Biography
KEITH STAVELY and KATHLEEN FITZGERALD have written four books about New England food history: United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook (University of Massachusetts Press, 2017); Northern Hospitality: Cooking by the Book in New England (University of Massachusetts Press, 2011); America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking (University of North Carolina Press, 2004; paperback and ebook, 2015); and Northern Comfort: The New England Baking Tradition (New York University Press, forthcoming November 3, 2026). America's Founding Food was named a "2005 Best of the Best from University Presses" selection from the American Association of University Presses and United Tastes received the 2017 Bruce Fraser Award of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History.
Their writing has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, the Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, the international food history journal, Petits Propos Culinaires, and elsewhere. Their work has been featured in print and online media, including the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, History Magazine, Yankee Magazine, the Providence Journal, and Serious Eats. They have given television, radio, and podcast interviews on programs such as Chronicle, WCVB (Boston), Good Food, KCRW (Los Angeles), Radio Boston, WBUR (Boston), Front Porch, New Hampshire Public Radio, and Grating the Nutmeg (the Connecticut History Podcast).
Stavely and Fitzgerald have also spoken at many international conferences, historical societies, libraries, museums, and to a variety of community and professional groups, bringing to light the hidden history and cultural significance of New England and early American foodways.
After varied careers in academia, community work, and public librarianship, they now devote themselves to research and writing, with a focus on New England foodways and their influence on American culture and cuisine.
Along with food history writing, Stavely has a longstanding scholarly interest in English and American Puritanism which has resulted in several critically acclaimed books and articles. He received the Prize for Independent Scholars from the Modern Language Association, as well as Guggenheim and American Council of Learned Societies fellowships. (For details, see his resumé below.)
Stavely and Fitzgerald live in Jamestown, Rhode Island.