Restaurant, located in an historic 1778 Georgian public house, offers an award-winning dining experience with the best of new Southern cuisine. Chef Sean Brock's (2008 James Beard Rising Star Chef Nominee) sensationally presented dishes one of Charleston's most extensive wine lists. Private dining available in the spectacular Long Room, Gallery, Chef's Room, and Cypress Room.

High Cotton Restaurant Welcome to pure Charleston. An atmosphere rich in Lowcountry high-life since antebellum times. A hearty, southern menu, featuring regional favorites, steaks, game and fresh seafood – all prepared with the famous Maverick artistry. Also known for our award-winning wine selection and irresistible desserts. Don’t miss the High Cotton bar, one of the area’s most popular watering holes. Downtown Charleston. Tel: 843-724-3815. Dinner nightly. Lunch Saturday. Brunch Sunday.