Cleora Butler (1901-1985) reclaimed what it meant to be an African American cook. Her food and her story embody her belief that cooking was an art form with lots of love added.
Cleora Butler (1901-1985) reclaimed what it meant to be an African American cook. Her food and her story embody her belief that cooking was an art form with lots of love added.
Food has been a unifier for millennia, not just gathering people together to share a meal, but acting as a warm introduction to new histories and traditions. This February on Womanica, we’re celebrating Tastemakers - the Black chefs, cooks, and food historians who created new foodways and preserved important culinary stories of the past. The impact of chefs like Pig Foot Mary, Mama Dip, and Georgia Gilmore stretch far beyond the culinary scene - uplifting their local communities and inspiring those who came after them.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Chef Kia Damon.
I'm a Florida born chef, writer, host and recipe developer. I served as an executive Chef of New York City restaurant Lalito at the age of 24, and became Cherry Bombe magazine's first Culinary Director at 25. Since leaving I've founded Kia Feeds The People, a budding mutual aid effort. I’ll be your guest host for this month of Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Tastemakers. We’re celebrating the Black chefs, cooks, and food historians who created new foodways and preserved important culinary stories of the past.
Today we’re talking about a woman who reclaimed what it meant to be an African American cook. Her food and her story embody her belief that cooking was an art form with lots of love added. Let’s talk about Cleora Butler!
Cleora was born on a hot day in Waco, Texas in August 1901. This was a period of hope and promise for African Americans. Her grandparents, formerly enslaved people, had become landowners and raised their children on acres of family ground.
When , Cleora’s parents, Joe and Maggie Thomas, heard of land and opportunity further north, they packed their bags and made the journey to Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma. They settled in Muskogee, and started working for the sister of Oklahoma’s first governor. The relationship the Thomas family formed with their employers was so amicable that when the governor’s family moved, they left their house to Cleo and her family .
Food was an essential part of life in the Thomas home– it was so important, it was practically another member of the family. Maggie was a professional cook: she made everything from scratch and with a careful eye to preparation. Joe farmed and grew their produce. He also took care of the livestock. As long as Joe was around, the Thomas family never once bought a chicken– they were all raised at home.
Cleora spent many of her weekends delivering her mother’s freshly baked bread to loyal customers around Oklahoma. Whether it was because the bread was just that good, or the Thomases were just that savvy, customers were willing to pay 25 cents for a loaf that usually cost 5 cents in the store.
Maggie Thomas was famous throughout the state for her cooking and baking. She cooked for many wealthy families and fancy hotels. But she wasn’t just a great cook, she was also a great teacher. If her children wanted a specific dish or dessert, she wasn’t just going to make it for them. She would teach them how to make it.
As she got older, Cleora paid more attention to what her mother was doing in the kitchen. And when she was 10, she decided to put what she had learned to the test.
It was a rainy day, and her parents were out of the house. This was her moment. Using a recipe from a Calumet cookbook, Cleora prepared baking powder biscuits. When her mother returned home, she started cooking a breakfast spread: ham, eggs, hash browns– but time was running low to make biscuits. Just as she was about to call everyone to the table,Cleora proudly told her mother she had made biscuits, and they were already in the oven. Much to everyone’s surprise, the biscuits came out tasting and looking as good as they did in the cookbook.
But Cleora’s cooking journey wasn’t all biscuits and gravy. Without formal training, she had some misses. And her taste testers – also known as her brothers – and the family garden felt the brunt of it. Cleora hid her failed attempts in what she called the “dough patch”. This was a spot in the corner of the garden where she buried bad food and all its evidence. When Cleora’s mom found out about the dough patch, she was enraged. But soon, anger gave in to amusement, and Maggie told Cleora she was better off sticking to her biscuits and only experimenting under her supervision.
Cleora’s big break came at the age of 22. She moved to Tulsa and worked as a cook for Charles Robertson, an oil tycoon. She was making 14 dollars a week, doing what she loved, out on her own. But in Tulsa, Cleora wasn’t only cooking for the Robertson family. She was also wow-ing wealthy oil tycoons with the incredible meals she made for the larger-than-life parties thrown at the estate.
When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 hit, Cleora lost her job. But, as determined as ever, Cleora was able to support herself by freelancing as a caterer and working for other well-off oil-money families. She and her mother would also cook for famous Black musicians like Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington when they came into town.
After several years of courting, Cleora married George Butler in 1940. During the early years of marriage, Cleora did some catering here and there, but most of her time was spent taking care of the home.
This career pause didn’t dissuade Cleora’s career aspirations. It didn’t take long for her to land a job as a stock clerk at a dress shop. Here, she rubbed elbows with all levels of Tulsa society. And more importantly, she learned the basics of running a business.
This came in handy when Cleora decided she was ready to open her own store. In the spring of 1962, Cleora and George opened Cleora’s Pastry Shop and Catering. They worked long hours and learned what it meant to run a business on the fly– but they had great success. They baked pies, cakes, and fresh bread. Eventually, they added chili and burgers to their menu. They even received catering requests from big-time players like the Tulsa Opera Guild and the Tulsa Philharmonic.
After 5 busy years, the doors of the pastry shop closed in 1967. George’s health was deteriorating, and while she loved cooking, Cleora was always willing to put her career on the back burner for the people she loved. George passed away in 1970. It took a few years, but Cleora rebuilt her catering business. She served schools, churches, and private events.
After 70 years of cooking, Cleora began collecting recipes and stories for a memoir. The result, Cleora's Kitchens: The Memoir of a Cook & Eight Decades of Great American Food was published in 1985. Later that year in November, Cleora Butler passed away.
After years of Black cooks being subjected to anonymity and racist demeaning stereotypes, Cleora redefined what it looked like to be a woman of color making a career in cooking and food.
All month, we’re talking about tastemakers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host this month of Womanica.
Talk to you tomorrow!